USA vs Mexico

That's the logo on my shirt. RESPECT.

While reading today's FUP post, I realized that the aye-aye looks kinda what I'd imagine Voldemort/Dobby/Voldemort's Soul Piece at Dead Kings Cross Station/Mandrake/The Burrow's garden gnome might look.

Though I can't make up my mind what EXACTLY it looks like, I do know that JK Rowling must of had an entire aye-aye wall in her writing quarters to use as inspiration. It just wouldn't make any sense otherwise.

ALSO: Something from Pan's Labyrinth. And maybe Star Wars. And probably Lord of the Rings.

Weird animals aside, my day has been quite the interesting thing. After much tense/excited anticipation (try the last week or so), the Mexico VS USA game was finally here. HO JESUS CHRIST. In preparation for this momentous event, me and my moms ventured into a soccer supply store to purchase USA and Mexico team shirts. Lemme tell ya, the man at the counter wasn't too happy with my choice; I could tell he questioned my upbringing.

He raised an eyebrow and muttered "My children were born here too, but they still support Mexico."

OH YEAH BUDDY? WHATEVER. YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU SPEAK.

Obviously, it would be SUICIDE to argue with this man and, since I said nothing, he eventually warmed up to us. Or maybe it was just the fact that we were purchasing two highly overpriced t-shirts and a pair of goalie gloves, thereby funding his betting pool. Whatever the reason, he was soon smiling and saying, "I support my team, I really do, through thick and thin but... well, when it comes to matters of money, I have to bet on the rival.

Jerk. At least I don't hide the fact that I support the winning team. I DECLARE IT. That's almost as traitorous OR WORSE than what I'm doing, betch.

Meh, he was still pretty cool. "I really hope we win this one. We have to go the World Cup!" He sounded truly worried about the prospect of not reaching South Africa, the NEW new frontier. Not that Mexico would win, per se, but the fact that your country got in makes you feel better than, I dunno, some other random country that didn't make it in. I mean, if Trinidad Y Tobago makes it and we don't... that's pretty effed, I ain't gonna lie.

So there I was, outfitted in my Men's Small USA official Nike soccer jersey, trying to look as soccery as possible. My mother, meanwhile, donned her long-sleeved white, red, and green one, her face dropping more and more as she realized that all the Mexican newscasters were wearing the traditional and ultimately more vibrant green. The game began, with the playing of national anthems. I sang mine in its entirety, and the few snatches I remembered from the Mexican national anthem, which is rather longer and has a better, more memorable beat as far as I'm concerned.

GAME GAME GAME. SHIZ WAS FIERCE from minute one. Not ten minutes in, we already had a goal. I was feeling good. I was stinging like a butterfly, swimming like Michael Phelps at the Beijing Olympics, and peeing like a bee. I was so nervous I was actually biting my nails, and twiddling my thumbs, and slapping my siblings across their respective visages.

Eventually we did lose, but I never truly expected us to win. The team was surrounded by a whole lot of people praising not Allah or Brahman or even Jesus Christ, but the almighty Giovanni Dos Santos, who is as saintly to Mexican soccer fanatics as the combination of TWO saints, which is obviously better than one, and obviously makes sense considering that's what his effed up last name means. Whether he made in any goals ain't the point. Gio's the fucking shit right now; I'd even go as far as to say he's the Mexican Viktor Krum.

(The point of that paragraph was to illustrate how it's really hard to win when the entire stadium is supporting the other team. I mean, look at Bulgaria vs Ireland in the Quidditch World Cup final! [Yeah, I know that was a total digression, but an important one nonetheless.])

Harry Potter references aside, I still enjoyed it. I love watching the USA team play - they play very cleanly, quite neatly, and it's seriously a joy to watch Howard, the goalie, stop the ball. He's a giant, for one, and he likes breaking up potential fights, like when one broke out when some Mexico player grabbed a fallen US player round the head for apparently no reason.

I kinda wanted to see a fight. It's ok, I'm good with it.

ALSO: Donovan. Love him. Cool guy. He's just plain cool, and it sucks that people in the stadium have to be RETARDED AS HELL and throw bottles at him. HE'S THE SHIZ, Mexico! Of all the players on the USA team, he's the one you should respect. I mean, he makes an effort to speak in Spanish at YOUR press conference and speaks it damn well, better than ME or even some of your own children.

For Costa Rica, go ahead, I don't mind, they were playin' dirty anyway.

Now my dad's rubbing it in my face. And I'm strangely ok with it. After all, it wouldn't be any fun watching the World Cup sans Mexico, even if they don't win.