I was at Slainte Pub today to watch the Mexico – South Africa World Cup opener. It was a great crowd with a great atmosphere… Except for one minor thing.
That, my friends, is a staple of soccer games here in the United States, the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. That is a White man wearing a “Border Patrol” tee shirt. You may have seen others wearing those shirts at soccer games. I’ve seen them mostly at games where a Mexican or Central American team comes to play. I saw plenty of them at RFK Stadium when Club America came to play DC United.
It appears that people like this man think that all Mexicans are Illegal (Undocumented) Aliens. Or that all Illegal (Undocumented) Aliens are Mexican. I am willing to bet good money that he wore the “Border Patrol” tee shirt because it was the Mexico – South Africa games. Surely, he expected Mexicans to be there. And there probably were. I was there. I’m Mexican.
Am I here illegally? Only if the health department hires illegals, the George Washington University hands out Master’s Degrees to illegals, and the University of Texas gives Science Degrees to illegals.
To balance out this Border Patrol a-hole, I met “Mario”, an American who was wearing the Mexican jersey. He cheered for Mexico when they scored, and we talked during the game. See, he wasn’t there to antagonize anyone. He was there to enjoy a game and support a team. He wasn’t there to make a statement about immigration.
(These guys would like to share their opinion on immigration issues.)
At any rate, this isn’t the first time that race and soccer have met. Samuel Eto’o's experience in Spain was horrible. How he kept playing there is beyond me. Hugo Sanchez also had a similar when he went to Europe. It still goes on today.
Then again, I could be taking it all wrong and this guy just grabbed the first tee shirt off his hamper and headed to the pub. Maybe he IS a Border Patrol agent. (Though Baltimore is hardly near a border. Customs Enforcement, maybe, I would understand.) So, unlike people who hate immigrants, I’m going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.
But… What should I do if I see him there again with the same shirt? Call the 1-800 number on it (which leads to a hilarious rant about immigration)? Ask him for ID to prove he’s here legally? Buy him a Tequila drink?
***”Paquinho” was born and raised in Mexico until age 10, when he came to the States and has been living the dream. When not writing about soccer, you can find him rambling on about infectious diseases.***
Tags: Hugo Sanchez, Immigration, Mexico, Racism, Samuel Eto'o, Soccer, South Africa
October 7th, 2010 at 3:56 am
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