Around the world, sports are a major influence on the culture of a country. Like the rest of the world, and especially Latin America, soccer is the major sport played in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a national team that competes with other countries and in the World Cup; however, the country also has six soccer leagues of its own. There are both men's and women's professional divisions. The largest and most televised league is Futbol de Primera Division. This league has twelve teams between the seven provinces including four teams from San Jose alone! My host mother's favorite team is Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, also known as La Liga. The team's colors are red and black, and I see many Ticos sporting their jerseys in the streets. La Liga has won 30 national championships and is a fan favorite of Costa Ricans! This weekend, my host mother, her friend and I watched a game between Herediano and Deportivo Saprissa on the television. They were rooting for Herediano and they won, despite the downpour of rain!
Second, to soccer, surfing has to be the other most popular sport here. When I last visited Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast, I learned that the National Surfing Competition is often held here at Playa Cocles.
