I find it quite interesting that the mayor in Bogotá decided to have ley seca during the days when Colombia is playing in the World Cup. Ley seca is freely translated to "dry law", which means you are forbidden to buy or consume alcohol in any part of Bogotá, not all of Colombia. You can't buy it in any super markets, not in restaurants and definitely not consume it in the streets. The point with this restriction is so it would be less fights and a more calm celebration atmosphere. There are different views to this restriction, and at first I thought this is a bit ridiculous since the World Cup will only last for a month and in the end we are all just happy Colombia is winning. I know most people want to go to a bar, watch the game while having a beer or two. If/when Colombia wins then maybe have a couple more to celebrate. Now this is impossible. I do come from a country with a strong consumption of alcohol and for me it's impossible to even think they would ever forbid it during season of ice hockey or even the World Cup, even though Finland is not playing.
This was my first opinion.. But then I looked into it a bit more and I do understand the ley seca a bit better now. I know there are many more fights in Bogotá because of the games since people start fighting and acting mad, and with alcohol involved it gets even worse, that goes for everywhere in the world. It's just easier to step over the line after drinking too much. Fights are a small comparison to what could actually happen, I also know that.
I do think alcohol is not the only problem to how people start acting after a game. One of the major tools people are using after the game is foam spray, which tend to end up on and in every car that passes. I can imagine this could be a good trigger to start a fight, if you maybe don't want the spray inside your car but left the window open. Yes a bit your own fault but I can understand how that person feels if he doesn't care about the game. This usually happens around the more crowded areas and that is close to the big screens the city put up. They wrote in the news how some streets were blocked for a few hours after the game, and yes, of course they are blocked since people go out to watch the game together and afterwards it's natural that the crowd goes a bit crazy because they are so happy. I think this doesn't really go hand-in-hand; why put up a lot of big screens around the city and then sort of want people not to use them..
This was my first opinion.. But then I looked into it a bit more and I do understand the ley seca a bit better now. I know there are many more fights in Bogotá because of the games since people start fighting and acting mad, and with alcohol involved it gets even worse, that goes for everywhere in the world. It's just easier to step over the line after drinking too much. Fights are a small comparison to what could actually happen, I also know that.
I do think alcohol is not the only problem to how people start acting after a game. One of the major tools people are using after the game is foam spray, which tend to end up on and in every car that passes. I can imagine this could be a good trigger to start a fight, if you maybe don't want the spray inside your car but left the window open. Yes a bit your own fault but I can understand how that person feels if he doesn't care about the game. This usually happens around the more crowded areas and that is close to the big screens the city put up. They wrote in the news how some streets were blocked for a few hours after the game, and yes, of course they are blocked since people go out to watch the game together and afterwards it's natural that the crowd goes a bit crazy because they are so happy. I think this doesn't really go hand-in-hand; why put up a lot of big screens around the city and then sort of want people not to use them..
I read an article in the news paper last week and it got me thinking about this. This is only my opinion but I do feel beer and game go together. There is just a bit more to it when you start thinking about it. Not everybody knows how to behave, and since it has been 16 years since Colombia played in the World Cup it also gives "us" more to cheer for. Yes, maybe the bars do loose a lot of money since they are forbidden to sell alcohol but in the other hand they don't have to solve all the problems that (probably) would rise from drunk people going crazy after Colombia wins. The bars could, as many have, concentrate on other stuff instead of beer.
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| "The people in Bogota managed to celebrate the goals in peace" |
The newspaper writing about ley seca and how the city behaved after the game against Japan
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| "Business and bars: the victims of the ley seca" |
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| Before the game against Uruguay |
The celebration afterwards in Peñalisa, good example for the foam spray inside the car.
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