WITH THE HEART AND SUPPORT

                Costa Rica classified next to Mexico, Trinidad y Tobago, and the United States of America to the World Cup in 2006. The Costa Rican team will inaugurate the World Cup by playing against Germany, the country that was the organizer for the event this year.

                In the group in which Costa Rica was, A.K.A. group A, the teams that are in it were Germany, Poland, and Ecuador.  Ourticos classified with 16 points, Poland with 24, Ecuador with 28, and Germany classified automatically for being the organizers that year. Although Costa Rica did classify with the least number of points in its group, there is still and always be hope. You never know what can happen. Plus, God gave a great gift to the Latin race. This one wakes up from the deep inside were you’ve never been touched before, beats as a second heart, and lets out everything you have inside. It gives the team a new tank of energy. That whylatinos love watching soccer matches at the stadium, and if that’s not possible, they will go and sit in front of the T.V. and shout at the referee as if they were actually at the stadium.

                The team may wake up and give its total because they know that here, in their home, we are supporting them profoundly and literally with our heart.

                Some great players like Miklos Feher, Marc-Vivien Foe, Antonio Puerta, have died while playing soccer. I watched the video in www.youtube.com and watched as  these three soccer players die while playing soccer. Seconds before Miklos Feher dies you can see him smiling. This makes me think, “Well, at least he died doing something he truly believed in and loved doing.” It was obviously a tremendous loss, but you can say he died in high spirits and he lived a successful life. And if he wouldn’t have died while playing soccer, he would have died doing something else, so I think it was better of dying at something he enjoyed doing. Remember that everything happens for a reason; even though you sometimes you think that there was no reason for that to happen. But trust me there is a reason behind everything.

                As I watched the videos, one thing I noticed was how as soon as the player that is dying goes down, how everybody runs towards them. You can also see shots of the other players going crazy, pulling their hair, and not knowing what to do. They cry and they also stumble forwards, backwards, sideways wondering where to go, and what to do. This shows me that they really cared for him, and the way they were reacting I feel as if they were thinking, “What am I going to do without him?” and that was why they didn’t now were to run to or even where to be at that moment. You can tell these players were a big part of their teammate’s lives. I don’t know exactly what those losses were to them, but I can certainly imagine what my life would be like if playing soccer I just turn around and see my best friend lying on the floor. Just from one moment to another, disappearing of my life. I would have without a doubt, acted as their teammates did… I wouldn’t have known what to do, but I would have desperately be crying and collapsed next to my friend, praying for her to be O.K.  The worst part is that my best friend actually has some heart problems, and the three of these players died from heart-related problems. =(

RIP Foe, Feher, Puerta on YouTube 

Although, the Aztecs played tlachtli, that was sort of a combination of soccer, tennis and basketball. But in this game you couldn’t use your hands OR feet. And finally, the team that lost would sacrifice their captain.

Something similar to soccer was going on in Greece too. They played something that they called “esfaira”. This sphere was made out of an ox’s bladder. They also played in Italy where they called the ball “pila” or “pilotta”, which explains were the word “pelota” (meaning ball) in Spanish comes from. The sport was beginning to get very popular between cultures and people.

Romans took this sport all the way to England. But During the Middle Ages, the sport was prohibited in some places for its violent action. But it was later modified and used by the British Islands. The “dribble” started in the XIX century in public schools. Then it was taken to universities such as Oxford or Cambridge. There, the first rules for soccer were written, but their first regulations were written until in 1848. In 1863 the Football Association was made and that made soccer more modern, or at least more alike to the soccer that is played in actuality. After that, what happened was that Rugby was separated from soccer and were both now made into two totally different sports.

The word football comes from “foot” and “ball” as you would have guessed. This relates to soccer by being able to hit the “ball” with your “foot”. Then where does the word soccer come from?… It’s an abbreviation from the word association football. It also depended in which social class you belonged to; if you were in the high class or in a private school you would probably call this sport soccer, but if you were in the lower class or in a public school you would probably call it football.