In Mexico City, there is a grand stadium known as the Estadio Azteca. On October 2, 2005, a big event happened in the country where the stadium was filled with more than 103,000 fans. The Mexico flag was present at various spots of the venue in different sizes. Many of the people were shouting “Ole!” together and clapping their hands. The match featured the rivalry between two teams, long-awaited by fans. As the players began to march towards the field, the fans started to cheer louder. Everyone also stood to sing the Mexican national anthem and the big Mexico flag was raised. There was a coin toss to decide which team would kick off to start the game. Everything was properly prepared and the weather was ideal for a football match. However, it was a different type of football game than what people were generally accustomed to. That day, the San Francisco 49ers were about to battle the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League or NFL from the United States. It was a unique match considering how Mexicans are huge fans of soccer.
Mexicans are generally crazy about the sport of football or soccer. Azteca Stadium itself was the place where some of the greatest soccer games in history were held. Examples are the 1970 “Game of the Century” featuring Italy against Germany. The Italians emerged victorious with a final score of 4-3. The 1986 game between Argentina and England also happened at the same stadium, where Diego Maradona did the famous “Hand of God” goal, which was dubbed as the “Goal of the Century”.
However, Mexicans are not completely ignorant about American-style football. In fact, the sport has been in the country since the 1920s. Some colleges and universities actually have a lot of students playing the sport. Leagues have even been organized to promote the sport more through the years. the ONEFA or National Student Organization of American Football is one league that has survived for decades.
The OMFA is another league consisting of 10 teams from different regions in Mexico. The teams play every year to hopefully win the championship and play against semi-pro football teams from the United States. The Mexico national American football team is another organization that played in the American Football World Cup. The cup has been played every four years since 1999. Mexico came in second in the two times it joined, namely in 1999 and 2003.
Despite the growing craze about American football, do not expect it to become as big or bigger than soccer in Mexico. Soccer is still the country’s all-time favorite sport and it continues to spread to new generations and other parts of the country. Soccer players are still more popular than their NFL counterparts in South America and it is expected to stay that way for decades to come. However, it was a great experience for Mexican fans to be able to watch NFL stars play at their local venue. In the end, the Arizona Cardinals played better than the San Francisco 49ers, winning the match 31-14.Labels: custom flag, custom flag maker, custom flag. personalized flag, Mexican flag
by:
The Flagman
