Jeremy will like this post!

Most guys in the U.S., if they are into sports, are into grid iron football. But a few of us have discovered the exciting world of international football (what we in the U.S. call soccer). When Jeremy and I were on our missions in Brazil we fell in with the Brazilian football craze and began rooting for our local teams. Jeremy, being in Campinas (near Sao Paulo), rooted for Palmeiras, a Sao Paulo team. Here's their logo:

I on the other hand rooted for two teams: One of Recife's local teams, Sport Club do Recife (here's their logo)

and probably the most famous of Brazilian teams, Flamengo, a team from Rio de Janeiro. One of my companions got me onto Flamengo. Here's their logo:

Well, as it turns out, all three of our teams won their respective state championships this year. Palmeiras beat Ponte Preta 1 -0 at Moises Lucarelli Stadium in Campinas in the 1st leg of the final and beat them again 5 - 0 at Palestra Italia Stadium in Sao Paulo in the 2nd leg of the final to win the championship. Since 1902 Palmeiras has won this championship 22 times (I can see the smile on Jeremy's face) Well, here ya go Jeremy; this video is for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0cgLz0y0Pw

Sport won their state championship for the 3rd year in a row against Central. The last game score was 1 - 1, but Pernambuco's state championship is based on a point system, so Central would have had to beat Sport by 8 points to win. Here's a video of that game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLyxaCl-WRc

Finally, here's a video of Flamengo beating Botafogo in both legs of the final. This is the second year in a row Flamengo has won this championship for a total of 30 times since 1906.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxsLewe5RWo

Also, both Flamengo and Palmeiras are represented on the Brazilian national team in recent matches to qualify for the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. Leo Moura, a right wingback (defense) for Flamengo was called onto the roster to play against Ireland back in February. And, Henrique Adriano, another defender from Palmeiras, was called onto the roster to play friendly matches against Canada and Venezuela in June this year. Incidentally, Brazil is hosting the World Cup in 2014.

I know that this post may not be of interest to some (except Jeremy), but it was fun for me. And who knows; maybe it's peaked the interest of someone in the family or our group of friends. Viva futebol e viva Brasil!