Courage is fire, bully is smoke

Honduras loss against USA on Saturday, it was definitely a hit against our aspiration of obtaining a direct ticket to the 2010 World Cup, but one final chance for achieving this goal is still on.

Somehow having most odds in our favor, we lost at a scenario where all of the games we had played before were won. The atmosphere previous to the game was amazing. Tickets were sold almost entirely the same day they were put on sale. Some were being sold by the black market as much as three times its real value. People came from all over the country and abroad to have a chance of watching their national team classify to a world cup for the second time after waiting twenty seven years. Unfortunately Saturday was not that day.

In spite of trailing 3-1 when the game was already 30 min into the second half, fans were still cheering for our team. When Julio Cesar “Rambo” de Leon scored the second goal, the whole stadium erupted in a roar of happiness. It was after Pavon missing the penalty that silence fell upon the “Estadio Olimpico”.

Some people left before the game ended and others yelled angry incoherencies against their players and coach but most sat silent after watching their dream being broken at home.

Wednesday will be the last chance we have of obtaining a direct ticket for the World Cup. The game will be played at el Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, El Salvador; were luckily 10,000 Salvadorans will show up knowing that their national team is already disqualified from the round.

For people who’ve got no faith, base your hope on statistics. Costa Rica has little or no chance of beating USA playing as the home team. They haven’t won a game against them in the qualifying round in nearly 20 years. USA easily beated Spain this year on the Confederations Cup and lost only to one goal against Brazil on the finals, so there we see the level of the games they’ve had this year.

We’ve rooted for our team this entire qualifying round against harsh opponents. We’ve celebrated and screamed all of their goals. What difference does one more game make? Let’s give it all one last time and send our best wishes to our national team.

Tomorrow may be our last opportunity of classifying after 27 years. Tomorrow will be crucial in knowing if we obtain a place in S.A. or if we’ll have to battle a ticket against a South American nation.

*Post written by Juan H. Tejeda.