One Week, Two Fútbol Games...

First, last Sunday did not start like any other. It was our first morning service at the church. The place was packed! That, in itself, made for a great Sunday. Then, a group of us went to the Hispanos game in the afternoon. Hispano was playing Motagua here in Comayagua, and if they won, there would be another game on Thursday in Tegucigalpa.

Eleven of us crammed into Carlos' pickup truck for the drive over to the stadium. Hector and his son, Danny, drove over a little later in Hector's new carrito. We got some great seats and waited for the game to start. I was enjoying this slice of local culture. The sights, the sounds, the smells. Did you know that you can buy tacos, tajaditas and other great local foods at a fútbol game? I didn't have any of them, but they sure smelled good. During the game I just kept looking around: the action on the field, the roar of the crowd, the rugged mountains in the background. It was truly a wonderful afternoon. There were probably about 10,000 people in the stadium that day.

Hispano won! Two-to-one. Excellent! They would get to play on Thursday, and, although I didn't know it on Sunday, I would get to go.

Wednesday night after church, we finalized plans to head to Teguc on Thursday. Carlos and Hector were both going to drive, since we couldn't ride in the back of Carlos' truck all the way to Teguc. We ended up having 11 going over and 12 coming back, because one person joined us there.

The game on Thursday was crazy! It was in el estadio nacional (the national stadium), which holds about 42,000 people. Total attendance at this game would probably top out at about 22,000. Because we got there so early, we got some great seats. As we were looking for our seats we passed so many vendadores who were selling such great things that I decided I was going to try some of the food. As soon as we picked out our seats, I got back up and went down toward the food. The chuletas smelled fantastic while walking by. For 40Lps ($2) I got a plate of chuleta de cerdo (pork chop), refritos, papas, tortillas and several different sliced and chopped veggies. I knew that there was a certain amount of risk in eating the food, particularly the veggies, but decided I was going to risk it. When I got back to my seat, I inhaled my food. Gustavo decided that it looked so good that he went for a plate himself. And the game hadn't even begun yet. Later, during the first half, I had some tajaditas, including the cabbage and tomato.

Ah, yes, the game. Well, let's just say that at least there were other things at the stadium to be excited about. By the end of the first half, Motagua was up 4 to 0. The game was turning out to be a rout. Fireworks and firecrackers were going off everywhere. People throw them, without caring about where (or on whom) they land. The police were there, too. Looking like navy blue Imperial Stormtroopers in their body armor and full shield helmets.

Shortly before the second half started, we got to see the Stormtroopers in action. Right in front of us, a fight broke out between some Hispano and Motagua fans. I don't know what happened, but the female Hispano fans weren't about to back down against those Motagua guys. We all just stood there, knowing not to say or do anything (except watch). Soon, the Stormtroopers flew down the stairs and right into the melee, billy clubs brandished. And let me tell you, the Stormtroopers were not afraid to use their clubs. You know those videos of LA police womping on some guy while a home video camera just happens to catch all of it for the 6:00 o'clock news? That's what it was. I even watched one Stormtrooper almost lose his billy club to an overzealous fan, until another Stormtrooper came to his rescue.

About that time, we decided that the seats in the bowl were much safer (and were also much closer to the exit we would need). So, we made our way over to the bowl, making sure that our movement could not be even slightly misinterpreted as heading down toward the fight, which now included probably 75 fans and Stormtroopers. You were right, Glenda. Soccer is so much more exciting than American football!!! :-p

Darn the luck. We sat down right in front of some ladies making baleadas. Not only were they making baleadas, but they were also first making the flour tortillas right there. It was fascinating to watch. They would stretch and twirl the dough, much like you do for pizza. Then they would place the freshly stretched dough onto one bucket grill, then another, and then finally smear on some refritos, mantequilla, and parmesan cheese. They were 6Lps each. Quiero dos, por favor.

When the score got to be 6 -- 0, we left. There were only a few minutes left to play, and this one was already in the history books. We made it back to the cars easily. Soon, the streets were flooded with Motagua fans. You could easily tell the Hispano fans, they were quiet and suddenly, the horns on their cars no longer worked.

Let's see:
Ticket -- 60Lps
chuleta plate -- 40Lps
bag of water -- 3Lps
tajaditas -- 10Lps
2 baleadas -- 12Lps

Total money spent on game: 125Lps ($6.25)
Cultural value of the night: priceless
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As a sidenote: For the record, I never had any negative reaction to any of the food I ate at the stadium. Yesterday after church, Rosita and Francisco invited me to join their family at dinner. At the restaurant, we were talking about the game. When I told Rosita what I ate, she said, "No, Susan, we don't eat at the game. It's not safe." Francisco disagreed.