el futbol

Years ago, when I was in Ecuador, I saw a lot of futbol, aka soccer. Those Ecuadoreans LOVED their futbol. They worked hard all week long, so that they could spend the entire weekend, in the streets, playing futbol. Each neighborhood had a team, each city had a team, each region had a team. Then there was the elite team, "The National Team". Right up there next to the Virgin Mary, these players were thought of as Gods. Occasionally the national team would qualify to play in the tournament to end all tournaments, "The World Cup."

~

The week(s) the World Cup played, life as we knew it in Ecuador came to a screeching halt. We could walk down the middle of the street and hear it blaring from every single house. While I never actually watched any of the World Cup, I'm pretty sure I heard every loud crazy word of it. Have I mentioned how loud those announcers are? I think the game can only be enjoyed with the volume at full blast, in every single house.

~

How proud today would my Ecuadorean friends be to see my two boys ready for their first official game? Words can not explain.

Viva Ecuador! (yeah, yeah I'm missing some accent marks in this post. It's too hard to figure out.)