text by Arthur Muhlenberg

After a long and dark season away from home, Flamengo returns to Maracanã this Saturday ready to shake off the misery.

The thousands of cans of Neston purchased by the Rio branch of the Biggest Fan Club in the World leave no doubt as to the crowd's appetite for a victory.

And let's put aside our modesty, which is a natural quality of Flamengo fans. The promotion could have been done by an ant killer manufacturer; with the nostalgia Flamengo fans feel, there wouldn't be any cans of poison left on supermarket shelves. In the 50s, the impeccable Judge Eliezer Rosa, a fan of the friendly América do Rio, proposed to the legal expert and great Flamengo fan João Antero de Carvalho a bill that would force Flamengo to play every day and always win. In an excerpt from the historic correspondence between the two jurists of great depth, we find the vibrant passage:

"FLAMENGO is not just a club, a sports association. Flamengo is a religion, a sect, a creed, with its Bible and its major and minor prophets. Flamengo is a love, a devotion, an eternal communion of feelings. For it, many have given their lives, alienated freedom, destroyed friendships, ruined homes, with homicides and suicides. Flamengo, Flamengoism, to be more precise, is a heart disease. Flamengo gives you fever, meningitis, cirrhosis of the liver, neurosis, exaltation of life and death. Flamengo is a hallucination.

A Federal Law should be passed requiring Flamengo to play every day, everywhere in Brazil, and always win. When Flamengo wins, there is more love in the hills, more sweetness in homes, more excitement in the streets. Life sings, spirits rise, people work harder and better, children receive gifts. There are kisses in the squares and gardens, because the soul is at peace, happy. Flamengo cannot lose, must not lose. Its defeat frustrates, saddens, humiliates, and depresses. Health and national hygiene demand that Flamengo win, for the good of all, for general happiness, for national well-being.

It's a shame that Brazil's tradition of corruption, combined with the natural inaction of our upright legislators, hasn't turned Judge Eliezer Rosa's wishes into law. On the contrary, instead of promoting the well-being of a significant portion of the country's population with daily Flamengo games, the rotten powers that feudalistically rule this land called Brazil still commit every deceit in their power to prevent Flamengo from showing its face. But at least for today, this serious flaw in the Brazilian legal framework will be ameliorated with the return of the red-and-black warriors to the Maracanã pitch, the stage of so many victories.

Violently shaken by recent events, Flamengo's team remains a black box. After the unlikely ethnic and disciplinary cleansing carried out by Joel Cachaça, the experienced Fábio Luciano debuts in defense alongside the new addition Rômulo (three-time Junior Champion), who will have his first chance to defend our glorious colors.

Let's be realistic: if Joel fixes the defense, it would be a huge step forward, but we know that without offense, we won't get anywhere. That's why the fans, quite rightly, demand a worthy performance. They want to see grit, sweat, commitment to the Sacred Mantle, and the ball being kicked toward the goal (the opponent's goal, even without Irineu on the field, it's worth emphasizing) as many times as necessary.

Fearless and philosophical, Flamengo's fans will fulfill their part of the bargain and push the team from the moment they step onto the field. The warriors will be cheered, exalted, and encouraged. It's up to each of them to leave their dose of sweat, sacrifice, and talent (in that exact order) on the field so that Flamengo can leave the Maracanã pitch even greater than when they arrived.

Mengão Always