Once upon a time there was writing at the Itaquera stadium – 01/31/2024 – Juca Kfouri

“Which has a sacred character; which is prohibited; which cannot be done or pronounced because it would offend modesty, morals, customs.”

That’s what the dictionary says about taboos.

“Among certain peoples, prohibition generally of religious inspiration, of acts or behaviors considered impure, harmful, etc.”

This is what anthropologist and professor Ruth Cardoso taught in her brilliant classes at USP in the 1970s.

In 1968, at Pacaembu, 2-0, Corinthians had broken the “taboo”, according to the sports press, after almost 11 years without beating Rei Pelé’s Santos.

It was then celebrated like a title, and Fiel left the stadium happily singing “one, two, three, Santos is a customer” — something that sounded surreal.

Dona Ruth, who would become First Lady of Brazil for eight years, rejected the way the press treated the term and taught, like the philologist Antônio Houaiss, that taboo was one thing and writing was another: “What constitutes a routine or appears to constitute a routine”. In fact, she also rejected the “first lady”.

Yes, it was not forbidden for São Paulo to beat Corinthians in Itaquera, although it seemed like it, after 18 games and almost ten years. It was just a routine that, now, only appeared to be.

Because the tricolor broke it with authority in front of 43 thousand faithful last Tuesday (30).

Just a fool of rationality to diminish the meaning of the victory for the São Paulo team or the 2-1 defeat for the Corinthians team.

Just look at how the Morumbi players celebrated the triumph and buried once and for all dissimulated speeches that writings don’t bother football professionals. They even received an extra prize.

And how those from Parque São Jorge lamented their failure against their rival.

Football, fortunately, is made up of moments like those experienced the day before yesterday, which, sometimes, are as good as a trophy.

The Corinthians know by heart the story of the goals scored by Paulo Borges, who came from Bangu, and Flávio, who came from Internacional, on March 6, 56 years ago: “With Pelé and Edu, we broke the taboo”, they celebrated in Corinthians fans who never attended anthropology classes, but are experts in the vocabulary of sports chronicle, join in.

The tricolors did not come out in chorus from Itaquera because, now, they were prohibited from going to the stadium by the law of single fans, although two fans on the same stage do not harm modesty, morals and customs, except those of the puritans, moralists and authoritarian.

“Writing is over, it’s over in Itaquera”, they could celebrate at their opponent’s house.

Because they deserved it, because they were superior and because newcomer Thiago Carpini has a disproportionately better cast in his hands than that of the experienced Mano Menezes, author of the first and last lines of the writing that became a page-turner.

On Sunday (4), Palmeiras take care.

OCD, OCD

That São Paulo social networks play with the end of writing, that’s fine.

For the federal government to make fun of the PF going to the former president’s house is a political error and, more seriously, not at all republican.

If the PT had been mocked, it would have been understandable, even funny. Not Secom.

Returning the hateful practices of Bolsonaro supporters in kind is shooting ourselves in the foot, because the role of the Communications Secretariat should be to work against polarization instead of fueling it.

The unfortunate joke only added noise to what, in itself, was a great day…

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