COLUMN: The greatest unkown rivalry in sports
In March, we all focus in on one thing and one thing only in sports: the Madness. And that’s not a bad thing by any means. In fact, it’s the most glorious thing this side of heaven. And it better exist in heaven too.
But this year, snuck in between all the amazingness and glory of the NCAA tournament, the U.S. and Mexico decided to slip in a World Cup Qualifying match Tuesday. For those who didn’t know about it, you’re pretty normal. For those who didn’t, you know this truly is the greatest unknown rivalry in sports.
We’re talking the level of Red Sox/Yankees, Utah State/BYU or even Harry Potter/Voldemort. We’re talking about the dirtiest those pairs have gotten, and just then throwing in racism, politics and the worldwide stakes. The hatred can then boil over in some nasty, nasty ways.
The x-factor of the entire scheme has to be infamous Estadio Azteca, the house of horrors for any opposing team but especially American soccer, which has never won a game of importance there. Possibly the largest cement structure on the planet, Azteca has rows upon rows of steep columns of seats that seemingly stacked one upon the other. The 105,000 available seats are filled to capacity with fanatic Mexicans every time the U.S. dares go in there. Michigan football’s Big House has a comparable attendance, but even that isn’t close to the amount of attention and noise every fan gives the game at Azteca.
Heavy drum beats, annoying whistles and chants are constantly reverberating inside Azteca like a concrete death chamber. While watching Tuesday, I noticed a certain not-so-kind word yelled by the entire crowd every time the U.S. had a goal kick, and the first five rows were blocked off presumably for security purposes. Typical sportsmanship rules that are enforced across the U.S. don’t even exist down there, as beer, urine and any other available object is thrown at will onto the field. And they say we’re borderline at the Spectrum.
The high altitude, heat and smothering smog that beats Cache Valley’s inversion soundly only add to the effect. All of this makes Tuesday’s 0-0 tie an impressive feat. Though the Mexican pressure kept coming and the U.S. team reminded me of every 15-seed not named Florida Gulf Coast for a bit, the young Americans pulled off only their second tie ever in Azteca. Though 0-0 may sound a bit dull, the passion and intensity of the players and fans made for a fantastic 90 minute affair.
So yes, we all know that America doesn’t “care as much about soccer as the rest of the world.” Here in the U.S., I’ve decided we either
a) know our national team is going to win, such as basketball, so we only care when they actually lose, or
b) think they’ll lose for sure so we don’t care, such as soccer.
But the heated games with our border rival make me beg to differ with the American people. This truly is a fantastic rivalry that bears looking into in the future, even if it gets played in March.
– Mark is an obsessive Aggie fan who moonlights as an almost unbiased Statesman writer. He is majoring in business administration and preparing for medical school. Comment at m.hop@aggiemail.usu.edu or his blog, www.spectrumagic.blogspot.com.