Vamos Gringos!

Last night, we had the priviledge of attending the U.S. vs. Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying game with several Gringo and Tico friends. We had a wonderful time!

Even though we lost ( badly - Costa Rica:3 ; US:1), we still enjoyed our time with the chanting and screaming Costa Rica fans. It was so fun to see our normally very composed teachers from school shouting, screaming, and jumping up and down each time Costa Rica scored. Costa Ricans are proud to support their country and they love "futbol!" It was really neat to see the way so many came out to support their team.

We are proud of our team also - even though they did not do as well as we might have liked this go around, they are still doing well in the World Cup standings. One of the most awesome experiences was to be able to sing our national anthem with other "Estadounidenses" . It was neat to see the respect. Even though during the game we were "enemies," during the anthems there was a respectful silence from the crowd. Although we were just a small group of gringos we sang as loud as we could. It is strange the small things that you miss when you live away from "home."

I feel like this post cannot possibly give justice to the very nature of the game . . . the stands were packed out - picture everyone ( and I do mean everyone ) around you dressed in red and blue ( Costa Rica's colors) with flags, noisemakers, balloons, and homemade signs; singing, chanting, and doing the wave all in unison. The crowd jumped up and down with such force and unison that the concrete bleachers were bouncing up and down. To see the passion for their team and their country was amazing. They were throwing toilet paper rolls and balloons on the fields, sprinkling confetti and just generally getting in the spirit of the game. It was truly an experience to be had - it was like nothing we'd ever seen before at sporting events in the states. At this stadium, because so many people "get into the game" they did not allow change ( yes, I do mean coins), batteries ( they made us through the ones in the camera away but we had an extra pair that we were able to smuggle in), water bottles ( they didn't even sell water because they said you might throw the bottle at someone), or umbrellas. Luckily, we did not witness any "violent" displays of energy only lots of fun among all!

Here is our revised version of a song they chanted many times during the game only they didn't say "Gringos" but instead "Ticos."

Vamos vamos los gringos esta noche tenemos que ganar!

Praise the Lord for fun times with new friends!