The fan: how the name was born in South America, the first fan and its appearance in the dictionary as a new meaning in 1970

Before, at the dawn of Last centurywith just a few years of amateur soccer and a not so numerous group of clubs that stood out especially in Europealthough also in South America,

He ‘ball pump‘He was a character that began to be seen on the fields, where people attended to watch the new sporting spectacle,

There were, at most, a few brief conversations on the platform, an exchange of views, even between rival supporters; all very far from the chants, shouts and slogans that we see and hear today.

FROM ‘BALL PUFF’ TO ‘FAN’ ON THE SAME FIELD

Prudencio Reyeswho was born in the city of Montevideo, Uruguayin 1882, was in his twenties when he started as massage therapist of the team ‘King of Cups‘.

They say that Kings He looked for the best location, and thus found that behind the rival goal he could help his team more effectively. From there he gave instructions to the forwardsto one in particular, a certain Cauteruzzito finish or pass, depending on the location of the opposing defenders.

He began to give life, joy and encouragement to the club from the field, and that is how the fans saw it. dapper assistants of those years, located in the wooden stands. His determination was so great that his voice of “Let’s go, Nacional, let’s go!” was quickly identified. “Who is he?”people asked.

The story that came after is already known to everyone, since the barristasthe flagsthe bannersthe drumsetc.

THE FATE OF THE WORD ‘FINCHA’ IN THE RAE DICTIONARY

They say, rightly, that the fan He is the twelfth player in the stadium. He doesn’t kick the ball, but he is the engine to do it. Thus, the word ‘fan‘became an increasingly popular term, and used in media or sports sections of the Spanish speaking world.

Until that year, that word was cataloged in this way in the dictionary of the RAE: “Hincha (to inflate), f. Hatred, resentment, enmity”. It was the only meaning.

It was like being with the new times at the wrong time, because it had been many years since anyone had used ‘fan‘as synonymous with or linked to hatred,

In this way, in January 1971the first copies of that arrived new dictionary of the RAE with the new meaning consecrated by the Academy. Never again the fan could have been frowned upon; and, rather, he began to understand her as she does with a hopeless lover.