Athletics around the world

Fatema Mohammadi, an ELI student from Afghanistan, was particularly inspired by the event. Before attending, she knew very little about American football and had confused it with soccer. The most famous sport in Afghanistan, however, is cricket.

“Every year we have a cricket competition between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our people are very good at it,” Mohammadi said. 

Like American athletes, Afghani students hoping to make a high-level team start practicing when they are young. 

“There are people who have grown up with cricket since they were children. They watch the games like most people watch football or soccer matches,” she said.

The students were very surprised at the level of commitment expected of the players and the number of hours they dedicate to the sport. Saunders is used to answering questions from Americans about the day-to-day life of a college athlete, but he didn’t expect the international students to be so astonished.

“To see the international students grasp how much time we actually devote to football was very interesting,” he said. “I've answered that question before, but they had such a big reaction to hearing how early we get up, how much time is spent focusing on football, which was very eye opening.”

The students were also astounded by the level of support athletes are given by the University. Mohammadi was impressed by the quality of the equipment, resources and athletic centers that she saw on the tour of the facilities.

“Everything is professional and always available to the students,” she said. 

“I came to the event thinking there wouldn’t be a strong understanding of American football,” Saunders said. “Coming out of the event, it seemed like the international students had a pretty good understanding of football and what we were saying about our positions, what we do and the day to day. It was eye opening.”