Let me state right up front that I am not a hater of Mexican futbol or Mexican futbol fans. It seems most U.S. soccer fans have a deeply ingrained hatred of the game played south of the border. Often I hear of the infamous incidents of Mexican fans throwing bags of urine on U.S. players or I hear of dirty fouls being committed by goons wearing green. I think that is all just a part of a great, healthy rivalry...(see Rangers v Celtic). I also believe some of the disgust for Mexican futbol is fueled by the anti-immigration politics of those who let FoxNews do their thinking for them.
That said, I must say that the Mexican futbol press recently showed a serious lack of class and professionalism. When the Jamaican national team arrived in Mexico City they were overwhelmed with a Mexican press corp which acted like a bunch of Hollywood paparazzi who had just seen Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton in a drunken stupor.
The scene was rather ugly. The press and the Jamaican players began to shove each other while questions were yelled out only to be met by a strong silence from the Reggae Boyz. Airport security eventually intervened and the Jamaican's arrived safely at their bus. Upon boarding the bus, Jamaican coach Rene Simoes made one of the most memorable quotes of the year...
"We are underrated in Mexico. You think Jamaica is a very small rival, but in tomorrow's match you will see the answer to your disdain."
Well done Coach Simoes! A brilliant statement and a genius approach to motivating your team. I am not sure it can get them a victory in Azteca stadium, but it sure makes for some great pre-game drama.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment