May I Please Hate This Rooster?

I try not to use the word hate too much. "Strongly dislike" is much nicer, right? But I don't think "strongly dislike" can adequately describe my abhorrence for all things Galo (Portuguese for rooster) this week.

On Monday night about 9:30, a car stopped on the street right in front of our building and proceeded to honk it's horn for a good 10 or 15 minutes straight. It was more than a smidgen annoying. But that was just the start of it. For the next several hours into the night the honking continued off in the distance, up and down our street, and right in front of our building. It was eventually joined with shouts and yells, and then we heard it: "Gaaaaaaloooooooo!" Futebol! We should have known it! What else gets Brasilians this excited? (Don't believe me? Go here and see/listen for yourself!)

We knew there wasn't a game Monday night though and we had never heard this much commotion before, so what on earth could possibly have the fans of the Atlético Mineiro soccer team so excited? Turns out the club turned 100 on Tuesday. Yep, that's all. The club has been around for 100 years, and for this reason all the Galo fans of the city felt it necessary to lay on their horns while driving up and down the city's streets and yelling at all hours of the night for 3 nights straight.

Now, I come from the glorious south and college football (especially if you cheer for a superb team, you know, like the Georgia Bulldogs) might as well be a religion. And game day in Athens is really a red and black sight to be seen. And when we beat some big SEC rival like Tennessee or Auburn, there tends to be a good bit of gleeful chaos for the next several hours. But seriously, this much hoopla for a team's anniversary?

Look Galo fans, I will kindly part with my sleep at night due to noisy madness if you've just won a big game or championship or something. But seriously, three nights of noise on account of a 100th anniversary?

And this, my friends, is why I am requesting permission to use the word hate here. I will probably get over it soon enough, just not this week. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some chicken I need to start cooking for supper.