Tara Talk: World Cup Madness

Before I moved to Costa Rica, I liked soccer just fine, but I wouldn't say I followed it or would consider it my favorite sport to watch. My Frantz family members are very faithful Dodger baseball fans, and so I know a bit of what it's like to be obsessed at times with a sport and a team. I was in Ecuador in 2006 for the World Cup and was able to experience a bit of the craziness that is a Latin American country when their country wins a World Cup game. But NONE of my prior life experiences have prepared me for the mayhem and celebration that has been going on here in Costa Rica during this 2014 World Cup!

A little bit of history- as a small country in Central America (we have a population of about 4.5 million and can only boast of 19,700 square miles in land size), we typically are not a World Cup powerhouse or team to be feared. In 1990 the Costa Rica "Sele" made it to second round of the World Cup tournament, but did not make it past that. So the fact that Costa Rica made it to the top 8 this year is just HUGE. I could go on and on about how cool it is that they made it as far as they did, but I figure if you care that much, you either a) already know all about what I would share with you or b) could Google search it and find out from someone who knows a whole lot more than me.

Soccer is so very important to Latinos and, well, most of the rest of the world outside of the US. And I do have some friends from the States who follow soccer and love to watch and/or play it, but I would not say that is the majority of the country's stance. There are too many other sports to follow to give as much importance to soccer as the rest of the world does. That being said, my students at the Tutoring Center, my neighbors, my Tico friends of staff with me, and most of the people I talk to LOVE soccer with all their hearts. And it has been so fun to see the people come together to celebrate their country being represented on this world stage the past month and do so well. It gives my kids in Los Guido hope that they too can fulfill their dreams and do something different than maybe the rest of the world might tell them they will become. The rest of the world didn't think that Costa Rica had a chance to make it out of the first round of the tournament, and they made it to the final 8. As cheesy as it sounds, I had tears in my eyes yesterday when the Costa Rica team took a knee together during the overtime penalty shots round, showing their solidarity together and support for one another. Sure, at the end of the day it's just a game, but I think it has come to mean much more for Costa Ricans as a people this past month. And I'm so glad to have been able to be here to be a part of it!

Here are some pictures taken over the past weeks as we watched and celebrated Costa Rica's wins together with friends and ministry partners: