Liga MX Final | México, D.F.

As a soccer fan in a soccer-crazy nation, hitting a game or two while in Mexico was high on my agenda. I arrived just in time for Liga MX playoffs (though, sadly, my team, Monterrey, didn’t even make it) and planned on taking full advantage if the schedule worke out.  I had not, however, planned on getting comp tix to a semi in Toluca and the final here in Mexico City thanks to my amazing aunt. That was huge.

So a non-soccer fan, a soccer-savvy 9-year-old, a French-Mexican, and a Mexican-American walk into a stadium…and last night’s final between Pumas (home) and Tigres (away) was epic! One of the most riveting games I’ve ever attended. Fun.

N.B. As someone who has worked in transportation and game ops at big events (Super Bowls, MLS games, Olympics, etc), I must mention that ingress and the game experience (on-field product and stadium atmosphere notwithstanding) were an absolute cluster and one of the worst I’ve been a part of. We had all sorts of issues getting into the stadium, weren’t able to get seats we had a right to, and had to deal with a scumbag usher in our section who was not-so-subtly fishing for a bribe for the few open seats in our area. This was the marquee game of the season, even in an old stadium they should do better. And who plans kick-off for 8:30 pm local time on a Sunday? Ok, rant over; it was a local experience & they were comps. Just sayin’.

Anyhow, my uncle, cousins, and I had a damn good, memorable time, nonetheless.

Had grillmaster Arny (my uncle) not thrown down a huge, tasty sirloin & salsa meal earlier that evening, I would have dug into the Maruchan Instant Lunch ramen in a styrofoam cup (for real, wish I had a pic!), tacos de canasta, or tortas vendors were hawking up and down the aisles at the stadium. Beers were nearly 3x as expensive as they were for the semi in Toluca for whatever reason, so I opted for Mexican coke.

To make a long story short, Tigres won the home leg 3-0 (and it could’ve been 6-0) in dominating fashion, and I never thought Pumas could score three to even things up and make a game of it in the decisive game. This is why I’m a fan and not an analyst.

Lo and behold, they did, outplaying Tigres in the 2nd half and bagging three unanswered goals. This is what the third looked like from my view. It was electric… and wet (from all the drinks elated people were throwing). Good times!

In an unlikely turn of events, the road team scored a late goal and nearly killed the game in extra time…but then Pumas scored at the wire (literally, 30 seconds before the final whistle blew) to send it to PKs. That’s where it fell apart for the home team.

Tigres won, much to the delight of the visiting fans who were all behind the goal where the PKs were taken. We took a pic and celebrated on behalf of my aunt, Fabi. Nicolás, the 9-year-old who really enjoyed the entire game, passed out the second we got in the car. We got home at 12:45 am and I loved seeing my aunt so happy because her team won (she couldn’t attend due to injury; thanks, drunk driver!)

The struggle was real for Nicolás (school day) and I (ride to school) this morning, but it was well worth it.  Amazing experience.

Now that the champion’s been crowned, I’m excited to see what next season’s calendar looks like so I can plan my trip to my hometown in January to see Monterrey play at their brand-new stadium…and talk some ish to Tigres fans, even if they just won.