Check out the photos from the game by clicking on the title of this post, or by pasting the following address into your browser: http://homepage.mac.com/rachelsair/fulbright/PhotoAlbum31.html
Tonight I was a part of history, attending the first regular season National Football League game played outside of the country – the San Francisco 49rs took on the Arizona Cardinals. I met Andy, a Fulbrighter on the research program, at the metro stop General Anaya that is right by my house, and we hopped on a “pesero” to Estadio Azteca (Azteca Stadium). Earlier that day Andy bought the $25 tickets at a Ticketmaster outlet, there was only one price level cheaper than that. I doubted that for that price and to see American football that the stadium would be too full, but by game time it was standing room only in the biggest stadium in the world with 103,000+ spectators.
When the game began, the crowd strongly supported San Francisco. It started as a horrible game between two horrible teams – on the very first play Arizona fumbled the ball and San Francisco recovered it for a touchdown. But when Arizona took the momentum before halftime the crowd seemed to follow. After halftime, the fans cheered for Arizona. The Cardinals ended up winning the game that turned out to be quite exciting, even if the offense wasn’t responsible for most of the touchdowns that were scored.
The halftime show, put on by the TV station Azteca, was Superbowl caliber. TV Azteca has a campaign right now with commercials that show different parts of the country while playing the song, “Somos México” (We Are Mexico). The song played throughout halftime while performers in elaborate costumes representing different parts of the country danced around the field.
I spent much of the game eyeing the stands, checking out the different foods available. There aren’t any concession stands in the stadium, which I think is awesome and makes perfect sense that you don’t have to miss part of a show or game to find food, it comes to you. In each section there are two men who stand by a tub full of ice and bottles of beers and refreshments waiting for someone to call out to them in need of quenching their thirst. I started by trying the Maruchan, the soup in a Styrofoam cup with the freeze-dried noodles that come to live with hot water. The air was a bit crisp that night so soup seemed like the perfect snack. “Seemed” being the key word, as the Maruchan was shrimp flavored and actually had some sad looking miniature shimp floating in the cup. Andy finished that off for me. Next, I tried “tacos de canasta,” tacos that are sold out of a basket, 5 for 30 pesos. After I took my first bite I realized why they keep them under a blanket in the basket, until you say you want to purchase them. They were tasteless and softer than any soft tacos I’ve ever had. Andy helped to eat one or two of those. Lastly, I called over the guy wearing the vest that said, “Botanas.” He was carrying different types of nuts and seeds, sesame and pumpkin. I bought salted nuts that came on a small Styrofoam plate tightly covered with plastic wrap. I definitely got my money’s worth - on the salt.
You can read about the background of this game and what else the NFL is doing for Hispanic Heritage Month at: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8903133
