THAT BEACH OF (FLAMINGOS) SUNDAYS AND BUTTERFLIES

ON THE SANDS OF FLAMENGO, PHERUZA “HEARD” MANY SERENADES BEFORE BEING THE CLUB’S OFFICIAL BOAT.

FROM THE SINGING AND DRUMMING OF THE TAMOIO INDIANS ALONG THE RIO DE JANEIRO, TO THE HEROIC STRUGGLE OF ESTÁCIO DE SÁ IN THE NEIGHBORING VILLAGE OF FLAMIRIM, IN URUÇUMIRIM, IN DEFENSE OF THE CITY HE HAD FOUNDED, THAT BEACH WAS BORN TO THE CIVILIZED WORLD AS THE JOYFUL HEIRESS OF A BRAVERY THAT THE YEARS SHOULD PERPETUATE.

IN FACT, THAT BEACH WOULD BE THE FIRST IN A LOT FOR RIO DE JANEIRO. SINCE THE INSTALLATION OF THE FIRST STONE AND LIME HOUSE IN THE CITY, – WHICH ACCORDING TO DR. MELLO MAORAIS, IN HIS “GENERAL AND DETAILED CHRONICLE OF BRAZIL” WAS ERECTED BY VILLEGAIGNON, ITS OCCUPANT BEFORE THE ORDINARY JUDGE PEDRO MARTINS NAMORADO – IT HAS HAD THREE NAMES: PRAIA DA CARIOCA, PRAIA DO SAPATEIRO SEBASTIÃO GONÇALVES, AND, FROM 1948 PRAIA DO FLAMENGO.

THE STORY. FROM THE BEGINNING, I HAD NO DOUBT IN DEMONSTRATING THAT CARIOCA AND FLAMENGO WERE THE SAME BEACH AND WOULD BE THE SAME PEOPLE. FOR SOME RESEARCHERS, THE NAME “FLEMISH” ORIGINATED FROM THE RED, STRONG-BEAKED WADING BIRDS THAT ENJOYED THE CALM AND PICTURESQUE NATURE OF THE PLACE. FOR OTHERS, THE DUTCH WHO WERE TRANSFERRED TO RIO AND LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF PRAIA, AFTER BEING TAKEN PRISONER IN THE LIBERATION OF PERNAMBUCO IN THE 17TH CENTURY, GAVE IT THEIR NICKNAME OF “FLEMISH”.

IN ANY CASE, WHEN THE GERMAN OFFICER C. SCHLICHTHORST, LINKED TO THE FOREIGN BATTALIONS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE, DESCRIBED THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE INDEPENDENCE OF BRAZIL, SAYING THAT “THE FLAMINGOS FLY BY, WITH THE SPLENDOR OF THEIR BRILLIANT COLORS, AND THE BUTTERFLIES OF UNPRECEDENTED SIZE”, HE COULD NEVER IMAGINE THAT THE NAME FLEMISH WOULD BE REPEATED IN ALL QUARTERS OF BRAZIL WITH THE SAME SPLENDOR MENTIONED IN THE BEACH SCENERY.

HOWEVER, FOR A NAME TO SPROUT IN THE BUCOLIC CORNER OF A PEACEFUL CORNER AND ACHIEVE NATIONAL GLORY, IT WOULD BE NECESSARY A MIXTURE OF JOY AND TENACITY, WHICH THE RED AIR OF THE FLAMINGOS AND THE HERITAGE OF HEROISM OF THE FOUNDERS WOULD BE PRODIGAL IN INSPIRING A GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE BACK IN 1895.

AT THAT TIME, THE SEA REACHED ALMOST IN FRONT OF THE HOUSES ON THE BEACH. A SAND ALMOST 30 METERS WIDE WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NARROW STREET AND PAVED WITH WIDE STONES WHERE THE DONKEY-DRAWN CABLE CARS PARADED.

THE TIME OF LARGE BUILDINGS WAS LONG GONE AND THE TWO-STOREY HOUSES WERE FEW AND BELONGED TO THE VISCOUNT OF GUÁI AND THE PEDERNEIRAS, RODRIGUES LIMA AND LEITÃO DA CUNHA FAMILIES. THE LOCAL YOUTH GATHERED ON SUNDAYS ON THE BEACH WHERE THEY ALSO REPEATED THE SERENADES, PROLONGED ON CLEAR MOON NIGHTS.

