WOW!!!!! Question for people who live in the area. How is the media coverage leading up to the game? Is there any kind of a buzz that could possibly jump-start Houston's MLS expansion bid? Garber must be salivating at the opportunity to jump into bed with Houston.
what percent do you think will be Mexican supporters? i'm thinking a 75% Mexico 25% US advantage for them in terms of number of fans.
I'd guess 25% would be the maximum possible US support, but I'll defer to any locals who want to chime in.
I don't watch local TV here in Houston (the local news is uniformly horrendous). But the Chronicle (www.chron.com) had a pile of stories in Sunday's paper, and a couple more today. I may watch the morning shows tomorrow to see if they are providing any coverage. I imagine the Spanish-language stations are covering this like mad and that the Yanks will be outnumbered in the stands. I plan on posting after the game for those of you who couldn't make the trip down here.
Can USA-Mexico bring a capacity crowd? Two-thirds of the remaining 8,000 ought to be eaten up in the next two days by those who put off buying tickets until the last minute and the rest will be for those who just spontaneously decide to show up at the ticket window. If the local coverage is as big as it seems that should turn the match into a sellout.
My tickets are already bought so you can't count me as walkup. Curious... what's the weather forecast?
Partly cloudy, with a high of 88 degrees Fahrenheit, according to weather.com. http://www.weather.com/weather/loca...on,+TX&lswa=WeatherLocalUndeclared&whatprefs= The locals would know better than me, but I'm assuming somewhere around 77-84 degrees and a high humidity at kickoff. So do you leave the roof open or shut? Hot enough to justify leaving it open-- but tales of Houston's humidity are legendary. Definitely will be a sellout-- great to hear. I'll be on the optimistic side and say that the percentage of supporters will be 40% USA, 60% Mexican, completely based on a guess. Not a game for neutrals, folks...
Honestly, I just simply don't know. That will be the big question. I'm fairly certain this will not be your typical LA game at the Colisseum (sp?) where it's virtually all pro-Mexico. Call me an optimist, but my gut feeling is US support will be 40-50%. I won't put any money on that, though. As noted, the Chronicle is running front-page stories every day this week (both the news and sports front pages). The local sports radio station has had MLS announcer Glenn Davis on two separate shows this morning. If there are only 8000 left, well, it's guaranteed to be a sellout. Maybe by tomorrow.
Maybe I am being too optimistic but I'd like to think the Mexican supporters, like us hardcore US supporters, may already have their tickets and that a lot of them being sold in recent days are due to the hype in Houston. These ticket sales may very well be Americans who weren't aware.
I will be coming in from Chicago. My guess is the last 8000 will be at least 75 per cent Mexican supporters.
My prediction: 80% Mexican supporters. 20% American supporters. Mexican support will be extremely vocal and the American support will be almost non-existant, save for the 1,000 diehards and Sams Army supporters in the stadium. Please God, prove me wrong!
I think that what matters here is not the amount of US Nat'l Team fans, but more how loud they are. You know that the Mexican fans will be vocal, but I am interested in seeing if the nat fans can be as loud, or just do a good job of being heard.
Simply scream "Dos-zero" all night long. That ought to keep the place buzzing. In all seriousness, a sellout would be amazing. Should be insane in Houston on Thursday. I'm intensely jealous.
It'll be worse than LA. In high school I knew no more than two or three people who supported the US national team, but saw Tri jerseys on a daily basis. Most surprisingly, this included people who had no connection to Mexico whatsoever within three or four generations.
This will be a great opportunity for Mexican fans to prove their detractors wrong and not boo our national anthem.
This is Houston! The 'Necks don't care about this sport. I say the crowd will resemble a typical Rose Bowl gathering: At least 90 percent for the Tri Colores.
Re: Re: field Hopefully, football lines or otherwise, the field will be manicured better than that of The Big Razor. I will say this though... based on the pictures I've seen of Reliant Stadium, the highest kudos should go out to the groundskeepers there. Here in Australia, and in Melbourne's fashionable Docklands district, there is a 55,000-seater stadium also with a retractable roof, and there are hard brown patches all over the place. Has been the butt of a lot of jokes around these parts. Also, I realize that the Amsterdam ArenA, like the Telstra Dome (née Colonial Stadium, née Docklands Stadium), has the same sort of problem with keeping the grass green when the retractable roof is shut. The pitch at Reliant, from the pics I've witnessed, has some of the plushest green grass on any stadium, roof or none. Great work, guys...
Brother you should be. It is going to rock. I am hyped already and I still have 2 days of work before we head to Houston. Course I'll spend the next 2 days on BS getting more hyped. I have absolutely no facts to base this on - but I figure the crowd will be half pro-Mex and half-pro US. We'll see.