Too hot for soccer
If I may be so frank I'd like to suggest that the reason why soccer is not very popular or widespread in the DR is a combination of the climate and the psyche of the people. It is too hot for soccer, where you basically have to be physically active, running, jumping and kicking, most all of 2x45 minutes. OK, so it is hot in Mexico and Brazil too, where soccer is a craze, so part of the reason might lie in the psyche or attitude of Dominicans. No offense, but are Dominicans just that more laid-back?
I remember walking by a soccer field (near the Malecon) in Puerto Plata a couple of years ago. It was in the early evening, and the game was in full swing. The air was hot and sticky, and I thought to myself, how do they stand playing under these conditions? Must have been a dedicated few.
I suppose baseball is far more suitable here, a game where the extent of physical activity more or less is limited to swinging a bat or jogging a few yards every once in a while, with plenty of chance to rest in the shade in between. And chew some tobacco. You are also protected from the sun by long sleeve jerseys and long pants or stockings (or whatever they are called) plus a cap on the head. Has anyone ever seen a soccer player wear an outfit like this?
What first captured the hearts and minds of the people also must have something to do with it. If soccer had already caught a certain hold before the yankees introduced baseball in the DR way back when, things might possibly have been somewhat different (The US never occupied Brazil or Mexico, as far as I am aware, and certainly not in the early years of the past century. This argument also belongs in the first paragraph above.)
If soccer is more popular in places like Jarabacoa, could it be partly because the higher altitude climate is more benign?
Just a few unqualified thoughts that weren't meant to be taken too seriously.
(Arve: Heia Norge!)
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