Ole, Ole, Ole...

Crew Stadium on Wednesday Feb 11, 2009.
Mexico Verses the US, World Cup Qualifier.



The first leg of my vagabond world tour finally started on Wednesday (after 3 days of packing and cleaning).

First stop:
Columbus, Ohio

Reason for Visit:
US verses Mexico World Cup Qualifier

It was a dark and stormy night (really it was) and the atmosphere outside crew stadium was intoxicating ....because everyone was intoxicated. Groups of Mexico fans chanted and sang "Ole, Ole, Ole" while the US fans marched to snare drums and shouted the typical "U-S-A, U-S-A" chant. My friend Kevin, his friend Nick, and I stood by the gate eating hamburgers and guzzling PBRs preparing to do our part of the Red, White, and Blue.

Random Thought - A soccer coach once told me "If your pee isn't clear before a game then you're not ready to play". He, of coarse, was referring to being hydrated and drinking plenty of water. Ironically, alcohol via the liver will also make your pee clear - and when preparing to cheer your country to victory and a world cup birth... I believe his advice still holds true.

We fought the reported 70 mile-per-hour winds and found our way to our seats (which we never actually sat in).It was a beautiful night for soccer...Not a drop of rain fell after the whistle blew, and the US Men played up to their potential - especially, the hard working midfielder Michael Bradley who scored goals at the conclusion of each half to blaze the way for the USA in front of a rabid crowd of 23,776 fans.

Perhaps more meaningful than the game itself, was the crowd that braved the winds and the rains to attend. The crowd seemed to be split 50/50 between pro-Mexico fans and pro-US fans. The diversity of our section highlighted the best and worst of people, of soccer, and of America. An obvious reflection of America's (once again) changing population, and possible foreshadowing for a conflict to come. I heard incredibly stupid and racist jokes like "With all these Mexican fans here, who is working at Home Depot and in all the Mexican Restaurants." I also heard more than a few "Chupa mi pinga" and "Punto Americano" from the Mexican fans. (If you don't know what those says mean, trust me they are not nice).

These moments of tension and hate were brief. The majority of the interactions we had in our section (which was mostly pro-Mexico) had a spirit of fun, joking, and a love for a common game. A group of Hispanic teenagers gave us background on their players - who they played club for and how many CAPs they have earned for the national team. We, in turn, would tell them about our players and the MLS. No tension, just 8 people talking soccer.

Late in the second half, we begin stealing the common Mexican chant "Ole, Ole, Ole", which they shout whenever they start to get more than 3 passes strung together in a row. Every good pass or tricky move elicits an "OLE!" in unison from all over the stadium. The 5 American fans around us began to shout "Ole!" every time Mexico made a bad pass out of bounds. Instead of it being taken as an insult, 20 Mexican fans turned around and laughed. A few nodded approvingly at the challenge, and started a new chant to shut us up, which they did.

To punctuate the point that people are all the same despite culture and background, picture this... in the row in front of us, three men all had their faces painted, were wearing flags as caps, and were wearing their nations jersey. One was wearing USA colors, one was wearing Mexico colors, and one was wearing Hundurus colors (I'm not sure the Hundurian support dressed up - lol) But after the game ended and all of the US fans erupted in song, the wife of the Mexican face-painted supporter came over and asked all three men to take a picture... these three super fans leaned in together smiled and then high-fived one another before leaving the stadium.

Check the Video. Bradley's Goal for USA
Recommended Reading. How Soccer Explains the World

It is the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, bit it is the little differences that make them interesting.
Gerbs