Not over till it's over

Friday, 20 May 2011

Not over till it's over

So, we've had the fireworks, the open-top bus tour, the stage show, the celebration dinner and official visits to the Mayor of Seville and the President of Andalucía...but did anyone remember that there are still three games left of the season?

Mid-table Huesca are tomorrow's visitors to Heliópolis for a fixture in which the only thing at stake is the division championship. Pepe Mel and the Betis players are obliged to say they're going all out to finish top of the table, but I suspect they couldn't care less - especially as a row is brewing about whether their bonuses for getting promoted will be delayed by the club's financial situation. In fact, what with suspensions, injuries and an important Betis B game at the weekend, it looks as though Betis might struggle to put out a team of 11 players at all.

Nevertheless, the game should still be worth attending. The people behind the Betisweb site have planned what they're calling a "Fiesta de papelillos" (confetti party) and will be handing out 3,000 loo rolls and 5,000 bags of confetti to the fans in the upper tiers of fondo (opposite the main stand). It sounds spectacular - and a nightmare to clean up.

In the absence of much more news - most of today's headlines are about bonuses (primas) or very speculative transfer rumours - let's feature another Bético song.

Today's is a bit different because the actions are as much part of the performance as the tune and the words. It starts when a chant goes out from Gol Sur: "¡Todo el campo! Todo el campo!" (The whole stadium.) The idea is that everyone should then crouch down, gradually rising as the tune unfolds: "Lo-lo-lo-lo-lo lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo..." By the time the only words are reached - "Forza Real Betis lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo" - all the fans are fully upright and going crazy.

As we discovered on Sunday night, this all works as well in an open space as it does in the Villamarín.