Appologies if you don't care, but I'm excited so I had to post. Inter Playa del Carmen is a Mexican terceradivision (D3) team that plays in Playa del Carmen Mexico. The city is an upscale tourist town about halfway between Cancun and the Belize border on the Yacatan East coast. It's endless turquiose water and white sand right on one of world Meccas of scuba diving. I personally reccommend the completely outdoor Blue Parrot for nightly Reggae by the ocean, swings (seriously actual swings) at the bar counter, the fire show, and cold Sol o Tecate o XX. I digress. My little sister lives and works in Playa and she happened to call my Mom while I was there Sunday. Circumstance would have it that the local 11 had a home second-leg Semifinal played this afternoon, down 1-0 from the first leg. The backstory is that Playa were flat pounded in the round of 32 in the Apertura and went into the Clausura missing a keeper (more on him later). Their Group I has 15 teams so a "season" is 14 games. Without the rock of a keeper they had indifferent results and were mid-table when a decision was handed down to reverse a 3-1 win into an 0-2 loss per some bylaw violation. I'd tell you what it was, but mi Espanol es pobre. Anyway...Playa got their keeper back, found the offense and ripped off 14 pts in the last 6 games to barely qualify for the 32-team bracket. I don't quite know how they did that as they still finished 6th of 15 and there are 10 Groups, most of them having more teams, in D3! Playa then destroyed the first 3 opponents going 5-1 on the way to this Semi. In talking to my sister, eventually I asked about the game as the score will not be on the 'net until Monday. She said she didn't go, didn't care (I swear she's not really my sister), but that a good chunk of the town started with fireworks and dancing in the streets about 3p our time (same time zone in Cancun). Sounds like a winner to me! None of you may care, but I was pretty excited to see a team I care about make it to a promotion final. Plus the thought of actually being there to take part in a celebration like that bring a smile to my face too. I still can't believe my sister just doesn't get it! {sigh} BTW, if it matters, many of the cheers in Playa are similar to ones the Mystics do here: Clap_Clap Clap_Clap_Clap Clap_Clap_Clap_Clap INTER! (raise arms) Ole chant One chant is a widely known song among the locals, dealing with the oppositions' lack of juevos and their mother's purity. Yet another deals with the rivals, kind of a cross between the "We hate ______" song and the Chiefs' "We're gonna beat..." TD chant. The single best part of the whole deal is that you can bring anything you want into the stadium...think about that! Friendly European women, blue water, warm air, great food, and a stadium that costs $1 to get in. Unbelievable. This is long so I'll leave the GK story {Meola is in it}, the stadium trashcan, and how I was intro'ed to this team for other posts if people want to read it. INTER!
Charter, where down there can I watch the Cuartofinalistas take on Pais de Gales (That's US-Wales to you Gringos) Mrs Blitzz Boy & I are headed there at the end of this month for a week. PZ from the Galaxy boards was also down there recently. I bought a map that says that there is a place called "Futbol Pasion" on Primera Avenida (near the beach.) Will they show US-Wales or are they still mad about Jeonju?
If you walk up the beach North past the soccer goals direct from the ferry dock you will come across a whole host of restaurants on your way. The ones with specials put out chalkboards with signs saying "HOY! E.E.U.U. v Pais de Gales a una hora" or something like that, then the sign will follow with the specials. Point being, if any big game is on, every tavern will put it on a sign to draw in people. If you want to get off the beach or like cheap well-poured mixed drinks, just go 2 streets off the beach and about 4-5? blocks North of the McDonald's to a bar that is upstairs from a restaurant. This place always has American sports on the tube. Sry, it's been so long I forgot the name. It's the only bar you have to walk upstairs to get to. It faces the ocean as you walk out and is on the West side of the street in the middle of a block. The actual bar is about 400 square feet of open air booths, tables, and a rail that overlooks the street. Part of the "charm" of the bar is that they put a rubber spider on a line and dangle it out to surprise people walking down the street. I saw two WC qualifiers at one of the beach places and I would recommend that. Get there early whatever you do, no bigscreens in Playa. If you're in doubt about anything else fun, just ask the dive instructors at the Abyss dive shop, Dave and Diego. They are pros. It's next to the Blue Parrot on the beach. If you're thinking about going SCUBA let me know and I''ll PM you some personal reccommends. Bring the big-gun sunscreen this time of year also, BTW. Pale people get lobstered. Also change your money away from the ocean as the rates are better. Cheers.