In the United States, when the word “football” comes up in a conversation, there is no question on what sport you may be talking about. It is the sport in which fans dedicate their lives to supporting and watching every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is no doubt that I love American football just as much and more as the next southern guy. Now when I hear football, or in Honduras “fútbol,” I think about what us Americans call “soccer.” Prior to moving to Honduras, if someone would have asked me if I liked soccer, I would have said no without hesitation.  Now I enjoy watching and playing soccer almost as much as any other sport that I played back home. I love sports with a passion and that will never change.   Prior to moving here my whole life pretty much revolved around sports and when I moved here I noticed a new sport that I have never really thought about. I thought, “Why not learn the sport that everyone craves for in every country other than the U.S?” Now I know so much more about the sport than I did before I got here. It is like basketball in some ways, but at the same time it is totally different.  I have had to spend time watching and understanding the different positions and how each has a different role in the game. There are eleven men on the field at all times, just like American football. Like I said earlier, the ways that the game sets up and the strategy is a lot like basketball. There are positions such as a “forward” that exist in both basketball and soccer. Also, the main goal in both sports is to get the ball to the basket, or in this case, the goal.

The ways that the teams schedule is set up is unlike any other sport that I have ever seen. Teams play for multiple championships, or “cups,” at one time. Unlike in football, baseball or basketball where there is a postseason and playoffs; in soccer you are constantly playing for some sort of cup. Another thing is that there is pretty much no offseason. There is a time where players get a break but it usually only lasts for at most a month. It is a good thing that it is not longer because the fans would go into a rage of not having any sport to watch. There are two well known teams that play in Spain and just about everyone in Honduras either like one or the other. The teams are Real Madrid, which people shorten to “Madrid,” and Barcelona, which people shorten to “Barça.” Probably the most frequent question I have been asked in Honduras is, “Madrid or Barça?” I had to make a choice so I picked Real Madrid and now I feel like I have been a fan all of my life.  When people ask me that question it always makes me think of being in Alabama and someone asks, “Alabama or Auburn?” or being in Georgia and hearing, “Georgia or Tech?” It is funny that passion for sports teams never go away whether in a third world country or in the U.S. I really wish that soccer would become big in the U.S just like it is in the rest of the world. Atlanta is getting a soccer team in 2017 and I am really excited about that. As I am here I hope to keep learning about the game and getting better at playing it myself. I still love all the sports that I have always loved such as basketball, golf, baseball and American football. Soccer is starting to win my heart as well. I am really glad that I found a new sport to play and watch and hopefully teach some people back home who think soccer is for girls. Please continue to pray for the Honduras Baptist Dental Mission and everything that is going on in El Plan. Thanks for your support and I will be seeing some of you very soon!

God Bless,

Brantley Henderson

 

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