PAGE 19 – 3 PHOTOS (SERENADE – MEN WITH THE FLAG AND FLAMINCOS)

THE FLAME

JOHN MAXIMUS

LITTLE BY LITTLE, IN MY OWN HOME, A PASSIONATE RED-BLACK MAN GREW. AND THE MORE HE GROWS, THE LESS I UNDERSTAND HIS PASSION. MANY FOOTBALL SCHOLARS HAVE TRIED TO UNRAVEL THE MYSTERY OF FLAMENGO – THE MYSTERY OF AN IMMENSE, PERMANENTLY INFLAMED, INCREDIBLY LOYAL AND TERRIBLY CONTAGIOUS FAN BASE, BUT THEY HAVE FAILED.

MÁRIO FILHO, FOR EXAMPLE, DEALT WITH THE SUBJECT IN THE ONLY BOOK EVER WRITTEN ON THE HISTORY OF THE CLUB. AND THE MOST HE COULD DO WAS COMPARE FLAMENGO TO THE WOMAN WE LOVE, WHO WE ELECT WITHOUT KNOWING WHY. THE BOY I SEE GROWING UP – A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD SON – ALSO CHOSE FLAMENGO WITHOUT KNOWING WHY. AND TO FLAMENGO HE GIVES HIMSELF, MORE AND MORE, WITH THE SAME DOSE OF ABSURDITY WITH WHICH HE WILL ONE DAY GIVE HIMSELF TO THE WOMAN HE LOVES.

BUT THAT’S JUST A COMPARISON. IT DOES NOT EXPLAIN FLAMENGO, MUCH LESS THE FEELING THAT THIS FOOTBALL CLUB AROUSES IN MILLIONS OF BRAZILIANS OF ALL SOCIAL CLASSES, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CREEDS, RACES AND AGES. MAYBE PSYCHOLOGY IS STILL THE ONLY WAY TO GO, IF THERE IS REALLY INTEREST IN KNOWING WHY FLAMENGO IS FLAMENGO.

PSYCHOLOGY NOTES THAT THERE IS A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOOTBALL AND RELIGION. FROM THE LATIN NOUN RELIGIO, OR FROM THE LATIN VERB RELIGARE, THE WORD RELIGION IS DERIVED. TO RECONNECT, TO REUNITE, TO REINTEGRATE THE INDIVIDUAL INTO A GROUP FROM WHICH HE OR SHE HAD DRIFTED AWAY. MODERN MAN, MORE THAN THAT OF THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY, EVEN MORE THAN OF THOSE OF HIS REMOTE ANCESTORS, HAS ISOLATED HIMSELF IN HIMSELF. THERE ARE SO MANY BARRIERS WHICH RENDER HIM ALMOST AN ABSOLUTE COMMUNICABILITY WITH HIS FELLOW-MEN, THAT HE IS, TO USE A VERY FASHIONABLE EXPRESSION, A STRANGER IN THE CROWD. ISOLATION, HOWEVER, IS AN IMPERATIVE, NOT A WAY OUT. EVERY NOW AND THEN, FINDING HIMSELF ALONE, THOUGH SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE ON ALL SIDES, HE IS DISTRESSED, OR DESPAIRS, OVER HIS OWN LONELINESS. AND HE SEEKS A WAY. IT IS THEN THAT HE RECONNECTS WITH THE GROUP, SEEKING TO ASSOCIATE, BODY AND SPIRIT, WITH THOSE WHO, LIKE HIM, ARE ALSO ALONE. THE ASSOCIATION IS ALMOST ALWAYS IDEOLOGICAL. MEN UNITE AROUND A GOD, A POLITICAL CAUSE, OR A FOOTBALL CLUB. AND THEY FEEL, AT THIS MOMENT, LESS ALONE. BUT THAT EXPLAINS THE CLUB’S PASSION, IN GENERAL, AND NOT THE PASSION FOR FLAMENGO, IN PARTICULAR. AND I’LL STAY PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I THOUGHT IT WAS POSSIBLE TO UNRAVEL THE MYSTERY. THE FACT THAT I WAS NOT RED-BLACK – AND HAD A RED-BLACK SON – SEEMED TO PUT ME IN A PRIVILEGED POSITION. BY LOOKING CLOSELY, FROM A NEUTRAL POINT OF VIEW, AT THE WHOLE FORMATION OF A FAN WHO CHOOSES HIS CLUB BY CHANCE, FREE FROM ANY PRESSURE, AND SEEING HOW THAT DELIVERY SO MADE OF ABSURDITY WAS PROCESSED IN HIM, PERHAPS HE COULD FIND THE ANSWER. BUT I WAS WRONG.

