Football Madness

On Wednesday, Jesse, his mail-order girlfriend Jenna*, and I went to a football (soccer) match. Now this isn't any old game; not some Major League Soccer pedestrian affair or even the little ball kicking contests that are the USA international games... this is a Latin American football feast!

A little background: the Honduran national football team (along with the US and many other nations) are in the midst of trying to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Even though its only 2008, the process takes quite a long time and there are several rounds that each team has to fight through in order to whittle down the 200 or so national teams to the 32 that ultimately qualify for the WC. Currently, Honduras is in the second-to-last round of qualifying and needless to say that is very exciting for the nation as a whole.

Last Saturday Honduras faced Canada in the second game of this round. Previously the "Catrachos" lost 2-1 to Mexico and were staring at a difficult game away from home. But the Hondurans pulled out a 2-1 stunner in Canada and came home to face Jamaica.

A win would put Honduras in the driving seat in their four team group. Mexico is clearly going to qualify for the next round, but the second of two spots is up for grabs between Jamaica, Canada, and Honduras.

I have to admit, even though I love football and supporting the local team is exciting I have very selfish motives for cheering for the Catrachos. If Honduras makes it to the final qualifying group there is huge chance that I will be able to see them play the United States down here. That's a huge deal. The U.S. is kicking ass and taking names in their respective group so Honduras just needs to do their part and then the two will face off twice, once in the U.S. and once down here. As long as its not in the summer of 2009 (which it very well could be) you can count me as an attendee of that match.

Anyways, back to Wednesday. International match days are huge in football mad countries. Many of my students were going to the game and those that weren't wanted to. They were super excited that I was going to match and I even ran into a few waiting in line to get into the stadium. Its a bit surreal to have your favorite sport, which is so maligned back in the U.S., sitting center stage.

Getting to the game an hour early the stadium was already packed. People are everywhere and there are dozens of lines zig-zagging all over the place. There is no rhyme or reason as to how to get to our section. Between fake tickets and just plain over-selling, finding a spot to stand without getting crushed, much less a seat, will be difficult.

Jesse, Jenna, and I tried one entrance only to be met by a mass of people shoving themselves to get to an open space. From there we found a quieter entrance and tucked ourselves in the corner of one section.



Our view of the game.

From there I witnessed one of the more spectacular things I have seen since I've come to Honduras. It was just such a local take on a standard American thing it was easy to chuckle at it.

Our spot in the stadium put us with our backs up against a high fence that separated us in "preferencia" with the more expensive "silla" seats. That did little to dis-sway the numerous "concessionaires" that roamed the stadium. Now, unless I'm mistaken the stadium has no formally food/drink distribution system like in your standard American stadia, but many "entrepreneurs" that smuggle soda, beer, and various other food stuffs into the stadium to sell to the fans. I noticed, before we went into the stadium all sorts of Pepsi products nearly some isolated parts of the gate, but didn't make the connection until we were being served these goods.

Whether known or unknown (I find it hard to believe that this is under the radar...someone at the stadium must be getting a cut) there are guys running sacks of bottles of Coca-Cola up and over these fences, I'm watching kids selling beers and running out only to have to pour more from bottles in the back, and random people pulling out trays of homemade sandwiches to hawk.

Even though this is all wildly entertaining there is also a game going on, but not just any game, but qualification for the largest sporting event in the world and Honduras actually has a shot. Its been over 20 years since the Catrachos qualified for a World Cup, but the team has several very good player on their squad.

The atmosphere is unbelievable. The crowd is pulsing and screaming long before the match even starts. We've got a guy with a horn, another one on a drum, and most awesomely a guy with a turtle shell he's banging all night.

Oh and the wave is pretty cool:



If you've ever been to a United States international game they are pretty timid events. Soccer moms and dads with the kids, a few Europeans catching the only quality football around, the small, unoriginal American soccer support. In most cases the visiting team is the most exciting part of the crowd and the noise they create can make it feel like you're the away team.

Not the case in Honduras. If the visitors made a sound I wouldn't have known because there was no chance for them to. Honduran fans climbing on fences, banging the aforementioned objects, and general screaming-your-head-off noisiness. Pure bliss from a football fans perspective.

All of this was enhanced by the dominating play of the Honduran national team. Jamaica spent the whole game on their back feet. The first half ended scoreless, but the Catrachos had the run of play and a goal was imminent. The second half was just as dominating. A beautiful string of passes resulted in Honduras' first goal sending the crowd out of their minds. Beer and whatever else was thrown into the air sending me for cover. Fences were climbed, flags were waving. Pure, unadulterated pandemonium.

But a 1-0 a win is never safe. Honduras, to their credit, pushed for the second decisive goal. They were rewarded when one of their forwards was tripped up inside the 18-yard box resulting in a penalty kick. I captured it on film:



As you can see, people were pretty excited. The game ended 2-0 to the home side and Honduras, if it can keep up the momentum, could book themselves a place in the next round of qualifying.

If you haven't been able to tell, these sporting contests are hugely important to the Hondurans and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do make it to South Africa (as long as its not at the expense of the U.S.). A success like that would be awesome to witness.

We escaped the stadium, beat the traffic, and got a good night's sleep after a mind-blowing experience. Honduras has two more home games and right now were not sure if their in San Pedro Sula or the capitol, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there are a few more international dates on my calendar, including a USA vs. Honduras match in there.

- By Dan

* By "mail-order" I mean, arrived later than us. She is a returning teacher from last year, but just got here this week. Jesse is obviously excited about her arrival.