Paralympics - Brazilian Football Crowds Struggle to Stay Quiet

(ATR) The crowd roars as a shot rings off the post, the excitement in the Paralympic park football stadium bubbling over as Brazilian fans cheer on the home team. But fans are quickly instructed to temper their boisterousness. Such is life as a 5-a-side football spectator.

Crowds watching the football must remain silent during play. The forwards, who are all visually impaired, wear blindfolds and the ball has a noise-making device inside allowing the players to locate it.

For Brazilian fans, this silence during play goes outside of footballing norms; crowds are usually raucous cheering their home side on. Fans do their best to respect the players, but the atmosphere is nothing like the famed Maracana stadium in Rio.

The near capacity crowd saved their excitement for Brazil’s two goals, exploding in support of the current world champions. Near misses were greeted with loud cheers and the crowd looked for chances to voice their support when play stopped. During timeouts the Brazilian team received rousing applause and chants.

In the second half Brazil's numerous attacks on goalsparked a noisy reception. Referees were quick to call for quiet.

"[Being a fan here] is tough, we have to contain ourselves," Rafael Marin, 39, tolAround the Rings at halftime.

Marin is from Rio de Janeiro and is a fan of local club Fluminese. It was his first trip to see 5-a-side football match. The experience has him wanting to seek out a club in Rio that plays so he can attend matches after the Paralympics.

"I thought there was a penalty kick, so I wanted to scream out penalty, but I had to refrain. It is tough. We are not very educated," he said.

Midway through the second half, Brazil were awarded a penalty, allowing the crowd a chance to cheer. Cassio scored to double their lead. Te crowd began to sing "I am Brazilian," a traditional chant during national team matches.

"[The sport] is very difficult to play because they can’t see the goal and don’t know where to shoot the ball," Everton da Silva said to ATR.

Da Silva, 35, is a fan of Flamengo, one of Fluminese’s biggest rivals. Matches between the two teams are noisy affairs; it's one of the most famous football rivalries in the world. He said football matches in Brazil are normally "like a party" and he struggled to contain himself when watching this match.

"Here, we have to respect them and not cheer when they shoot the ball," Da Silva said. "It is a tranquil atmosphere."

Brazilian player Nonato told reporters that the crowd provides the players with "a lot motivation". Still, when the crowd ends up cheering when they are not supposed to it can cause more harm than good for the players.

"In the moment [the cheering] is not always great," Nonato. "[The support] though, is very important."

Brazil have won both of their matches at Rio 2016 and sit top of Group A. They are favorite to win a fourth straight gold medal. The win means Brazil are guaranteed to move into the knockout round. If the team completes its mission to reach the final and win, fans will definitely be at their loudest.

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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