USA vs Mexico Soccer — A Rivalry SEC Fans Would Appreciate

If you've ever been to an SEC football game or been around two rival SEC fans, you've probably seen some crazy stuff - LSU fans pelting the Tennessee team bus with beer bottles before rocking it back and forth, a Florida wife biting her Georgia husband, and of course Harvey Updyke. It's scary to think that these displays of lunacy passion might pale in comparison to the rivalry between USA and Mexico in soccer.

The two countries meet on the pitch at 9:30 p.m. CT in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, a place that's been awfully unkind to American soccer players and their fans. The detailed first-hand accounts will disgust even the craziest of fans. Example one comes from the Gold Cup game in the Summer of 2011. Keep in mind it took place on US soil at the Rose Bowl.

When Mexico scored their first goal, we were showered with beer cups, half full water and coke bottles.  One US fan had to leave because he was hit with a glass bottle.  Security at the Rose Bowl didn’t care.  Didn’t give a sh*t.

 

Second goal again we are getting pelted, so eventually, my guy friends would push us to the ground when Mexico would score and stand behind us to protect us from the debris being showered on us.  When the game ended, we all ran to our cars and got the hell out of the stadium.

 

Now  let's get an idea of what awaits the Americans tonight when they take the pitch in the World Cup Qualifier. Martin Rodgers of Yahoo!Sports is one of the leading soccer writers and traveled to Mexico City in 2009, a game where the US lost 2-1 but the number one on the scoreboard had less impact than the one in the stands. Example two is an excerpt from Rodgers' account at the stadium:

The man with the tri-colored mohawk took a swig of beer, stuck his fingers down his throat and vomited the mixture back into his cup. In the next seat another man, who was wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon drawing of the decapitated heads of Barack Obama and Landon Donovan, poured out what remained of the Corona beer he had been chugging and urinated into his cardboard drinks container.

 

Then, according to a neutral bystander who witnessed these disgusting acts, the pair stood on their seats, high-fived and hurled their vile concoctions in the direction of Donovan, the United States men’s national team star who was preparing to take a corner kick 15 yards away.

 

Sounds like the SEC on steroids. These fans would probably shun the Bourbon Street teabagger for being too reserved.

The unstable rivalry stems from one part competition and another part politics. Soccer has become the most popular sport in Mexico and has given the country a feeling of superiority when competing against and beating the United States. And El Tri, as the Mexican team is nicknamed, have plenty to brag about recently. It ranks 15th in the (sometimes non-sensical) FIFA World Rankings compared to the USA in 33rd and appear to have a brighter future behind young stars Javier Hernández and Giovani dos Santos.

But while the on-field rivalry has been relatively above-board and evenly played, politics have led to much of the anger and hatred that festers in the stands. National pride weighs as heavily on this matchup as any other in the world. I won't claim to be an expert on NAFTA or the illegal immigration debate that rages in the southwest, but it's obvious that each country holds some level of mistrust and tension towards the other. This New York Times story from November will give you a glimpse into the relationship at the governmental level.

But I tell you all of this to explain why you should be watching tonight. The US currently sits second in CONCACAF Fourth Round qualifying but gaining a point or three from tonight's game would be huge for the country's chances of advancing to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. While history hasn't been on the Red, White, and Blue's side, the team will carry the confidence it gained from last August. That's when the US won in Azteca Stadium for the first time in 24 tries.

It might not be a college football Saturday, but it'll be just as unpredictable, and that's something an SEC fan can get behind.