Brazzil

With a #5 ranking in the world, USA Soccer has never had higher expectations.
With making the qtr finals in the 2002 Cup, the pressure is on to go farther.. Could be a difficult task with the Czechs and Italy in their group. Personally, I would love to see Brasil win,,, again. Americans would not appreciate a world cup like the Brasilians do.

I'm just hoping to learn a little more about the game and enjoy some good soccer.

Casual fan in Philadelphia

Go Brazil...win one more

Anyone have any info on this tournament that no one seems to know much about? Thanx

In the bitter cold of the Canadian winter bundled in a woolen jacket, shoveling the snow off the drive way, visions of the mythical hedonism of Rio and the steaming Amazon rain forest strayed into my mind and stubbornly refused to leave. Fed up at last with my poor frost bitten fingers and toes and with the winter ration of eight hours of sunlight a day, I marched over to the closest travel agency and booked myself a ticket to white sandy beaches and untamed tropical jungles. I was going to Brazil…..
Part I: The Bikini Culture

With the prospect of sun bathing on the beach foremost in my mind, my first order of business upon arrival in Rio was to head straight to the shops to buy a swim-suit. I hadn’t bothered digging through my closet for last summer’s swim suit, as I assumed that in Rio de Janeiro, of all places, it would be quite easy to find a replacement. Weaving in and out of the throngs of sun seekers, I passed by a few street stalls and inspected some stringy things attached to tiny triangles of material masquerading as bathing suits. I naturally drew the conclusion that Brazilian women must be extremely, shall we say, flat surfaced, as otherwise they could not possibly find enough triangular material here to conceal all the important parts. But I was confident that in the next store just around the corner I would find something suitable to my North American sense of modesty.

I had done enough research on Brazil in my “Let’s Go South America” guide book to know that one-piecers are only acceptable for women who are either pregnant or over the age of sixty, so I wisely headed for the bikini rack. Again scandalized by rows of tiny stringy triangles, I quietly asked the sales girl if she had anything with a bit more material. Rolling her eyes, she handed me a bikini dubiously labeled “extra large”. I could not imagine how I would possibly show myself in public wearing it. However, since there were no other options, I threw it on under my shorts and t-shirt and strolled a few more blocks to my destination: the Copacabana Beach.

The scene from the boardwalk was a bay of brilliant blue ocean and a long strip of white sand crowded with bodies glistening in the sun, playing soccer and lying in the sand, all done whilst sporting the tiniest bikinis imaginable. Not to be outdone by the women, the men could be seen strutting up and down the boardwalk and running around with a soccer ball in mini briefs that barely covered the essentials. The atmosphere was one of an overpowering sensuality. Wearing anything other than a teeny tiny bikini would be like arriving at the ball in a potato sack. Rio is a city that pulsates with sexual energy; everyone walks around looking incredibly sexy at any given time of day and in any situation. The women, almost without exception, have long hair, which is always worn loose, and nothing other than the most skin tight, brightly colored, and terribly hip clothing will do.

In Brazil you are never more than about 500 meters away from a soccer field. Even the most remote village in the Amazon undoubtedly will feature a large field with goal posts at either end. However, the hobby that comes in as a close second is checking out all the other sexy beautiful people walking by. This practice can best be enjoyed whilst seated at one of the many restaurants on the beach boardwalk sipping out of a coconut. Brazilian men are unapologetically preoccupied with rear-ends. They will not let a single one pass by without careful scrutiny. Neither will the women let a handsome man stroll by without shooting him a lustful glare. At least they are egalitarian in their practices.

However, it is the city of Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas, that has brilliantly married these two venerated symbols of Brazilian culture, soccer and bikinis, into one glorious event. Every year a major soccer tournament is held in Manaus in which each participating team is represented by a beauty queen. These beauty queens are required to dress in sneakers, their team jersey, and, of course an itsy bitsy bikini. As one tournament organizers explained, the women have an important political role as the woman who wins the beauty contest ensures a place for her team in the finals. Even more importantly, their presence reduces fighting and rioting at the tournament as “it is very difficult to become violent in the presence of beautiful women.” Sage advice.

written by N. Taiyab

Most time foreigners just focus on the bad things in Brazil and forget the same bad things they have in their countries.
Thanks, again. You deserve coming back and enjoying much more. I suggest you listen to bossa nova every time you want to remember Brazil.

You sold me on buying a ticket to Rio next year. Nice going.