Where were you and what were you doing when McBride scored against Mexico in the '02 World Cup?

i hear you, but beating mexico never gets old for me.

especially if it's eliminating them from the world cup. that will never lose its luster.

 

I'd say the shot heard round the world was pretty defining. Soccer in the US has been completely different since that moment. But other than that, making it to the quarters in the modern format is pretty up there. The fact that it was against Mexico is more than just a statistic. In a way, I would have prefered it be against a stronger team but a win against Germany/Brazil/Argentina or the like would be remembered as a fluke. The fact that it was a knockout win over our rivals, and that it's part of a long running change of power in Concacaf makes the win that much more powerful and meaningful. I'm always a little floored by the "I'm so bored with beating Mexico" takes. I guess constantly losing to them wasn't boring but I'll take the boring winning, thanks.

 

Viva Espanya!!

 

The Mad Dog in the Fog?

 

It still hurts Mexicans too. I have some Mexican co-workers. After Mexico knocked out the US in the 2004 Olympic qualifications, they tried to come back and say they we are even. But now by their own admission, the pain is still lingering like a terminal cancer.

I think that is delightful.

 

Well, they can follow the US in these Olympic games, if they so wish.... Mexico is nowhere to be seen....

 

I can't remember. I just passed by there the other day, too.

I try to speed by there if I'm w/ my girlfriend so she doesn't remember the place and all of the sudden remembers the loss and all of the sudden I'm sleeping on the couch.













It just gets so loud in the living room w/ the buses going by and all that.

 

Me and my buddy Smitty used to play pick up games behind Fajita Flats, back in their alley behind the place. Great times as it was small sided black top games with free tequilla and beervages. The entire cook staff and wait staff were Mexican men and el Tri die hards. It was cool playing ball with them till late at night after the placed closed at 11. Everything was just about playin' pick up ball. That was until McBride and Donovan made it 2-0 that summer. After that they wanted nothing to do with us. This happened a lot to us that summer cuz we usually travel with cleats and a ball ready to play. There are always games to be joined in on around Houston.
We still laugh about that 180 those guys did and the look on their faces.

 

I was surprised that it took so long for someone who'd been there to post!

WC'02 was where I met the man, the legend, that is flip. I had never hung out with the MetroStars ESC crew until then; since then, nowhere else!

This is the truth. The chant began that day, IIRC. Before the game, the Mexican fans were outside, completely relaxed & confident. After the game, I just stood outside for hours waiting for a bus to the city center bus station, then another back to Seoul. It seemed like the Mexicans had vanished into thin air!

I don't recall them giving you guys a hard time. I just remember that we could not see the upper deck fans, then suddenly you were marching down to join us!

Is that Mrs. Flannigan & baby at the start?

Seems like it!

 

"Where were you and what were you doing when McBride scored against Mexico in the '02 World Cup?"

???

My response to this would be sort of Norm MacDonald-esque: "I was sitting on my couch, facing my tv, watching the United States playing Mexico in the '02 World Cup".

I mean, I can see how the "where were you" part might be interesting (some of us might have been in Korea, or on vacation in Disney World, or Bora Bora), but... "What was I doing"??? Um... I was knitting. I had the game on, but I wasn't watching it. It was mainly just on for background noise. What the **** do you think I was doing!?

Now, what did I DO? Well, that's a better question. I don't remember, but I probably said "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS", or something like that. When Donovan scored the second goal, I think the volume level went up several notches.

 

I never said they did... cuz they never really did... they just looked at us as they thought "WTF do we do now?!" GREAT GAME!

 

Yes - Columbus Crew Stadium! My friend and I had arranged schedules to see all the US group games at CCS, and we drug my wife and sisters to the Mexico game. My wife had to be at work early the next morning, so she slept in the car until about 1/2 before kickoff.

We did the same thing for the Germany game (which, if I remember, was at a more reasonable hour -- maybe 7 in the morning?), but, of course, nobody wants to play the "Where were you when the Germans cheated by using their hands to ensure the US didn't advance in 2002" thread game...

 

They're really scraping the bottom of the barrel if they think that OQ loss is some kind of revenge!

The next 2 times our Senior teams met after that it was 0-0 and then a 1-0 win for the U.S. So much for revenge!

I never get tried of seeing us beat them either...but we have to beat them in Mexico now.

 

Remember Round 2 of the 2006 World Baseball Classic!? they were trying to call it "even" after that game... L@ME!

 

yeah,they're a great bunch alright...

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169438&page=27

I love their hate! I think it shows who has the upper hand...

 

Our view was a lot like this photo, we were in sideline seats between midfield and the opposite end line, on this angle right here. Wolff made a near post run and opened up half an acre for McBride. Donovan's goal from Eddie Lewis played out right in front of us, and that's the one we celebrated.

 

It was like 3 am. I was in my parent's living room watching the game. I think I woke up everyone in the neighborhood.

 

Haven't posted in...years.

I was at the George & Dragon pub in Phoenix with my wife and 2 friends and a full house of probably 170 people of which only 3 were supporting Mexico.

The local TV sports guy came by with a cameraman, doing a story on the World Cup and "Do Americans care?" and asked me for comments at halftime (I guess because I was the only guy wearing a US jersey).

When McBride scored, I only got more tense, because we were ahead and the Mexicans really stepped up the pressure.

All I can say is, what a night.

[Anyone else remember the Mexico fan and the "rats & dogs" comment?]

 

rats & dogs!? I guess I don't remember... was it on the TV broadcast?

After the game, some mexi fan outside the stadium asked me to swap kits with him and I told him it was the only one I had and needed it for the next game (that was my polite way of declining the jersey swap) but the Univision crew saw it and as their live cams were rolling, we got interviewed and I was "pressure" to swap jerseys. After they left, I asked a stadium steward to swap jerseys with me and he was so excited to do so, so now I have a neon yellow steward jersey as a memory in my closet. Funny thing is that next day I got a call from some friends in TX that saw the hole thing on TV!

LONG LIVE DOS A CERO!!!

 

I was on a surf trip in Costa Rica staying in a small town called Tamarindo. I dragged a friend along to watch the game at a local bar at 2am. There were about a dozen people watching the game. I remember this one Mexican-American dude from the DC area that was rooting for Mexico. When McBride scored I was high-fiving everyone in the bar and I was screaming at the Mexican dude. Funny. When Donovan scored, I did the same thing again, but more intensity. The Donovan goal was like a dagger to Mexico's heart. That was awesome. I pretty much knew then game was over at that point in time. Then Cobi came in to kill the time and he became a human pinata for Rafa Marquez. What a dirty player! Consequently, Marquez received a two game suspension by FIFA. I still think he got off easy. Anyways, it was the best of times. By the way, the surf was great, too. I surf Witches Rock and Ollies twice on that trip. The US victory was just icing on the cake. I wore my USA Soccer shirt for 3 days in a row, but then again I only brought 4 shirts with me on a 7 day trip.

 

Rep for making me jealous that you surfed Witches and Ollie's.

 

I couldn't get the games, so beforehand I snuck into a condemned dorm on the college campus with a key I had snagged (another story entirely), where for some strange reason there was still a lounge set up, complete with electricity, TV and cable. I covered the windows with paper so the rent-a-cops wouldn't see the flashing light of the TV and evict me, scraped the beer cans and stale cigarette butts into a pizza box, put my feet up on the coffe-table, and watched all the US games in a funky-smelling condemned dorm lounge.

When McBride knocked it in, I just sat there. I couldn't believe it. I was scared we were going to lose to Mexico, and for McBride to knock one in so early, I was just in shock. Then I started to get excited that we might win and scared that Mexico might come back. When Donovan scored I went nuts, rent-a-cops notwithstanding.

When the game was over, I snuck back out of the building, locked it up and walked through the quiet, deserted campus to where I parked my car. It was somewhat surreal. We had beaten Mexico in the World Cup, and I was apparently the only one awake, the only one who knew, the only one who cared.

 

Ha! True enough! Although, Justin Mapp was probably watching over in Brandon somewhere.

Hey, Skeeter, come look it the TV! These fellers is tryin' to play volleyball out in a cow field without usin' their hands!!

Naw, Mitch, that's one o them Yankee games-- fielder hockey er somthin.

Now why's that pansy rollin' around on the ground cryin? He ain't bleedin none.

Yup. Gotta be a yankee game. Bunch a wussies. C'mon, let's go play catch with that bobcat you found. First one to lose a body part is a rotten egg!

 

Brilliant. Rep for you!