Photo by ISIphotos.com
Good evening folks. I have made it back to the United States and am ready to get back on the grind on Friday, but first I wanted to go over a few things (including a big thank you to SBI correspondent Travis Clark for holding things down on SBI while I traveled back from Mexico City).
Before we get into some USA-Mexico items, I wanted to let all of you who have written in to join the SBI Fantasy EPL League know that I will be sending out invitations late Thursday and throughout Friday. Yes, it's late in the game, but you should already have your team registered and built by now on the league's website.
Now, onto some more USA-Mexico. For those of you who didn't read it, here is my follow-up on the USA-Mexico match, with five winners and losers from the match. And if you're wondering about the Charlie Davies photo, check out the jump.
For a good take on what things were like at Estadio Azteca, check out this piece from Yahoo's Martin Rogers.
Along those lines of the ridiculous fan behavior at Azteca, I found one ironic moment from Wednesday night. As I watched the first of several hours of post-match coverage on Spanish TV, I came across highlights of a Cubs-Phillies game where they showed a Cubs fan spilling a beer on Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino. One of the TV anchors castigated the fan, calling him dirty. Was there any such commentary in the USA-Mexico game coverage, where far worse happened? Not so much.
And for those of you asking, yes I was one of the journalists who enjoyed a shower of beer. I should note that the impromptu beer shower was more a reaction of Mexico fans throwing beers in the air in celebration of Miguel Sabah's game-winning goal then people actually targeting the American media. At least I'd like to think that (if not, they've got some pretty bad aim).
Speaking of fans, lots of credit goes out to all the American fans who made the trip to the cauldron that is Estadio Azteca. Some estimates had more than 500 American fans in attendance. I had the good fortune of meeting fans from, among other states, Tennessee, California, North Carolina, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas and of course the boys from New York/New Jersey, who are always the loudest group in any gathering of U.S. national team fans.
Among the best headlines I saw in the Mexican newspapers following Wednesday's match was one that simply read, "Not Here." I also found one full-page ad for a health club chain interesting, it read in big letters, "The American Dream is dead." Gotta love hyperbole.
One of the more disappointment things about Wednesday's game? The fact that Charlie Davies didn't get to finish doing his version of the 'Carlton Dance' as his new goal celebration. Not familiar with 'The Carlton Dance'? Here is one of the most hilarious dances of our time:
Speaking of Davies, he was the darling of the Mexican media in most post-match analysis on TV and in print. The speedy striker was impressive and had pundits wondering if we haven't met the new American star. One analyst went so far as to say, "Imagine if he had gotten more service? Who knows what would have happened?" Indeed.
That's all for now. SBI will be back in the swing of things on Friday so be sure to get back into your routine of following the world of soccer, and American soccer, here on SBI.
Feel free to share your thoughts on any of the above items in the comments section below.
