I am not a soccer fan...yet. But to effectively relate to people in Honduras, I must become one. In Honduras, soccer is life. It is THE sport, THE entertainment & THE social gathering. I won't be able to avoid the topic so I am learning to love it.
On Saturday, my good friend, Jeff took me to University of Phoenix Stadium to watch USA vs. Venezuela.
For 90+ minutes neither team scored (a typical objection of non-soccer fans). However, it was actually a very exciting match. The US team took 19 shots on goal. Jeff (an avid player and fan) continually fed me soccer strategy, player info, and general enthusiasm for the game. This all built up considerable suspense. Then, with regular time expired and nearly 7 minutes of stoppage time played, the US prepares for a corner kick. Jeff informs me that, "this will probably be the last play of match." It was.
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Americans are the only ones not in on this... I remember sitting in a hut in the middle of a sugar cane field in South Africa, with no plumbing or electricity... EXCEPT the car battery my host family used to plug in a tiny tv... to watch the World Cup 2006. It was made VERY clear that the car battery was ONLY to be used for powering the tv for soccer games and NOTHING else. Talk about culture-shock! :)
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