It just happened that one of the biggest soccer games of the year in Brazil occurred during the week we were in Rio, so we bought tickets and braced ourselves for a wild ride. We got on the subway two hours before the game was to start, but it was already packed with enthusiastic fans, dressed in the colors and uniforms of their favorites. Today's matchup was between the two best teams in the league this season, who also happen to be from neighboring locales of Rio: Flamengo and Botafogo (which literally means "make fire"). This game would decide the city's champion. People all over Brazil would be watching.