Soccer helps South American students feel at home

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Although soccer is not the most popular sport in the United States, it is arguably the most popular sport in most South American countries and in many other places around the world. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup, students from Paraguay and other South American countries were able to make Lawrence a little bit more like home.

Carlos Hernandez, a recent KU graduate from Venezuela, along with nine Paraguay fans gathered in front of the 50-inch Panasonic television at The Exchange apartments with anticipation and excitement for the Paraguay vs. Spain game last Saturday.

“During the game I felt like a little kid on his first visit to Disney. I was watching two of my favorite teams playing each other. It was a spectacular moment for me,” Hernandez said. “I think the best team won and it was well deserved. However, I also felt sad because many of my good friends were not happy because they were out of the world cup.”

The Kansas Paraguay Partnership brings about 100 students from Paraguay each year and allows them to attend any of the Kansas regents schools with in-state tuition. Most of the people in the group watching the game were from Paraguay or somewhere else in South America. A few fans were from Mexico and the United States.

“I support the World Cup because it’s not only a celebration of sports, but of different countries and cultures coming together,” Jazmin Mora, a senior from Paraguay, said.

Mora said the group watching the game was nervous, and although the fans were happy to have made it to the quarter finals, they wanted Paraguay’s team to go further.

The game was streamed in Spanish. The viewers spoke to each other in Spanish. They even yelled and cursed at the television in Spanish.

Their yelling and cheering could not change the way the game was played and what happened next.

When Spain scored a goal, the room went silent and then was overcome with shouts and growls of anger and animosity.

“After the game I realized that they did a great job and we were all very proud of the players and how much passion they put into the game,” Mora said.

Although Paraguay lost the game against Spain, the Lawrence fans gathered at The Exchange were glad that Paraguay had played a great game and that they lost with pride.

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