yes, because you know how much is at stake in a friendly, that's when you go cut your teeth... in friendlies, when you've got the final score and a free shirt from the other team on the line, oh ya, that's the ticket. trial by fire. that's how you get better. not by wussing out.
The Columbus qualifier was absolutely genius! You could see on television (in the faces of the players)that it was OVER for Mexico before it even started...... As much as I'd love a match like that in So Cal...ain't gonna happen...
Maybe someday, if they play enough home qualifiers in hostile environments, the USA will be good enough to go to the World Cup and beat Mexico. That would be awesome.
At least some people get it. In qualifers, the matches count (our thread starter didn't realize this.) All points are good. Like Bill Gates grabs cash, we need to grab points. Our thread starter apparently is either dumb, or a Mexican in disguse. We're playing Mexico. In February. And you're gonna like it when they go into the locker room in the 75th minute because it's "too cold". ....shivering in excitement and anticipation..
Fixed. There's nothing wrong with being a little psyched up for a game. Even if it is ~8 months away. (and yes, it has snowed in mexico, but nothing serious.)
Quick question Kryptonite, how do you know that the US will be playing Mexico in Febuary? Do you have Jack Warner on speed dial or something?
7300 feet, actually. There's a sign that gleefully points out this fact in the visitors' locker room at War Memorial...
Is that that sign that says in like 1900 some kid played so hard his lungs burst because of the altitude? This is a lie to psych out the visitors cause it never happened but I don't remember where it is.
Or when they don't even come out of the locker room until the national anthems because it's too dang cold...
Not sure...I do know it says "Welcome to 7300 feet"... Friendly, those Cowboys... It used to be painted on the length of the wall behind the visitors bench as well, but it's been a while since I've seen a WYO home game on the Mouse that I don't know if it's still there. I suppose it could be repainted in a pinch...
I just remembered that the one about the kid dying was at Colorado College and Steve Sabol went there and told the story on Lost Treasures of the NFL Vol.I
I wanted to say 7200, but it seemed too high. Well, I should've known seeing as I've played in Laramie.
Yanks vs. Panchos for WCQ in Houston is a bad idea on the fact of what can happen after the game. For the Texas vs. Oklahoma college gridiron affair each year at the Cotton bowl, tickets are split evenly right down the middle. Split by the 50 yard line. I think the same philosophy could be used down here at Reliant but again a match of that magnitude could spill out in the stands and/or parking lot. A qualifying battle against the tricolores in Tejas brings back many emotions. Even the country/western FM stations, who wouldn't normally care about sawker, pick up on the beautiful game when its USA-Mexico!
Man this is a dumb thread. Probably a Mexican fan started it, or one of those people constantly begging for a game in their city.
I think maybe you are under-estimating Azteca... Mexico has only lost in Azteca ONCE since 1985 (and I only use this date because it's as far back as I could get scores for, most likely they haven't lost in a much longer time than this) but still... that's nearly 20 years! That was to Costa Rica in the last qualifying cycle, but other than that, no one has ever gone into Azteca and came out with a win. This includes Brazil, Germany, England, Italy, Russia, Algeria, Belgium, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Venezuela, Colombia, and of course several CONCACAF teams. So no, it's not very likely that we will be able to win at Azteca.
Not to mention the fact that the US has, by and large, played poorly in Azteca. For whatever reasons, US teams get into a funk down in Mexico, and history bears this out. Shaking this off and actually giving the Mexicans a fit in their own stadium would be an accomplishment by itself.
I don't know that recent results reflect your conclusions. The USA did not play well in the last game at Azteca, but still it was only a 1-0 loss. Sure, if you look at all the results going back to the 30s they have been terrible, but they have only played 4 games there in the post-NASL era, and two of them were regulation draws. 1993 Gold Cup Final Mexico 4-0 USA -- very bad 1997 WCQ Mexico 0-0 USA -- tremendous result 1999 Confederations Cup semifinal Mexico 1-0 USA AET -- hard fought game 2001 WCQ Mexico 1-0 USA -- disappointing performance.
In 1997, we needed the result and we put 11 guys behind the ball and hung on for dear life from the opening whistle. It may have been a tremendous result when taken in context of the big picture and qualifying for the '98 WC, but it was in no way a tremendous performance by the team. Shouldn't a teams grade at the end of the day reflect the offense as well as the defense? We were non-competitors offensively. Last round's 1-0 loss was another offensive deadbeat US effort. We were, for all intents and purposes, toothless in that game offensively. So with that in mind, I see "very bad", "tremendous result", "hard fought game", and "disappointing performance." So out of 4 games, we have one credible "performance" (different from "result"). And if your stats are correct, it was another 1-0 loss which indicates another game of inefficient US attack. Yet suddenly, we feel confident about making a claim that we can "probably" defeat Mexico in Azteca? To me, it's pretty obvious that we have no basis for that claim. All recent efforts in Mexico, including our U-23's raising the white flag in that 4-0 drubbing, give little indication that we will be putting a ball in the back of Mexico's net in Mexico.
Point taken. I don't expect a win. We're still waiting for the first goal since the Dark Ages. I just don't think the team has been in a uniformly bad "funk" every time they go there, or that they perform worse there than any other team of a comparable level does. As for the 1997 game, my memory may be faulty, but I remember the team making some noise offensively before Agoos got sent off, and then they went into a bunker, though after that Dooley almost won it with a shot off the crossbar. I would call that game one example of giving Mexico a fit in its own stadium.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, as the person who started this thread, also an Air Force Veteran and a Southern Californian originally, I can tell you that 1) I am not Mexican and 2) We had the last game against Mexico here in Dallas. One thing I noticed at both games was the atmosphere. Houston was a better atmosphere and more even crowd than Dallas. However, there is absoutely no reason why we can't play our WCQ qualifier against Mexico at Reliant. True, it's an hour flight or a 4.5 hour drive from Dallas, but that isn't my only reason for wanting the match there. How about the fact that such a game, on National TV, a sell-out no doubt, would demonstrate that soccer can be HUGE here and give the sport great representation here. What is more likely? People (meaning the casual fan!) would be impressed by a (possibly) sold out Columbus, or by a (definitely) sold out Reliant. Not to mention, Reliant was a great place to watch the match--even from up high where I was with some friends sitting next to USA and Mexico fans. USA Vs. Mexico is all about ELECTRICITY! Reliant is too! I would guarantee the crowd would tilt toward the USA and our team would feel great about playing at Reliant--like they did last time! After all, it is the best stadium in the USA--how many others have a retractable roof and air-conditioning? Yes, Arizona will soon be added to the list as well! I am all for winning our WCQ games, but they are also great opportunities to advance the sport--especially being able to tout the Great Rivalry that has developed over the years between the US and Mexico. By the way, I started this thread because of those of you who constantly try to figure out where we should play who and when. This was fine when we were ranked 55th. This is not cool when we are ranked 8th.