Club: Barcelona Sporting Club, the most popular club in Ecuador. 14-time domestic champions (hence the 14 stars beneath the crest) based in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s biggest city. Crest thieves apparently founded before international copyright laws existed.
League: Ecuadorian Serie A
Photo Subject: Tired. And Brave. Really, really tired and brave. The idea of falling asleep on the subway scares the shit out of me. People are always stealing, puking or jacking off down there.
Location: REM-cycling downtown on the 2 Train from 125th St.
I caught this guy (identity protected with emojis) snoozing on the 2 Train when I got on at the 125th Street station headed downtown Thursday afternoon. Ecuadorian soccer represents remarkably well Uptown . On Nov. 18, I saw a young woman in an Emelec cap when I got on the A Train at 145th Street. On Wednesday, I spotted the Emelec Bicampeon SUV in Washington Heights. The next day, I encounter this guy repping Emelec’s bitter rival Barcelona on his woven man purse.
In fact, Ecuadorian soccer shows up all around NYC. That makes sense. As of 2011, about 258,000 people of Ecuadorian descent lived in New York. The father of my former coworker played in the Emelec youth and reserve teams. He now lives in Bushwick.
I first realized the force of Ecuador’s soccer presence in NYC when I visited El Pequeño Coffee Shop in Jackson Heights during the 2014 World Cup. That day, Ecuador defeated Honduras 2-1 and the fans poured onto Roosevelt Ave. to celebrate.
The Ecuadorian Serie A pride is a nice break from the procession of mundane Madrid, Manchester, Milan, London-based clubs I usually encounter. It’s fun to see people rocking the other Barcelona once in a while.
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