Vamos Antigua!

We cheered on the home team today at an Antigua futbol game. Antigua's colors and white and green. People from Antigua are nicknamed "los panzas verdes" (green bellies) supposedly because they eat so much aguacate.

Juan Goman sporting green and white for Antigua.

 General admission tickets cost 25Q (divide by 8), and preferencia tickets cost 50Q because they have a better view of the field and include access to bathrooms.

Now that's a panza verde.

You can bring Gallo beer and other drinks inside as long as you put it into a humiliating plastic baggie first and drink it with a straw. No booze inside the stadium, only bebidas. As such, the place just about empties at half-time. Everyone files out, just outside the gates, to chug a beer and buy some meat off the grill before the game resumes. The exodus was a little confusing for us. Was the game over? Where was everyone going? I had to ask and that was a little embarrassing, so I downed a 16-oz Gallo to compensate.

Inside the estadio, you can buy nuts, candy and other snacks (some stale, crunchy-looking fried things with hot sauce upon request) from a vendor under the age of 10, as well as ice cream.

Derek sports a Panza Verde jersey for Antigua.

The crowd wasn't huge but it was lively. The drums I came to know and love during Semana Santa were once again present for the futbol game. A few guys would pound out rhythms for us to chant along to. Most were "Go Antigua!" and others I will not repeat here.

The good guys won, 2 to 1. All in all, a good time.