Association football

Soccer, as it's known back home, or football, as it's known in those small islands in Europe's corner, or futbol, as it's known down here in Costa Rica, both get their name from shortening the official name: association football. Soccer, humorously, was originally used in England, as a short form of association. 


I thought I'd write about soccer because I've had Gold Cup fever recently. Gold Cup? Yes, the Gold Cup, I didn't write that wrong, and moreover, the Gold Cup is happening in the U.S. What? In America, what the heck is the Gold Cup, the only cup that I've been hearing about is named Stanley. The Gold Cup is a tournament that occurs every two years between the members of CONCACAF. CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football). As is obvious by its title, Concacaf includes all the countries in the Americas north of Colombia. There are regional tournaments in Central America and the Caribbean, but Canada, the US, and Mexico seem to always qualify (I haven't read enough up on this-but that doesn't mean you can't). I've had Gold Cup fever because it's going on, and it's a really big deal here. Costa Rica, like pretty much all of the world except the U.S. and India, is pretty crazy about soccer. 

(the greatest team in the world playing in the world's best stadium)

Costa Rica, actually, is really crazy about soccer. Unlike their neighbors to the north (Nicaragua) and south (Panama) Costa Ricans don't play much baseball. It, like basketball, volleyball, and handball, is found in pockets around the country and is taught in some PE classes, but soccer is pretty much the main concern of half of the Costa Rican population (the men-the other half are mostly concerned with Mexican telenovelas). Costa Ricans are also great fans of their national team. Costa Rica's national team is, well, um, ok. It's among the better Central American teams, alongside Honduras and El Salvador, but this isn't a great level to be at, it means it has to play pretty well to qualify for the World Cup. Concacaf has three spots, and for the last 20 years, two of those spots have always gone to Mexico and the US, so Costa Rica has to battle it out with the rest of Central America and the Caribbean to make it. But, despite this, Costa Ricans are very good fans. Yes, they complain a lot, and are quite unhappy that their national team isn't better, but on the other hand, they cheer for them and sport La Sele (the team's nickname) jerseys all the time. 


I spent Saturday afternoon watching the game at a local appliance store with the workers-I pay my cell phone bill there, so kind of know the guys. It was a tough loss, Costa Rica missed a penalty shot, and then lost in a penalty shootout after overtime. I was sad to see Costa Rica lose, I was hoping for some US-Costa Rica action in the final (unlikely, but I can hope). Sunday was much more pleasant, as the US beat Jamaica 2-0 and faces Panama on Wednesday for a rematch from group play (a surprise 1-2 loss by the US). Most Americans (you reader) are probably thinking, blah, blah, blah, why are you telling us about this. Well, partially because it's my job to share Costa Rican culture, and partially because I've caught the soccer bug. 

(in the Puerto Viejo plaza)

I caught it when I first lived abroad. Of course, it's impossible to catch the soccer bug in America, all Americans take the antivenom of football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, and hockey early in life to prevent against the bug. I caught the bug in Spain, where my Sunday afternoons were spent alongside my host brother and dad, watching La Liga games. La Liga is the professional soccer game in Spain, which is a lead in to my little, friendly, helpful explanation of world soccer. There are three types of competitions you'll see featuring these goofy guys trying to get a ball into a net. The most common are professional games, most countries in the world have a professional league, in the US it's the MLS. Some of the most famous leagues are Spain's La Liga, England's Premiership, Italy's Serie A, and Germany's Bundesliga. As you can clearly see, the most important are European, which run from September to May, and usually have 20 teams, with each team playing each other twice-for 38 games per team. The second type of game is a inter-league tournament. This is when the best team(s) from a few different countries in a region get together and play against each other. The third type are when the national teams play against each other-the World Cup being the granddaddy of these type of games. Regional tournaments, like the Gold Cup, the EuroCup, and Copa America, are also big draws. National teams will also play each other in 'international friendlies' which don't count for anything but are meant to prepare teams for tournaments or World Cup qualifying. 


Why is almost every country in the world crazy about soccer? Why do many high school girls in Costa Rica know as much about soccer as a college kid knows about college football? I'm sure there are books and essays written about this, but I have a few ideas of my own, and reasons why it is, by far, the sport I follow the most. (Which isn't saying much, there's essentially no other sport to follow here, I'd have to work way harder than I'm willing to.) 
Firstly, unlike baseball, football, and hockey, soccer requires almost no equipment. Just a ball, a field, and some goals. And, really, goals aren't that necessary, a rectangle can just be painted on a wall, or two t-shirts can make an improvised, poor-man's goal. Basketball, once you get hoops built, is a pretty similar sport-you can just show up and play. In the poorer parts of the world, this is definitely a reason for the sports permeation. Additionally, soccer is a sport, that because it's so basic, can be played at many, many different skill levels. All sports (like everything) require lots of practice and patience to get good. But sports like baseball, golf, tennis, and hockey require a lot of practice and patience to just be able to play a functioning game, basketball is kind of this way too. In no way am I saying that soccer doesn't require the skill of other sports, but I'm just saying that the threshold of kicking a ball into a 24 feet by 8 feet goal is very low. 

(at the Copa Indigena--more to come)

Personally, I love soccer mostly because it's popular around the world, which means I can talk to people about it in various locations. Another reason, is that soccer, unlike some of the other major sports actually features athletic, fit people. Whoa, you say, what sort of claim is that. Because of its mixed requirements of endurance and speed and of power and agility, soccer players end up being very fit. Despite being huge and strong, most football players are not what I would call fit, because they simply carry far, far too much weight. Basketball players also tend to be overly bulky and not well conditioned. With players like Prince Fielder and David Wells being all-star baseball players, their is little doubt that baseball requires a whole lot of skill, but little fitness. And, well, I don't think golfers ever get their heart rate much above its normal resting rate. NASCAR drivers may endure lots of heat and have super strong forearms, but I don't see them doing too well on any agility drill. To be more blunt, I have never, ever seen a fat soccer player, something I can't say for any other sport. My last reason for liking soccer (and honestly, I like watching it as much or more than I like playing it) is the exact reason it will probably never be popular on American TV: it is continuous. Yeah, some punks take falls and roll and cry on the ground, but otherwise, the game has only very short, temporary stops during each 45 minute half. This means no commercial breaks-probably the main reason why soccer isn't more popular in the world's greatest country. Whether or not it was your goal to learn about soccer, looks like you've achieved said goooooollllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!