FLAMENGO, IN FACT, DOES NOT EXPLAIN ITSELF. FOOTBALL CLUB OR RELIGION, HIS MAGNETISM IS SOMETHING SO IRRESISTIBLE THAT EVEN WE, WHO DO NOT SUPPORT HIM, FEEL SUDDENLY STRUCK BY THE SPECTACLE OF HIS CHARANGA (A CHARANGA OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, COMPRESSED INTO THE CEMENT OF THE MARACANÃ), OR BY THE MAGIC OF HIS FLAGS. AND HOW MANY TIMES AT THE STADIUM PARTY HAVE WE BEEN SURPRISED WITH A LUMP IN OUR THROAT WHEN WE SEE FLAMENGO SCORE A GOAL, CELEBRATE A VICTORY OR SIMPLY ENTER THE FIELD? THAT’S WHY FLAMENGO BECOMES TERÌVELMENYE CONTAGIOUS, AS IF WE LOVED A WOMAN, AND COULDN’T HELP BUT VIBRATE, EVEN IF SECRETLY, FOR THE NEIGHBOR’S WIFE.

ONCE, I WAS ASKED WHY I DIDN’T TRY TO INFLUENCE MY SON BY BRINGING HIM TO MY SIDE AND MAKING HIM FORGET FLAMENGO. THEN I REMEMBERED MÁRIO FILHO, AND THAT COMPARISON WITH THE WOMAN WE ELECTED BY CHANCE, WITHOUT KNOWING WHY. AND I ASKED MYSELF A QUESTION: IF THE CHOICE WERE NOT MADE BY CHANCE AND I COULD ELECT MY CLUB, TODAY, RATIONALLY, MORE WITH MY HEAD THAN WITH MY HEART, WHAT WOULD I BE? FLUMINENSE OR BOTAFOGO? VASCO OR AMERICA? I AM NO DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER MAN OF OUR TIME AND, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, I ALSO FEEL REPULSED TO RECONNECT IN MOMENTS OF SOLITUDE. AND WHAT BETTER RELIGION IS THERE THAN THIS RED-BLACK, WHICH CONSOLES SO MANY?

AND I CONCLUDED THAT MY SON HAD CHOSEN THE RIGHT ONE.

THE SHIRT

DUARTE GRALHEIRO

IN THAT YEAR (1923) THE FANS OF FLUMINENSE, BOTAFOGO AND AMÉRICA HAD THE SAME FEELING. SOMEONE HAD TO BEAT VASCO AND IT COULD ONLY BE FLAMENGO.

