Ummm are you sure that its football and not Futbol

In the preceding months before I came to Mexico after telling people what I had in store for my future, I would often  be met with a moment or two of silence and blank stare as I mentioned that I was to play football in mexico.

Now I believe most of it to be naiveness but sometimes ignorance when people would ask me if I was sure that recruited me for american football and not soccer. The medical equivalent would be to find out that your surgical doctor was actually a psychiatrist.

Regardless even I didn't realize the extent that american football was followed in Mexico. I read a really great article by a ESPN article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/hispanicheritage2008/news/story?id=3620057

I attended my first peewee game this past week and was no where prepared for the hype and fan excitement that I experienced.

The Aztequitas our unassociated "peewee team"

The Fans and families travel VERY well. If you think that athletic parents are a little eccentric in the US you would be in for a world of surprise here in mexico.

The home stands

 

For starters there are probably 200-300 people that come to these games, however they cheer as if they were the college section at Penn State.

Don"t have a drum?? No problem! Just get yourself an empty water bottle and a big ass spoon.

Secondly, everyone has noise makers of some sort. Big drums, whistles, and flags accompany all of their loud cheers.

The final thing worth noting about "our" peewee team is that they are really bad. hahah I have been to 3 games and they lost them all. And despite the fact that I thought it was just a normal game the last opponent victory was followed by confetti and streamers thrown by their parents...