Florida’s Land Shark Stadium might as well have been Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Wednesday night. The only things missing were the mountain backdrop and the aging track around the soccer field. Tens of thousands of Honduran fans were on hand to celebrate their World Cup-bound team in a friendly exhibition match against Peru.
Hours before the stadium gates opened, the sound of thumping drums and honking horns filled the air. Nearly 90 percent of the crowd were wearing the blue and white jerseys of the Honduran national team (the Seleccion). Many of the shirts had an extra line printed that read: “Soy Mundialista!” (I am in the World Cup).
The South Florida Honduran community is 60,000-strong, and it seemed nearly half of them showed up. Groups of Hondurans also came in from as far as Atlanta, Houston, North Carolina, and yes, San Pedro Sula. Many of them wore body paint and were wrapped in giant Honduran flags, the largest of which measured 60 feet and was unfurled over a giant section of the stadium when the game began. That same flag had rolled into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn and Suites in Sunrise on Monday afternoon, attached to six pickup trucks. The Honduran team practiced for the match at a field adjacent to the hotel, and fans wanted the players to see the flag and sign it, which they did.
“This game is very important for all of the Honduran fans in South Florida because it’s our one and only chance to see our team before the World Cup, and to congratulate them for their great achievement,” said Walter Paz, a fan from Miami Lakes who was grilling ribs and tortillas with friends before the match. “It’s been 28 long years waiting for this moment, and it comes at the perfect time because it is a distraction from the crazy politics going on back in Honduras. I think of it as a sort of anesthesia from our presidential troubles.”
The only sign of the political conflict back home was a group of fans handing out cards that read: “Que se vaya Zelaya” (May Zelaya go away).
“I am here to support the national team and also to support our upcoming elections,” said Marcial Santos, an industrial engineer who has homes in Miami and San Pedro Sula. “I definitely plan to vote on Nov. 29, a vote for democracy. We are going to show the world that we Hondurans can take care of our own problems through elections.” Santos and his friends, Leo Mendiato of Kendall and Jorge Prieto of Miami, are die-hard fans who have traveled to Mexico, Chicago, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica to watch the national team.
“This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate our team right here in Miami, a chance to celebrate that yes, we did it,” Prieto said. “One reason they had the game here is that there is such a huge Honduran population here and they wanted to thank us for our support.”
Land Shark Stadium is one of 27 stadiums bidding to host World Cup matches in 2018, if the United States were to be awarded that Cup. The local bid committee was hoping for a large, enthusiastic crowd Wednesday night to boost this market’s image as a soccer-crazed community. They got their wish.
Unfortunately, Wednesday evening the Honduran National team did not get theirs, as they lost to Peru, 2-1.