FOOTBALL HAD BEEN IMPLEMENTED FROM THE TOP DOWN. BEING ENGLISH, IT WAS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO TOURISTS AND THE GOLDEN YOUTH, WHO AT THAT TIME WERE STILL GRADUATING IN EUROPE. AND IT WAS ALSO COSTLY. BOOTS, SOCKS, SHIRTS, CLUB FLAGS, IT WAS ALL BOUGHT IN ENGLAND. EVEN THE COLORFUL RIBBONS, WHICH THE FAN WORE ON THE STRAW HAT, TO DOCUMENT AN INTIMACY BETWEEN BED AND TABLE WITH THE CLUB, WERE AN IMPORTED PRODUCT. ABOVE ALL, FOOTBALL WAS A VIOLENT SPORT. AND THE CLUBS STILL DID NOT PAY THE DOCTOR TO HEAL THE WOUNDED. THE RICH WERE CURED WITH THE FAMILY’S FACULTY, BUT THE POOR PROBABLY DID NOT EVEN KNOW THE SYNONYM. HE CURED EVERYTHING WITH THE SAME RECIPE AS THE COLD: LETTING THE BODY FIGHT AND THE ORGANIC REACTION EXPEL THE ENEMY. ALL OF THIS MADE FOOTBALL, IN THE EARLY DAYS, AN ELITE SPORT. BUT THINGS WEREN’T GOING TO STAY THAT WAY, ALTHOUGH, AT THE TIME, NO ONE SUSPECTED IT. FLAMENGO WAS CHAMPION IN 14, WITH A TEAM OF NINE MEDICAL STUDENTS, ONE FROM LAW (BAENA) AND GALO, WHO WAS NOT STUDYING FOR ANYTHING, AS MÁRIO FILHO, THE INCOMPARABLE COLUMNIST OF THE HISTORY OF BLACK PEOPLE IN BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL, SAID WITH GUSTO.

            RICH DADDY’S SON ENJOYED A SMILING AND FRANK LIFE, TRAINED A FEW TIMES WITH A BALL, AND NEVER DID GYMNASTICS. ON SATURDAYS HE CONCENTRATED ON DANCING AND WENT TO BED AT THE BREAK OF DAWN ON THE SUNDAY OF THE GAME.

THAT’S WHEN VASCO CAME ON THE SCENE, WITH A TEAM OF BLACKS AND WHITES (ALL POOR), WORKING RELENTLESSLY FOR RAMON PLATERO, TOUGH AS A PRUSSIAN SOLDIER, A FAT CIGAR-WEARING YUSTRICH.  VASCO’S PLAYERS ATE THE BEST AND THE BEST. DORMIAN AT THE CONCENTRATION IN MORAIS E SILVA. THEY WENT TO BED ON A BRIGHT DAY AND WOKE UP WITH THE ROOSTERS OF DAWN. EVERY SINGLE DAY, THAT INDIVIDUAL, IN THE MILITARY STYLE, WALKS ALONG ST. FRANCIS XAVIER, UP THE BOULEVARD – SEPTEMBER 28 – AND BACK AT PLAZA 7.

ON THE FIELD, THE SONS OF PAI RICO, DESPITE BEING SKILLED AND TALENTED, COULD NOT STAND THE FIERCE, COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL DEVELOPED BY VASCO. EACH VICTORY (VASCO LOST ONLY 1 GAME IN 23) WAS A BLOW TO PEOPLE’S PRIDE AND A SHAKE TO THE ESTABLISHED IDEA. FOOTBALL WAS NOT THE PRIVILEGE OF WHITES. PANIC SPREAD AND THE FANS OF FUMINENSE, BOTAFOGO AND AMÉRICA HAD THE PRESENTIMENT. SOMEONE HAD TO BEAT VASCO AND IT COULD ONLY BE FLAMENGO.

AND SO IT WAS. FLAMENGO TAMED THE LION. THEIR PLAYERS DISAPPEARED FROM THE DANCES AND DANCES AND BEGAN TO WORK UNDER STRESS. NEVER BEFORE HAD A BIG CLUB PLAYER PREPARED WITH SUCH CARE. FLAMENGO’S REMADRES WRAPPED THEIR SHOVELS IN NEWSPRINT AND TOOK THEM TO LARANJEIRAS, THE MARACANÃ OF THAT TIME. PEOPLE FROM THE STATES CAME TO THE GAME AND THE SMALL STADIUM THREW PEOPLE FOR THE THIEF. FLAMENGO WON 3-2. THE VASCO SUPPORTER, DISSATISFIED, KEPT SAYING THAT IT WAS 3-3. CARLITO ROCHA, THE REFEREE, HAD REFUSED TO GIVE EQUALIZING’S GOAL, BUT FOR THEM THE BALL WENT IN. THE FLAMENGO PEOPLE DIDN’T CARE. THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE VICTORY SURPASSED THOSE THAT VASCO WOULD MAKE FOR THE TITLE. AFTER THE GAME, A PROCESSION OF CARS LEFT LARANJEIRAS AND, THE NEXT DAY, CABRAL’S STATUE DAWNED WITH A NECKLACE OF ONIONS.

