Paulo Alberto Monteiro de Barros, a writer, journalist, former senator, and emeritus Flamengo fan, a true Flamengo fan, passed away yesterday. A friend and admirer of Flamengo, he paid tribute to the Flamengo fan in the newspaper O Dia.

Being Flamengo

Arthur of the Table

Being a Flamengo fan means being human, whole, and strong in your capacity for purpose. It means having certainty, willpower, grit, and determination. It means passion and joy, a soul hungry for goals, and a will with determination.

It's being as strong as what is red and as black as what is total. Strong and total, growing in struggle, fight, courage, and determination.

Being a Flamengo fan means leaving sadness for after the battle and entering it fully, with the soul of a hero, the mind of a military genius, and the burning heart of a warrior. It means pronouncing with emotion the words flame, desire, claw, it's more me, ardor, I will, life, blood, sap, now, face, in the chest, faith, will. Sunstroke.

Being Flamengo is biting vigorously into the bread of the best passion; it is breathing deeply and not fearing; it is having a heart in step with the crowd.

Being a Flamengo fan means daring, defying the norm, confronting all forms of power with art, creativity, and dexterity. It means knowing when to go against the grain, when to jump the wall, when to outwit the fool, and when to be strong by siding with the weak. It means being able as much as willing. It means wanting as much as knowing; it means facing thunder or hymns of love with the firm gaze of conviction.

Being a Flamengo fan means fooling the guard, stealing the kiss. It means always dancing to distract power and curb injustice. It means moving forward where others stop, breaking down barriers where the prudent thrive, never regretting, except for what you don't do. It means sharing humility with each person's inner king.

It's believing, it's being, it's vibrating. It's winning. It's running toward; never running from. It's sap, it's salvation; it's vastness. It's forward, it's frank, it's strong, it's a hurricane. It's a flower that breaks down walls, a hand that does the work, a people that builds a country.