As Evandro finished explaining the tremendous political significance of the stadium, I looked over to see a fleet of policemen striding past us on horseback. Although I shouldn't have been surprised by the police presence with the intensity of the recent riots, I couldn't help but staring at the bustling, stoney-faced parade of armed officials. Jeeps armed with heavy artillery swarmed the brightly lit perimeter of the building. Countless officials protected the front on foot, by car, and by horseback.
Looking nearly as stunned as us, Evandro laughed as he said, " There are more policemen than fans." Apparently, there had never before been such an immense need for security around this stadium until the Confederation Cup. In fact, as Evandro later explained to us, it was a pretty precarious place on riotous game days. In the past, when Evandro was young and hot-blooded, he would often have to scrape past various thugs who would hassle him for money on his way to an unruly game.
Now, however, the government was working hard to ensure the safety of anyone seeking to attend these events by heavily staffing the building with armed and mean-looking guards. Once we were fully satisfied with the political scene at Maracana, Evandro warmly clapped his hands together before announcing that we would next be going to the final place on our itinerary, Sambódromo, home of the Rio Carnaval.
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