¿Por qué un blog?
¿Sinceramente? I don't know. I guess I decided to use this avenue to keep and share my thoughts on fútbol.
I am Mexican and I would almost say that my love for fútbol was an inheritance from my dad.
I was raised in the central part of Mexico and my family are huge fútbol fans - well, we specifically cheer for Chivas.
My earliest memories of fútbol was during the Mexico '86 World Cup. I was three years old and I remember being on my dad's shoulders as we went to one of the games. To tell the truth, I cannot tell what game it was or if Mexico played (although I am pretty sure they did), but I can remember the excitement and the craziness of the stadium.
My dad played fútbol from a young age and he almost made it professionally. Almost. I recently found out that he was scouted by the Monterrey Rayados, which is pretty amazing. For reasons that were not fútbol related, my dad had to quit. I think how much he loved the game and how much he missed it, took part of why I loved it too.
You also need to know that I never played fútbol as a child. I wasn't allowed to. Yes, it seems a hard concept to accept, and no I won't go into whether it is fair or not. Let's simply say that it was a different time and it is just the way it is. Regardless, I grew up watching, crying, screaming and getting angry during games.
As I grew up, I do admit that there was a time when I stopped following fútbol as much. As a teenager, I left those crazy moments to my brother, dad and grandfather, although I would also watch from time to time.
Fast forward 20 years later, and here I am, with a love of fútbol that not even my father expected.
I moved to Atlanta 12 years ago when I married my husband. I left my family and my culture, and moved to an area where fútbol was the name of a completely different sport.
I honestly didn't think I missed it that much, except every four years during the World Cup. My kids and I visit my family for a big part of the summer, and we have been there for every World Cup since I got married, which means I get to enjoy and live the craziness with my own.
When my daughter turned 3 and half, we were in Mexico during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I saw her watching everyone go crazy and not really understand much of what was going on. Don't get me wrong, she loved the screaming, chanting and cheering part, but she didn't get the fact that it was a sport and a game. I realized then that my daughter was not growing up with this part of me because I was really not sharing it with her. I was not watching games or playing the sport with her, so she didn't understand it. After Brazil, I started talking more about fútbol with her. Watching small videos, talking about Mexico playing, etc. I wanted my kid to learn about the sport that made us that kind of crazy.
Then 2017 happened and Atlanta got a professional team. I will admit that we did not jump right away into it, even though we were given the chance to. As a matter of fact, I only read a bit about the team during their first season. Why? Well, this is going to sound mean, but I really didn't think that MLS was real fútbol. I had always looked down on the league and I wasn't sure I could get into it.
Last winter, my school organized a field trip to tour the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and while visiting there, one of my co-workers and I started talking about Atlanta United. He was already a Founding Father and huge fan of the team. As we talked and I shared my thoughts on the league, he told me more and more about the team. The first thing he mentioned was the coach: Tata Martino. And that name made me raised my eyebrows because I knew who el Tata was and how respected he is in fútbol, especially in Latin America. I started thinking that perhaps there was something about this particular team. Then he talked about how Atlanta United was different. The team was bringing new talent from other countries and these young players were really making an impact in here. Before we left, he told me: 'Go to Youtube and search for Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron'. And so I did.
And that was it for me.
Watching the clips of their first season reminded me of what I was missing, of the love of fútbol, of being with family and sharing the good, the bad and ugly of the team. That night I told my American husband that I was getting tickets for the home opener and that the house was now an Atlanta United Supporter, whether he liked it or not.
And here we are. One year later. #MLS 2018 Champions.
#atlutd
I am Mexican and I would almost say that my love for fútbol was an inheritance from my dad.
I was raised in the central part of Mexico and my family are huge fútbol fans - well, we specifically cheer for Chivas.
My earliest memories of fútbol was during the Mexico '86 World Cup. I was three years old and I remember being on my dad's shoulders as we went to one of the games. To tell the truth, I cannot tell what game it was or if Mexico played (although I am pretty sure they did), but I can remember the excitement and the craziness of the stadium.
My dad played fútbol from a young age and he almost made it professionally. Almost. I recently found out that he was scouted by the Monterrey Rayados, which is pretty amazing. For reasons that were not fútbol related, my dad had to quit. I think how much he loved the game and how much he missed it, took part of why I loved it too.
You also need to know that I never played fútbol as a child. I wasn't allowed to. Yes, it seems a hard concept to accept, and no I won't go into whether it is fair or not. Let's simply say that it was a different time and it is just the way it is. Regardless, I grew up watching, crying, screaming and getting angry during games.
As I grew up, I do admit that there was a time when I stopped following fútbol as much. As a teenager, I left those crazy moments to my brother, dad and grandfather, although I would also watch from time to time.
Fast forward 20 years later, and here I am, with a love of fútbol that not even my father expected.
I moved to Atlanta 12 years ago when I married my husband. I left my family and my culture, and moved to an area where fútbol was the name of a completely different sport.
I honestly didn't think I missed it that much, except every four years during the World Cup. My kids and I visit my family for a big part of the summer, and we have been there for every World Cup since I got married, which means I get to enjoy and live the craziness with my own.
When my daughter turned 3 and half, we were in Mexico during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I saw her watching everyone go crazy and not really understand much of what was going on. Don't get me wrong, she loved the screaming, chanting and cheering part, but she didn't get the fact that it was a sport and a game. I realized then that my daughter was not growing up with this part of me because I was really not sharing it with her. I was not watching games or playing the sport with her, so she didn't understand it. After Brazil, I started talking more about fútbol with her. Watching small videos, talking about Mexico playing, etc. I wanted my kid to learn about the sport that made us that kind of crazy.
Then 2017 happened and Atlanta got a professional team. I will admit that we did not jump right away into it, even though we were given the chance to. As a matter of fact, I only read a bit about the team during their first season. Why? Well, this is going to sound mean, but I really didn't think that MLS was real fútbol. I had always looked down on the league and I wasn't sure I could get into it.
Last winter, my school organized a field trip to tour the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and while visiting there, one of my co-workers and I started talking about Atlanta United. He was already a Founding Father and huge fan of the team. As we talked and I shared my thoughts on the league, he told me more and more about the team. The first thing he mentioned was the coach: Tata Martino. And that name made me raised my eyebrows because I knew who el Tata was and how respected he is in fútbol, especially in Latin America. I started thinking that perhaps there was something about this particular team. Then he talked about how Atlanta United was different. The team was bringing new talent from other countries and these young players were really making an impact in here. Before we left, he told me: 'Go to Youtube and search for Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron'. And so I did.
And that was it for me.
Watching the clips of their first season reminded me of what I was missing, of the love of fútbol, of being with family and sharing the good, the bad and ugly of the team. That night I told my American husband that I was getting tickets for the home opener and that the house was now an Atlanta United Supporter, whether he liked it or not.
And here we are. One year later. #MLS 2018 Champions.
#atlutd
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