Eating fire - São Paulo

Eat Fire!!! Image credit: Jovempan

As many of you know, the BH (Brazilian husband) is from Ribeirão Preto, a city about three hours northwest of São Paulo, in the agricultural interior of the state. We get there for a visit about every three months, a little less in the hot months...temperatures there can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit easily in January.  I melt at around 95.

Next week we may go for a visit because our niece turns one and there will be a party.  And then BH said to me "why don't we see if there are tickets for 'Come-Fogo' (Eat-Fire) on Sunday?" And I said....huh?  For two reasons. One, I've never heard of that team and Two, somehow my husband is mistaking me for someone who likes football.

Turns out "Come-Fogo" or "Eat Fire" is the name of a classico. A classico is a grudge match like Corinthians-São Paulo here or Flamengo-Vasco in Rio.  Oh, okay, I will help the Americans: like Ohio State-Michigan. Or Yale-Harvard. Or Boston-New York.  Sorry, I cannot help Europeans, I have no idea the rivalries. 

In this case, the classico is Comercial de Ribeirão Preto (not to be confused with my team Comercial de Piauí)  vs Botofogo: Come - Fogo.  

There are a number of these nicknamed rivalries that make me laugh. There is of course Fla-Flu in Rio which is Flamengo vs Fluminense, and Bota-Ferro which is Botafogo (again from Rib Preto) versus Ferroviária de Araraquara (never heard of a team named for a railroad, but let me think on that...Maria Fumaça? No). And Choque-Rei which is the game between Palmeiras and São Paulo.

Things start getting worse when you head out of the "civilized" territories. In Sergipe, the "Derby Sertanejo" is between Nossa Senhora das Dores (Our Lady of Pain) and Nossa Senhora da Glória (Our Lady of Glory) and I can tell you I'm on the side of glory.  In João Pessoa, there is "Botauto", a tongue-twister of a rivalry between Auto Esporte (??? football????) and Botafogo. Yes ANOTHER Botafogo. Then there's "Mare-Moto" in Maranhão between Moto Clube (seriously now, folks, it's football) and Maranhão AC.  My favorite is probably "Pa-Tu" in Belem which is between Paysandu (one of the contenders for my new Brazilian team) and Tuna Lusa. I translate Tuna Lusa as a Portuguese tuna fish. That's got to be good. And Pa-Tu sounds like duck so I'm pretty in favor of that too.

 Bring on the dinner...I mean football!