FOUR YEARS LATER, IN 27, VASCO WAS ONCE AGAIN A TIMAÇO (GREAT TEAM). AMÉRICA HAD TAKEN PENAFORTE, HELICIO’S SMALL AND TOUGH PARTNER. AND AT THAT MOMENT, AS IN ’23, IT WAS NECESSARY TO CATCH VASCO IN A GOOD WAY. THE GAME STARTED AND THE VASCO LINE DID NOT LEAVE THE MOUTH OF THE GOAL. AMADO EVEN CAUGHT THOUGHT. FLAMENGO ENDURED THE STORM OF LIGHTNING AND THUNDER AS BEST THEY COULD. AND, ENGAGING AND QUICK RESPONSE MOVEMENTS, HE ATTACKED FOUR OR FIVE TIMES AND SCORED THREE GOALS. IT WAS CRAZY. THE VASCO FANS, DISSATISFIED, AGAIN BEGAN TO SAY THAT FLAMENGO DID NOT HAVE A TEAM. AND THE RED-BLACKS ACCEPTED THE PROVOCATION OF THE ADVERSARY TO SUBLIMATE IT. THEY DIDN’T HAVE A TEAM, BUT THEY HAD LOVED IN GOAL, HÉLCIO DE BEQUE, FRAGOSO AND VADINHO ON THE LINE, TO SCORE GOALS. AND EVEN THESE WERE NOT INDISPENSABLE, IF THEY WORE ELEVEN BROOMSTICKS WITH THE RED-BLACK SHIRTS, THEY WON IN THE SAME WAY. FLAMENGO WAS NOT A TEAM OF PLAYERS, IT WAS THE TEAM OF WINNING SHIRTS. AND THAT’S HOW, AGAINST VASCO, THE MYTH OF THE SHIRT THAT PLAYS AND THE LEGEND OF YOUR GLORY IS TO FIGHT EMERGED.

FISHING AND FISHING ON THE WAY TO THE REGATTAS

FISHING, DANCING, MEETING FRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY WERE PROBLEMS FOR THE YOUTH OF PRAIA DO FLAMENGO. IN ADDITION, ICARAÍ (ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BAY), BOTAFOGO, SANTA LUZIA AND SÃO CRISTÓVÃO ALREADY HAD THEIR REGATTA CLUBS. AT THE END OF THE CENTURY, REGATTAS WERE THE SPORTING BUZZWORD OF A CITY THAT LIVED BY THE SEA. LAND SPORTS WERE PRACTICALLY UNKNOWN AND EACH REGATTA CORRESPONDED TO THE PRESENCE OF AN ENTHUSIASTIC PUBLIC, WHERE THE AUTHORITIES OF THE TIME EMERGED, THE MUSIC BANDS ALTERNATING BETWEEN RACES AND THE FEMALE ELEMENT GIVING A SPECIAL COLOR TO THE EVENTS.

EVERYTHING CONTRIBUTED TO THE YOUNG MEN THINKING SERIOUSLY ABOUT THE NEED TO BUY BOATS, WHICH WOULD PROVIDE THEM WITH FUN AND EVEN TO DRIVE TO OTHER BEACHES ON THE OCCASIONS THAT SEEMED MORE PROPITIOUS TO THEM.

ON ONE OF THE SERESTA NIGHTS, IN 1895, THE GROUP WENT AROUND THE BEACH BENCH, UNITED TO THE SOUND OF GUITARS AND ACOUSTIC GUITARS. DESPITE BEING YOUNG, THE MEMBERS HAD ALREADY BONDED THROUGH STRONG BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP AND HAD EVEN MANAGED TO SEAL THEIR COMPANIONSHIP WITH THE PURCHASE OF AN OLD WHALEBOAT CALLED “PHERUZA”, WHICH SERVED AS A TRIP TO BOTAFOGO.

