College campuses across the country are buzzing with spring futbol practice, welcoming back a nationwide obsession.
For a small but passionate group of University of Tampa students, their game of futbol never takes an offseason ‘- here or around the globe.’
About 25 or 30 students from all over the world show up most Sunday nights on UT’s intramural field to satisfy their love of their favorite game — soccer.
Bruno Chan, a junior from Sao Paolo, Brazil, is one of the students who cannot get enough.
‘The only organized soccer matches are the intramurals, and that’s only one game a week for half a semester,’ Chan said.
They also play for relaxation and a change of pace from the ultra-competitive intramural tournament. ‘You’re free to do whatever you want because you don’t have to worry about losing an important match.’
Since UT attracts many students from different countries, the players get a chance to meet new people who share the same passion for the world’s most popular sport
‘I love meeting people from places I’ve never been able to visit,’ Chan said.’ ‘I’ve met people from Trinidad, Haiti,’ Ecuador and it’s taught me a lot about their culture.’
Keran Look Loy, a junior from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, shares the excitement that comes with the global flavor of the ‘Sunday Sweat’ ‘- the nickname some players call their sessions of friendly games.
‘I get to play with guys form all over the world.’ It’s my favorite part of playing here.’ When I’m here I hear people on the field talking in Spanish and Portuguese and Arabic and it’s amazing.’ It’s like I get to experience the whole world.’
Language is not the only noticeable difference in the diverse group of students.’ True futbol fanatics can tell the subtleties in each player’s game.’ Sometimes the style of play reveals the part of the world a particular player calls home.
‘Some people are very flashy.’ A guy from England plays like the big English teams.’ The people from the Caribbean and Latin American love to play with a lot of flash and the Americans and Europeans are more straightforward,’ Chan noted.
Look Loy plays every Sunday.’ He has played every week since he first arrived on campus.’
‘My freshman year, me and my friends went out to the field at six, and a bunch of people showed up from all the dorms and off-campus.’ Some of the guys told me they play every week and I’ve been going ever since.’
Despite living in a country where the word ‘football’ makes most people think of Friday night lights, college rivalries and the Super Bowl, these students still connect to their homelands every Sunday night through the beautiful game of soccer.
Michael Franz can be reached at mfranz@ut.edu
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