100% Catracho

In its history, the Honduran national team has only made it to the World Cup once and that was in 1982. Despite this lack of success, the love of the Catrachos (Hondurans) for the National Team, is rivaled only by their love for their children (on good days). On game nights, the town shuts down and there is soccer on every television in Copan Ruinas. Not that you need a TV to know how the game is progressing; the town erupts in cheers that echo throughout Copan when Honduras scores a goal. Here el futbol (soccer) is the opiate of the masses. "It's more than our national pastime," my friend Luis tells me, "el futbol is our drug. When there is a game, we can all forget about our problems and Honduras's problems and just be happy and in the moment."

Saturday night, I got to experience the national drug first hand. My friend Enrique organized a bus to transport a group to Sap Pedro Sula for the Honduras v. Canada World Cup qualifying game. For 500L (about $25) a pop we got tickets to the game and transportation to and from the stadium (3ish hours each way). As the bus pulled away from Copan at 2pm, I felt suddenly relieved that Issis and Cecia (two of Graham's sixth grade girls) were sitting behind us. Without them, I would have been the sole female on a bus on a bus teeming with testosterone.

Our first, and only, pit stop on the way to the game, turned out to be a beer run. The guys loaded up on Salva Vida and Port Royal and proceeded to drink for the last hour of the bus ride (apparently completely legal in Honduras - Mississippi Delta, you are in good company). We arrived at Olympic Stadium in San Pedro Sula around 6:00pm, and even though the game wouldn't begin for over an hour, the atmosphere was already charged. The vendors, some pregnant, some under 12, were aggressive and sold everything you can imagine. Little Ceaser's Pizza, cold beer, fried meat on a stick, ice cream in a bag, Popeyes, empanadas, face paint, cigarettes, the options seemed endless.

Between the stands and the field was a cement wall encircled with barbed wire and a deep pit that ran along the circumference of the field. Within this protective barrier were about forty riot police stationed around the field. Fans, it seemed, could occasionally get too unruly at Olympic Stadium. When the players finally came on the field, the stadium erupted in cheers.

The first goal came early on in the game and Honduras spent the rest of the half up 1-0. There was little excitement and Honduras played very defensively. It was not until Act 2 that the Latin American drama began. Canada came back to tie up the game 1-1 and from that moment on, Oscar quality performances were made by all. To be fair, Honduras's second goal was magnificent, but it hardly made up for the amount of time the players were wasting laying on the ground. Did I mention, that many Honduran fans celebrated each goal by throwing whatever they had in their hands into the air - including full cups of beer? I was able to dodge the beer bullets, but the woman sitting in front of me was not so lucky. In the end, Honduras won 3-1 and has a solid chance of making it to the 2010 South Africa World Cup. They play Jamaica again on October 15. Which leaves me with a difficult question: Should I watch the World Cup Qualifier or the last presidential debate? That I can even ask such a question is proof that I still have a long way to go before I become 100% Catracha.