IN THE VIEW OF AUGUSTO DA SILVEIRA LOPES, ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP OF OWNERS OF THE BOAT, WHICH HAD NOT YET BEEN FULLY PAID, THESE TRIPS HAD STRENGTHENED THE LOVE OF ROWING AND, IN MANY CONVERSATIONS, THE BENEFITS THAT THE SPORT REPRESENTED TO THE HEALTH OF EACH ONE HAD ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED. IN ADDITION TO THE RESPECT THAT A ROWER DESERVED AT THAT TIME, THERE WAS THE LATENCY OF A DESIRE UNTIL THEN LITTLE EXPRESSED OF THE NEED TO SPREAD THE SPORT, TO GIVE PRAIA DO FLAMENGO A GROUP SIMILAR TO THOSE THAT EXISTED IN OTHER PLACES, TO MAKE ROWING AN ACTIVITY THAT COULD BUILD THE FUTURE.

A NIGHT TO GO DOWN IN HISTORY

FOR ALL THIS, THAT NIGHT SHOULD GO DOWN IN HISTORY, IN AN INTERVAL, WITH THE “PHERUZA” RESTING ON THE SAND, JOSÉ AGOSTINHO PEREIRA DA CUNHA ASKED THE QUESTION THAT WAS MISSING TO COMPLETE THE IDEAL OF THE OTHERS:

– WHY DON’T WE START A ROWING CLUB?

NESTOR DE BARROS AND MÁRIO SPÍNOLA, WHO WERE BETWEEN JOSÉ AGOSTINHO AND AUGUSTO DA SILVEIRA LOPES, SOON BEGAN TO ENUMERATE THE CLUB’S ADVANTAGES. THE OLD “PHERUZA” WAS RIGHT THERE, READY TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE OFFICIAL BOAT OF THE NEW ASSOCIATION THAT, IMMEDIATELY, WOULD BE CALLED GRUPO DE REGATAS DO FLAMENGO.

IT WAS ALMOST A DREAM. TURNING IT INTO REALITY COULD DISCOURAGE THOSE WHO HAD NOT INHERITED THE JOYFUL DISPOSITION FOR WORK OF THE CARIOCAS AND FLAMENGUISTAS, FROM THAT MOMENT ON. IN PRINCIPLE, HOW COULD YOU FOUND A CLUB WITHOUT A HEADQUARTERS?

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A MOMENT OF DISCOURAGEMENT WHEN EACH ONE CONSULTED HIS OWN POSSESSIONS, TOO SMALL FOR THOSE WHO WERE WILLING TO UNDERTAKE A MAJOR UNDERTAKING PROPOSED. IT WASN’T LONG, HOWEVER, AND SOMEONE SHOWED UP WITH THE NEWS THAT THE GROUND FLOOR OF AN OLD TOWNHOUSE, LOCATED AT NUMBER 22 BEACH, WAS UP FOR RENT. THE OPPORTUNITY WAS NOT MISSED, AND ALREADY AT THAT LOCATION, A MEETING WAS SCHEDULED FOR THE EVENING OF NOVEMBER 17, 1895.

JOSÉ AGOSTINHO PEREIRA DA CUNHA, MÁRIO SPÍNOLA, AUGUSTO LOPES, JOSÉ BELIA DA CUNHA MENEZES, MAURÍCIO PEREIRA AND NAPOLEÃO COELHO DE OLIVEIRA SIGNED THE MINUTES AS FOUNDERS. DOMINGOS MARQUES DE AZEVEDO, WHO ENTERED THE MEETING “TO FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT”, WAS ELECTED THE FIRST PRESIDENT, AFTER BEING WON OVER BY THE GENERAL ENTHUSIASM. NESTOR BARROS, FELISBERTO BARROSO LAPORT, JOSÉ MARIO LEITÃO DA CUNHA, CARLOS SARDINHA, DESIDÉRIO GUIMARÃES, FRANCISCO LUCCI COLLÁS, EMÍDIO JJOSÉ BARBOSA AND GEORGE LEUZINGER PARTICIPATED IN THE MEETING, FROM WHICH FRANCISCO COLLÁS WAS VICE-PRESIDENT, NESTOR DE BARROS WAS SECRETARY AND FRANCISCO LAPORT WAS TREASURER.

