The world’s other great college weekend

What would college sports be like without scholarships, alumni, multimillion-dollar facilities or coaches who rake in more per year than state governors? What if college sports were exclusively for the students? Would the competition be as fierce? Would the students cheer as hard? Would the outcome even matter?\nOf course, Little 500 puts all those doubts to rest, but what about the other side of the equator? My friends, I have witnessed college sports in the land of coffee and samba, and yes, it still matters. And it is still a hell of a lot of fun. \nAs a student at Pontifica Católica Universidade in São Paulo, Brazil this (ongoing spring) semester, I attended JUCA, a four-day sports-fest where eight of São Paulo’s journalism schools compete Olympics-style in 15 events for the JUCA Championship.\nThis year JUCA, an acronym for Jogos Universitários de Comunicação e Artes, took place in the town of Registro, a three-hour drive outside the city. According to the official Web site, more than 8,000 students made the trip to sing, yell, dance and drink their schools to victory.\nIn Brazil, the best athletes play for club teams with no school affiliations. Athletics aren’t really a part of the college experience in Brazil. This was clearly evident throughout the weekend as the competition was more comparable to that found on IU’s intramural fields than in its stadiums. \nWhat the student-athletes lacked in skill, however, the fans made up for with passion. \nIn fact, after watching my adopted school compete in volleyball, basketball and soccer, it became clear the real game was in the stands – not on the court. The PUC fans, dressed in bright-yellow shirts featuring the school mascot, a “cachorro louco” or crazy dog, rocked the arena from the first serve to the last kick. Their energy could be felt as they jumped to the beat of drums, waved their arms wildly and bellowed some of the most creative (and vulgar) chants I’ve ever heard. (These chants would make a drill sergeant blush – if he understood Portuguese.)\nWhat made the crowd of 700 seem even stronger was the constant drumming of the PUC “bateria,” the percussion bands that led the crowd through every chant. Every school brought their own bateria, and if two were playing at the same time, the referees might as well have left their whistles at home.\nBeing a Hoosier at heart, I had planned on participating in men’s basketball in my first and last JUCA. A good game of basketball is nearly impossible to find in this soccer-crazed country, and I thought JUCA would be my chance to show off the skills I’d acquired growing up among the cornfields of Indiana. As the only gringo on the team, I was being hailed as the team MVP before I had even scored a basket. Considering I’m not even the team MVP on the HPER courts, hearing my name being chanted made me a bit nervous. I never got the chance to live up to the legend, however, as I was ruled ineligible for not bringing proper identification. It’s one of the few times the law has actually been enforced during my time in Brazil. In true PUC fashion, I watched my team lose by more than 30 points from the bench.\nIn team spirit, the “cachorros loucos” compare to the Chicago Cubs – that is, if the Cubs selected random fans from the stands before each game instead of fielding a team of professional athletes. And like the lovable losers, losing didn’t seem to phase the enthusiasm – although the always abundant supply of cold beer might have had something to do with that. Unlike in the states, the relationship between alcohol and collegiate sports in Brazil is openly acknowledged and celebrated. Even Pucão, PUC’s mascot, is depicted hoisting a pint.\nThe party continued in between and after games, one day bleeding into the next. When it comes to partying, Brazilians know no limits. It’s a round-the-clock marathon that takes just as much endurance and determination as any other athletic event. \nLittle 500 may hold the undisputed title of “World’s Greatest College Weekend” today. But watch out Hoosiers, Brazil’s JUCA ranks up there with any of the world’s great college weekends.