The number 24 has often been shunned in Brazilian culture, but a new generation of players are changing old attitudes
By Tom Sanderson for Yellow & Green Football
Even though it has been banned in 25 of Brazil’s 26 states for the last 74 years, jogo do bicho (the animal game) remains a cornerstone of Brazilian culture. The first version of the game was created in the late 19th century by João Batista Viana Drummond, an animal-loving entrepreneur with English ancestry. In 1870, Drummond opened the first zoo in Rio de Janeiro, where he set up a raffle to help fund the enterprise. Every day the zoo would sell tickets with 25 different animals printed on the front and, as they closed the doors each evening, Drummond would select a winner.
The raffle proved to be tremendously popular and was later developed into a highly lucrative lottery that made mobsters filthy rich. Despite its illegality, the game has held remarkable sway in Brazilian society – and Brazilian football. In the game, the 25 animals were listed roughly in alphabetical order, with deer coming in at No 24. In
Brazil, deers have long been pejoratively associated with gay men, with the Portuguese word for deer – veado – being used as a common homophobic slur in the country.