Brazil brings the sport, and the party, in beach volleyball

RIO DE JANEIRO – If you want to find the heart of the Rio Olympics, or at least the overworked liver, you head to Copacabana Beach for beach volleyball. It is as ideal a match of place and sport as Minnesota and hockey.

The beach volleyball versions of the backyard rinks are the dozens of nets strung along different sections of Copacabana. Turn 360 degrees from any of one of them and you see mountain, city, ocean, promenade and a historic fort.

"I live four squares from here," said Agatha Bednarczuk. "This is my neighborhood."

The beach overflowed Monday, and so did the Beach Volleyball Arena Centre, the home of the Olympic competition. Late in the morning, Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas, commonly known as Agatha and Barbara in Brazil, beat Ana Gallay and Georgina Klug of Argentina in pool play.

The crowd, with a vocal minority of Argentines waving flags and screaming, was loud. The Brazilians, accused of rudely jeering opponents earlier in the Games, behaved themselves Monday, at least in terms of sportsmanship.

A guy looking a lot like Willie Nelson kept dancing for the cameras, wearing a Brazil-flag colored bandanna and holding up a drink. Of course, if it had been Willie, his method of relaxation might have been different.

There are cheerleaders. There is loud music. There are lean, powerful athletes diving and leaping. There is action on every point. A sport that seemed like a lark or a departure when it became an official Olympic sport in 1996 has become one of the best shows of every summer Games.

In Brazil, history and local enthusiasm heighten the experience.

"It's my first time and I'm so honored to be playing at home," Barbara said. "And I'm actually from here. It's amazing.

"I played on this beach a lot when I was young. This is my second home — my beach home."

A few hours later, Brazil's Bruno Oscar Schmidt and Alison Cerutti lost to Austria's Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst. The line was so long and slow many fans missed the beginning of the match.

Oscar Schmidt is the nephew of Oscar Schmidt, the great Brazilian basketball player. Once again, the crowd for his match was quite loud.

"The fans here are unbelievable, and we knew that this game would be really tough for the crowd because there are also a lot of Argentines here," Barbara said. "We could notice there was a competition between the Brazilians and Argentines.

"We always try to entertain them and play to them. We know their energy is very important to us. Brazilians are very emotional so we really like this kind of attention."

That rang true Monday. Agatha and Barbara conducted several lengthy interviews in their native Portuguese before cheerfully agreeing to speak to an English-speaking writer. They left the impression they would have been happy to talk all day.

"I'm trying to follow everything I can," Barbara said. "Usually I watch the Olympics on television. It's good to be on the other side. It's crazy, to have the Games here. I'm so happy and it makes me feel more and more in love with the sport and the Olympic Games."

Brazil is soccer and Pelé, correct? "Normally people say that Brazil is the soccer country, but I think nowadays that is changing," Barbara said. "Indoor volleyball is really big here. It has a history already, with the men and the women's teams. Beach volleyball is the second sport that people love the most.

"Judo is also really strong in Brazil. Sailing, too, normally brings a lot of medals for us. We have five sports here that we are really good at."

None of the others offer this kind of party, or this kind of view.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at MalePatternPodcasts.com. On Twitter: @SouhanStrib. • jsouhan@startribune.com