Soccer in Mexico

Mexico does most things pretty poorly. But that's the topic of my next post. This topic is about something Mexico does pretty well: fútbol.

Last night, I went to see the pre-season so-called "Tapatíos" match, that is, between the two biggest Guadalajara-based (Tapatío) teams, Chivas (Goats), and Atlas.

The match itself was about the same quality as A-League matches, which means `pretty low'. However, I enjoyed the match immensely more than I do most A-League matches. I think there were a few specific reasons:

-having two teams from the same city means there can be a noisy contingent of fans from both sides. It's good to see the A-League admitting second-team franchises from Sydney and Melbourne.

-A more liberal allowance of drums and musical instruments. They create atmosphere, which is a clear substitute for the quality of the game.

-Roving booze/food salespeople.

-Much better half-time entertainment. They had teenagers in jumpsuits running a Gladiators-ish obstacle course, which was genuinely funny--and perhaps more interesting than the soccer.

Unfortunately, Chivas, the team which I bought the jersey of, lost 0-1.