On Wednesday, Kiel, Roel, Marianne and I attended the Atlas-Pumas game at Estadio Jalisco, kickoff 8:45 pm. We had tried to get tickets to the Clasico between Chivas and America over the weekend, but that was sold out, so this was the next best choice. Getting to the stadium was pretty easy; again we took ruta 275 to the Lazaro Cardenas stop of the Macrobus and exited at the stadium. I’m not sure which stop it is, but just follow all the fans in the red and black jerseys. The stadium seats around 75,000, so getting tickets was easy. Seating in the upper deck is open, so just find a spot and take a seat.

Estadio Jalisco

Great save by the Atlas goalie

With typical Mexican efficiency, we had purchased our tickets and made it through security by the 20th minute, although we didn’t miss much action. I was really surprised by how disorganized both teams looks, loosing shape easily, hitting long passes to no one and bad fundamentals in general. I would say it is about the same level as MLS, with more flashes of technical skill. The only player that stood out for me was Moreno on Atlas. He did a decent job of holding up the ball even though he was getting terrible service. There were a few chances here and there, but the finishing was woeful and it was not until the last 10 minutes that Atlas really came alive. Pumas basically had possession the whole game until then, but it looked like Atlas might steal the game. It was not to be though and the game ended 0-0.

Nice tackle!

However, the crowd was entertaining. Sitting centrally in the upper deck was the Rojinegra fan group, who was singing for most of the game. I couldn’t quite understand most of the songs, but I did pick out a fair number of curses. There was a lot of flag waving, but a lot of it seemed half-hearted as Atlas was not showing much on the field.  There was a woman behind us reeling off every curse word known to man, which was entertaining. At some point in the second half about ten police officers escorted a group of the Rojinegra fans out, but I couldn’t tell why.

After the game

After the game we stuck around and got some tacos from one of the street vendors. Everyone was really aggressive so you had to fight your way up to order and be quick about it. Of course, Kiel got eight tacos, which were some of the biggest we have had all trip. While eating we met a gangbanger from Los Angeles who had spent time in jail in the US and had been deported. We have actually ran into a few other people who were in the same situation. After eating we hopped in a taxi back to Tlaquepaque, which was $120 pesos. All in all it was a fun night, although, I think the Clasico would have been much more lively. Next time!

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