Not Quite Azteca...But It Will Do

As seen in the October 22, 2009 edition of The Heights, the Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

Imagine fans more "smashed" on a whole than any pre-game tailgate you'll find on Shea Field, drinking enough tequila to bring LenDale White back to his old playing weight. Now imagine 105,000 of them screaming and chanting for two hours without a break.

Welcome to Estadio Azteca.

The go-to home ground for the Mexican national soccer team blows Michigan-Ohio State out of the water. I'm not calling the prototypical college football rivalry tame, but I doubt Terrelle Pryor will be looking over his shoulder this year in case a flare or bag of urine is coming his way. And that's without Azteca's barbed-wire fence.

Azteca is one of the most feared venues in the world. The noise is nearly unbeatable when the "El Tri" steps onto the field.

Mexico has Azteca. England has Wembley. Even Costa Rica has its national stadium in San Jose, with a field that makes the Astro Dome turf look like the sprawling fairways of Bethpage Black. Then the United States has…?

Maybe Giants Stadium? I was there for the Gold Cup this year and can guarantee the Mexican fans outnumbered those in Red, White, and Blue at least six or seven to every one.

How about Soldier Field in Chicago? When the U.S. last played there, its opponent - less than impressive Honduras - drowned out the American support.

Then comes the last game of qualifying for the World Cup. The United States had already clinched its trip to South Africa 2010, and its opponent for the evening, Costa Rica, had to win to avoid a home-and-home with Uruguay to clinch its place in the Mecca of international team sports, the World Cup (sorry, Olympics).

It's the type of situation where both players and fans phone-in their effort, preferring not to leave the couch and risk an injury, to sit in the stands in an unnaturally cold October. Still, the U.S. had to suit up and walk onto the field in Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium last Wednesday.

Head coach Bob Bradley may want to ask the USSF to move there permanently. The crowd was loud and vibrant in support of the Americans. Signs honoring injured striker (and former BC player) Charlie Davies hung from the lining walls, and the ESPN cameras had no shortage of "super fans" to show during breaks in the action.

Chants of "When the Yanks come marching in," which had been virtually silenced by Mexican support in my trip to the Meadowlands, were clearly audible hundreds of miles away through the television. It was what the U.S. had lacked for so long, a downright home-field advantage.

The U.S. team celebrated in front of its fans after the game like it had just won its very own World Cup. They were leaping around applauding the support of their compatriots.

Tim Howard, the veteran stalwart in front of the goal, was jumping around, hanging on his teammates with a massive smile. It conjured up images of Thomas Claiborne's celebration in front of the BC student section after the Eagles beat Va. Tech last season.

The ensuing field-storming after that victory - probably uncalled for and the sole reason there are now a small army of staties awaiting a lone zealot following a win over the likes of Northeastern - did not happen at RFK, but the mutual admiration of the effort on the field and in the stands was the same.

The scene looked similar to the U.S. upset of Spain, by far the biggest victory the national team had since it defeated England, the home of soccer (a.k.a. Association Football) … in 1950.

The best part about the RFK experience? The U.S didn't even win.

Jonathan Bornstein netted a header in the 95th minute to tie the game 2-2. The crowd may have been looking for a victory, but at that moment, a draw was all it needed. The lone point taken from the game was enough to assure that the stars and stripes would finish tops in the group, just ahead of Mexico. Meanwhile, Costa Rico, arguably the second biggest rival the U.S. has, was forced to book a round trip ticket to Montevideo for the chance to join Howard and company in South Africa.

If Bradley's team is really going to take the next step and become a true force the world away, that is the kind of support it needs.

Sure, there are some crazy people - yours truly included - who would relish the chance to sit so far up in the nosebleed that there isn't even a word for it just to say they saw the U.S. play at Azteca. Personal police escort included.

The team can't expect a crowd like that to be waiting for them when the suit up in Johannesburg or Bloemfontein, but if the U.S. knows a it has a crowd like the one it had at RFK is behind it back home, it just might be enough.