One of these ties, as frivolous as it may seem, was that which we had with the local (at that time, first division and competitive) football team, Union Atletico Maracaibo, and more importantly, the people who we would share 90 minutes with per week. We would know (personally) the players, meet with our friends and bump into new people every Sunday. Sometimes we would even travel our beautiful country to see them play in another city.
Photos taken by Melissa, more in her Flickr account.
Yet, almost coincidentally, at least chronologically, with our departure from Venezuela a steep decline set in the club, with the pulling away of the club’s main sponsor (the Mayor of Maracaibo) that meant both a complete exodus in the sports side of the club and the decay of the structure (mainly the organizational aspect), bankruptcy and disappearance were almost a certainty.*
Now, what has emerged from these turbulent times has been the shinning light in this moment: fans that loved the team have rescued it from oblivion. This may seem like a similar narrative that has occurred in many other places, but the thing that amazes me is that this type of thing doesn’t generally happen back home, let alone in football or by young people with no commercial interest (or possibilities with investments). But, this is what happened.
Photos taken by Melissa, more in her Flickr account.
Through the laborious back and forth of a couple of fans who refused to let this club die, today that effort begins to pay off when a new board (built up, mostly by regional investors that would not be there were it not for these fans) has effectively taken over the team. This means it exists, for now.
Here is the part where we come in. Obviously, the many years of obsessively following and supporting a football team in a country where the culture is not so massive has meant that we have had much contact to the past and the present of this club, and therefore, when this was happening, we threw our hat into the ring and offered our services to aid in whatever we could, even so far away, for free (initially).
Upon discussion with these people with whom we are very grateful for (because of keeping something that has meant so much to us alive), we are now beginning to collaborate with other people dispersed through out the globe who share our passion and have (great) skills in areas of branding and design, to begin to advice and even develop the brand and promotion of the club. We will also contribute in other areas, because, at this time, everyone is involved in everything they can.
Among the plans they have is expanding the club to house other sports such as indoor soccer and basketball teams and open up the ownership program to sell shares, so that now many and not few have a say in what happens in the club.
What this brings us to is the revelation (in practice) that even at these times of relative personal uncertainty due to the multiple variables in our lives (money/job/residence) we have found it refreshing not only to work in something we are passionate about, but also that the will to contribute is born not our of economic compensation, but out of the purely intrinsic thrill of it. And this excites our possibilities.
And, in more ways than one, this project has helped revive and even augment one important tie to the place we call ‘home’, and the people that constitute it. So, very hopefully, long live Union Atletico Maracaibo.
We will be updating our advancements.
PS. If anyone that reads this has something they would like to contribute (be it knowledge, ideas or, heck, even money, please feel free to contact me).
*Merely for contextual reasons I must explain that football, though contradictory with the trend in the rest of South America, is far from Venezuela’s principal sport, following from a distance (in ratings, investment, structure and tradition) Baseball. So much so, that it is more common for football teams to appear and disappear every year.
