#andrés escobar

In 1967, Andrés Escobar was born in Medellín, Colombia.  He grew up to be a defender on the Colombian men’s national soccer team.  You probably would never have heard of him (unless you were really into Colombian soccer in the 1980s and 1990s) but for one thing.  In the 1994 World Cup, Colombia faced off against the US in group play; Escobar was responsible for an own goal.  Colombia lost to the US 2-1, and the own goal contributed to Colombia’s elimination from the tournament.

Five days after that elimination, Escobar was back in Medellín, in a bar’s parking lot at 3 a.m.  Three guys approached him and started arguing; they then drew pistols; one guy shot Escobar six times with a .38 caliber pistol and yelled “Gol!” after each shot.

God DAMN, people take that sport seriously in Colombia.