TWO PHOTOS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE: FANS WITH FLAG AND BOAT IN WATER WITH BUOY

AFTER THE “SCYRA” TOOK OVER, IN THE FIRST RACE PLAYED BY FLAMENGO, THE COLORS CHANGED AND THE VICTORIES CAME IN DROVES.

PHOTO PAGE 23 BOAT

THE FLAMENGO REGATTA GROUP, A REALITY

THE FLAMENGO REGATTA GROUP WAS OFFICIALLY FOUNDED, BUT ITS CREATORS PREFERRED TO CONSIGN THE DATE OF NOVEMBER 15 SO THAT EACH ANNIVERSARY WOULD BE CELEBRATED ON THE REPUBLIC DAY HOLIDAY: A BIG DATE FOR BRAZIL, A BIG DATE FOR FLAMENGO.

ALL OVER GUANABARA BAY THE NOVELTY RAN FAST. FLAMENGO ALREADY HAD ITS REGATTA GROUP AND NOW IT COULD LIVE TOGETHER AT EACH NAUTICAL MEETING WITH ITS CONFRERES. IN THE PARTIES THAT WOULD HAVE CORROS, DECORATED PODIUMS, THE JOY WOULD INCREASE WITH THE OFFICIAL PRESENCE OF THE OLD CARIOCA BEACH.

MÁRIO SPÍNOLA GAVE THE IDEA: – “OUR COLORS WILL BE BLUE LIKE GUANABARA, AND GOLD”. THE FLAG WOULD HAVE STRIPES OF THESE COLORS AND TWO ANCHORS INTERLACED ON THE BLACK BACKGROUND, PLACED IN THE UPPER CORNER, NEXT TO THE FLAGPOLE, IN THE FASHION OF THE AMERICAN FLAG. THE UNIFORM WOULD CONSIST OF BLUE AND GOLD SHIRTS, WITH BLACK CAPS, WHITE JEANS, BELTS AND WHITE CANVAS SHOES, WITH BLACK RUBBER SOLES.

INTERLACED ANCHORS FOR THE FLAG

FELISBERTO LAPORT, WHO HAD IMAGINED THE ANCHORS INTERTWINED, HAD RUN TO THE FEW FASHION STORES IN RIO LOOKING FOR SHIRTS AND EVERYONE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO IMPORT THEM FROM FRANCE OR ENGLAND. THE MEN OF FLAMENGO WALKED AND GOT TIRED SO THAT IT WAS SOON POSSIBLE FOR THE GROUP TO PARTICIPATE IN A COMPETITION. SHORTLY AFTER THE FOUNDING, THEY WERE TAKEN BY SURPRISE:

THE “PHERUZA” WAS STOLEN. THE BOAT THAT HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO ALL THAT ÉLAN DISAPPEARED AS IF BY MAGIC. AT FIRST, SOME THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE. THEN CAME THE SAD CONFIRMATION: THE GROUP COULD ONLY SURVIVE IF THEY COULD COUNT ON A NEW VESSEL.

THE NEW BOAT, THE “SYCRA”, A FOUR-OARED LIFEBOAT, WAS CALLED THE “ETOILLE” WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED FROM THE UNION DES CAMOTIERS.TAKEN TO  FLAMENGO’S HEADQUARTERS-GARAGE, AT NUMBER 22 OF PRAIA (TODAY IT IS 66), SOME OF ITS ROWERS TRIED TO SCRAPE OFF THE OLD NAME AND ON AN AFTERNOON IN FEBRUARY 1896, IT WAS TAKEN TO GRAGOATÁ, IN NITERÓI, WHERE, IN THE FOURTH RACE OF AN OFFICIAL REGATTA, FLAMENGO WOULD MAKE ITS DEBUT IN ROWING COMPETITIONS.

THE NAME OF THE FLAMENGO REGATTA GROUP APPEARED IN THE NEWS OF THE NEWSPAPERS OF THE TIME. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WOKE UP PROUD AND ITS REPRESENTATIVES WERE ALL AWARE OF THE RESPONSIBILITY. THE NERVES OF THE NEW OARSMEN WERE ON EDGE AND, UNLIKE THE OTHER COMPETITORS, THEY CROSSED THE BAY WITH THE SAME FEELING AS SOMEONE WHO IS GOING TO FACE A LION, UNARMED.

