Futbol is King!

In the center of “town” there is a very large field and everyday at 5pm the guys of the town gather to play fútbol, or soccer.  When I say 5pm, of course, I mean that they say they will meet at 5pm but don’t really start showing up until 5:30, and the game doesn’t start until about 15 minutes later.  (This is what we call hora panameña, or basically it starts when everyone gets there, and they get there when they get there.)  But eventually, everyday, all the guys play soccer from “5pm” until it gets dark around 7pm.  And they are all pretty impressive and have fancy footwork.  Of course, when they are playing a serious game they wear cleats, but a lot of times they play in crocs, flip flops and barefoot.  More than once I’ve seen someone carrying around a music player and listening to music while he ran around.  They begin to play soccer from the moment they are born.  Really – I saw an 18-month-old who could barely walk kicking a soccer ball with his dad before the game started.  I’m pretty sure he would be as good as I was, if he were four feet taller. 

I’ve played four times in the two weeks that I have been here, and despite the fact that I am pretty terrible, constantly lose the ball to the other team, and sometimes pull muscles just kicking the ball 10 feet, they seem pretty happy to have me play.  The first two games I wasn’t so sure they were so enthusiastic, but after I missed a third game they started calling me by name and asking when I was going to come back.  I think I may have impressed them when I intercepted a ball with my face and kept playing (yes, I have only been here two weeks and already I have bent my first pair of glasses).  They have even started passing the ball to me!  There are two other gringos who play, both better than me, but we all have a lot of fun and it’s a great way to burn off all the carbs they keep feeding us.  It also makes it easier to pour cold water on my head during my bucket bath at the end of the day.