FOOTBALL/SOCCER WORLD CUP IS COMING (By Hostel Buenos Aires)

For a football/soccer loving country as Argentina, the World Cup isn’t just another game. South Africa 2010 will be a unique moment for millions of Argentines that will remember it for 4 years wile waiting for the next one. As football/soccer fans, Argentines will want to watch not only their national team’s matches but every game there’s on TV. They calculate every possible match that comes on the future and try to guess the luck of their long time rivals. The World Cup starts next week and Hostel Colonial tells you how to enjoy it in Argentina.

The first important thing is to know the dates and times of the matches in Argentine time zone. The World Cup starts on Friday June the 11th and ends on Sunday July the 11th. The three scheduled times are at 8.30 AM, 11 AM and 3.30 PM local time. A World Cup for extended breakfasts and lunches. Pubs and restaurants are the favorite places for Argentines to watch the games. Watch Out, they will be crowded.

During the matches (especially those that Argentina will play), the city will be –literally- stopped. People gathered round the TV’s in shops windows, listening to the radio in the public transportation or staring at the giant screen located in front of the Obelisco, anywhere. If you want to go to a pub, make sure you make a reservation before (and somewhere close to the main screen).

The experience won’t be complete until you see the sky-blue and white shirts, with the endless arguments in houses, pubs and streets about the games played and those to come, with predictions, tips and bets. During the month of the World Cup, media will transmit nothing but football/soccer and the social mood will be measured by the path of Argentina in the competition. To watch a World Cup is always special, but to live it in Buenos Aires, Argentina is even better.