OTHER CLUBS ALREADY HAD EXPERIENCE IN THE DISPUTES AND TOOK CARE OF ALL THE DETAILS SO THAT THEIR ROWERS PRESENTED THEMSELVES IN PERFECT CONDITION. THOSE IN THE FLAMENGO REGATTA GROUP LACKED COURAGE, BUT LACKED BETTER KNOWLEDGE. SO MUCH SO THAT ITS FIRST ROWERS, DOMINGOS MARQUES, HUGO MARIZ, VIZEU GAVOTO AND MÁRIO SPÍNOLA, HAD A LEISURELY LUNCH BEFORE THE COMPETITION, IN WHICH THE “SCYRA” FLEW, AT THE HEIGHT OF TWO THOUSAND METERS, WITH THE CREW “SEASICK”.

PHOTO PAGE 24 FIRST GARRISONS

FROM GOLD AND BLUE TO RED AND BLACK

THE GRAGOATÁ COMPETITION. HOWEVER, A LOT WOULD CHANGE AT FLAMENGO, STARTING WITH THE COLORS OF THE FLAG AND THE SHIRTS. EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT ALL THE CARE NECESSARY TO THE PREPARATION OF A GARRISON. WHICH WOULD BE DECISIVE IN THE GRANDIOSE FUTURE THAT THE CLUB WOULD HAVE IN THE NAUTICAL FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY, BUT THE BLUE AND GOLD OF THE SHIRTS DEMONSTRATED THEIR IMPROPRIETY, AS THEY DID NOT RESIST CONTACT WITH THE SUN AND THE SEA AND FADED RAPIDLY. THAT’S HOW THE RED OF THE FLAMINGOS AND THE PRETO, WHICH WAS ALREADY IN THE CORNERS OF THE FLAG, BECAME THE OFFICIAL COLORS OF THE BIGGEST BRAZILIAN CROWD.

THE GLORIOUS TRAJECTORY OF FLAMENGO IN RIO DE JANEIRO AND BRAZILIAN ROWING WILL BE TOLD IN A SEPARATE CHAPTER OF THIS SERIES, BUT IT MUST BE SAID, FROM THE OUTSET, THAT THE RUBRO-NEGRO WOULD WIN ITS FIRST VICTORIES IN 1899, WITH THE BOATS “TYMBIRA” AND “YPIRANGA”, AFTER THE “TUPY” HAD REACHED AN HONORABLE SECOND PLACE IN 1897, DEMONSTRATING A SENSATIONAL RECOVERY AFTER THE “SCYRA” HAD FLOWN A YEAR EARLIER. IN 1898, WITH THE “JACY”, “IRERÊ”, “JANDAYA” AND “AYMORÉ” EMBRACES, FLAMENGO HAD OTHER SECOND PLACES, MARKING ITS PRESENCE SINCE THEN IN THE WATERS OF GUANABARA, AROUND WHICH THE NUMBER OF FANS WAS ALREADY INCREASING.

BUT THE NEW CENTURY BEGAN, THE BOAT “YPIRANGA” WON THE RACE OF HONOR OF THE CENTENNIAL REGATTA FOR FLAMENGO. IN 1900, WHEN THE NUMBERS CHANGED IN THE CALEDÁRIO, THE “TYMBIRA” ALSO WON THE “TORPON TROPHY” AND, FROM THEN ON, IT WOULD BE A SEQUENCE OF TRIUMPHS AND TITLES, TRANSFORMING THE FIRST IDEALS OF A FEW INTO THE CONTAGIOUS JOY OF MANY.

PHOTO BOAT AND FANS PAGE 25

FLAMENGO’S NAME APPEARED ON BANNERS AT THE REGATTAS, WHERE THE CREW OF THE BOAT BELOW SHOWS DIFFERENT SHIRTS.

PICTURE NEXT TO ABOVE: PAGE 25 STATUE WITH FLAG

END OF PART 4

TO COME, PART 5, THE LAST: NEW CENTURY BROUGHT THE NOVELTY: FOOTBALL

By Jucele

Julio Leal

February 16 th, 2024