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DO YOU SUPPORT BOTAFOGO?
Tell us why in an email () and we'll stick it up here.
Why Botafogo?
by Steve Groom
I was in Brazil in 95 repairing equipment at the University of Rio. Our
agent in Brazil, Avelino, was a Fluminese fan but his brother-in-law,
Mario, was for Botafogo. Mario told me about the history of the club and
it sounded similar to my own team, Manchester City, and my mind was made
up. I went with his family and friends to a couple of games including the
one against Vasco which they needed to win to qualify for the championship
play offs. I remember it was a Sunday and the temperature in the stadium
was 35 degrees. The atmosphere in the Maracana was fantastic, lots of
flares and noise. I was sporting my newly purchased Botafogo shirt which
was soon drenched in sweat and litres of water that Mario poured on me to
try and cool me down. The game finished 2-0 and Tulio scored one of the
goals (It is a bit hazy due the copious amount of beer I was given before
the game and having my bald English head fried by the hot Brazilian Sun!).
I was known as the man with the "Hot Feet" because of the good luck I'd
brought them. Mario implored me to stay in Brazil until the championship
was finished but as it turned out I wasn't needed and they captured the
trophy without me. I couldn't get the games on TV in the UK but they did
show pictures of the team flying home to Rio with the trophy on the sports
news.
After this, whenever I went on the Playstation with my son I would be
Botafogo. Sadly, either through lack of talent on my part or a defect in
the programming of the Botafogo players, I was unable to recreate skilful
free flowing Brazilian football and always lost. As I write this ten years
on Botafogo are back at the top again and my feet are warming up. Maybe I
should be planning another trip to Rio in November!
Star and Stripes
by Arthur Dapieve, columnist with O Globo
Botafogo appeared in my life as a Star and Stripes flag. A lone star.
Black-and-white stripes. Not a word on it, not even a letter. Just that. A
little bit melancholic, but also a very powerful symbol. I was a child at
Maracanãzinho - Maracanã's little brother, an arena - to see the Moscow
Circus. My father is a Vasco fan, and that would naturally be my way, but
that evening, when the guy who sells flags approached us, he told me: "Son,
choose the flag you like the most. That will be your team." Wise man. I was
about three years old. Almost 37 years had pass since then and my passion
for Botafogo has only grown. Grown from that childish attraction for an
enigmatic black-and-white single-star flag to a whole system of facts,
reasons and beliefs that makes me who I am and explains the world I live in.
It may sound as a cliché but, yes, you might call Botafogo a religion.
Because its history it's full of saints and miracles. The greatest of all
saints being Garrincha, the right-wing that was know as "a alegria do povo"
(the people's joy). But also Nilton Santos, Didi, Zagallo, Amarildo,
Jairzinho, Gerson, Paulo César, Roberto Miranda, Manga, Heleno de Freitas,
and Túlio have a place of honor in this ball-shaped Heaven. The miracles
include Brazil's first three World Cups. In all of then not only the names
of the top players were very familiar to my side but the way the teams
played were also Botafogo inspired. In 1962, when Pelé was injured, the
frontline of the "Selecão" became Garrincha, Didi, Vavá, Amarildo e Zagallo.
Well, only Vavá did not play for Botafogo at that moment. Now, with Botafogo
in Brazilian's second division for the first time in its history, I look at
the team and cannot see any star. Then, I turn my faith again to that old
Star and Stripes flag.
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Why I loved Botafogo
by William Schomberg
It wasn't long after I arrived in Rio in 1993 that Botafogo suffered one of
their worst ever runs of form - about a dozen games without even scoring a
goal. Not normally the stuff to win new fans. But the appeal of the underdog
combined with the unflinching faith of my neighbour Sergio got me down to
the Maracana and that was enough to turn me black and white. A bit like the
Brazilian national side, Botafogo is a team forever struggling under the
burden of past glories. Garrincha, the only player who Brazilians consider
anything close to a challenger to Pele as the country's greatest ever
footballer, played for them for almost all his career. Other Brazil stars
like Nilton Santos, Zagallo and Jairzinho also bore Botafogo's shining star
badge on their chests. By 1995, something glorious was brewing again. The
side, led by strikers Tulio and "Black Panther" Donizete and anchored at the
back by Goncalves, began to win. As Rio's other big clubs stumbled, 'Fogao'
emerged as the city's only contender for the Brazilian championship.
Dwindling crowds swelled suddenly to 70,000. After edging a tight semi-final
against Cruzeiro, it was Botafogo against Santos in the final -- the heirs
of Garrincha against the descendants of Pele. I was there to see Botafogo
win the first leg narrowly 2-1 through a fog of glandular fever in a night
of pouring rain at the Maracana. Too ill to face the journey to Sao Paulo, I
watched the return game on TV, surrounded by non-Botafogo friends ready to
gloat. But somehow, Fogao held on to a 1-1 draw and were champions . It was
a fleeting moment. Botafogo are now slugging it out in the second division,
the stars of '95 long gone. But occasionally, when the saudades of nostalgia
for Brazil come on strong, I call up the photos of that season, listen to
the club anthem faintly down the Internet while trying to remember how it
sounded like in the packed Maracana, and I dream about the next time.
Alistair Smith
Streatham Hill, London (formerly Leblon, Rio)
As a kid in Rio I had always found the single black star a compelling image.
But only three years ago, when wandering around Brasilia in a Botafogo T-shirt did I realise how special the community of fans is. On four occasions, exiled Cariocas stopped me in the street to express their love of Botafogo with one uttering the poetic phrase - 'That single star is the most beautiful star in the sky'.
Why I support Botafogo
by Max Leal
I was born in Rio de Janeiro. In the 1960's the best team in the city was Botafogo, but as a small child I would not know that.
My family was a combination of Fluminense and Vasco supporters. But they were all members of the Fluminense Club. Our membership gave us access to every activity of the club and I was taken along by all members of the family to games, parties and even gala receptions. That was a little overwhelming to me, and I did not really enjoyed it, after all a was a little kid that wanted to play in the park, not be an expectator all the time.
But the fact was that by the time I was 6 years old Fluminense was almost my second home. My father would take me to the tennis court to watch him play, my sister would take me to kids parties and to the swimming pool, my grandfather liked to play some sort of oldpeople's bowling, and my uncles would take me to basketball, volleyball and football (soccer) games.
In one of these occasions one of my uncles took me to Maracana for the first time (before I would only go to game at the Flumiense club in Laranjeiras), It was very difficult for me to see anything, because people kept standing up and the game was very lively. I asked my uncle what was the name of the other team. The uniform was a beautiful black and white stripes that stood up against the green of the field. He told me it was Botafogo. Everyone around me were supporting Fluminense and I could see that Botafogo was clearly a more skilful team.
So part because I felt bad because no one was supporting Botafogo and part because I was sensing that Fluminense was not going to win that one, I decided to cheer for Botafogo.
I don't know the score for sure (3x1 or 3x2), but I do know that Botafogo won that game. It was 1967 and Botafogo went on to win the next two state championships.
But even though it took 21 years for the next title (1989), my love for the club only grew. Last year the club was competing for its first time in history in Brazil's second division. But my first born child left the hospital wearing a newborn Botafogo uniform.
By Max Leal (Entrepreneur)
Send us your favorite fan's sites and we'll put them up here.
Information compiled by: Mark Lowdon
Last page update: April 3 2005
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