I'm rooting for the good guys
By YADIRA SANCHEZ OLSON
Well, we are entering week two of the FIFA World Cup 2010 and rather than share with you my predictions for the teams, I think I’ll share an anecdote I experienced this weekend.
It was Saturday morning and I was getting ready to watch the match between the USA and England.
I was ready. I had my USA jersey on and I had limbered up so that I wouldn’t cramp up when I leaped off the couch and yelled GOAL!
I had a little time before the game so I decided to get my Mexico jersey from the store.
Previously, I had tried to but they had actually ran out. Apparently, Mexico jerseys were the most popular, according to the nice gentleman helping me at Sports Authority.
This time I went to the Belvidere Store where they were sure to have those jerseys well-stocked.
Immediately I spotted the winner. Green with the word Mexico in bold white letters. Very cute!
As I waited in line, a guy approached me and asked me if I was Mexican. I said I was.
He then said that If that was so, then I was wearing the wrong jersey.
I responded that I wasn’t.
He said that if I was Mexican then I should to be wearing the Mexico jersey, otherwise I was not being loyal.
Really?! I thought. Do I really have to explain this?
I showed him the shirt I was buying and he said, “Oh.”
He was going to walk away and I stopped him and asked him where he lived. He said he lived here.
Well then, I said, don’t you think that rooting for your birthplace and the place you live in is a more loyal move than not rooting for the place your live in?
He thought about it, smiled at me and walked away.
I think that if there’s one thing that the World Cup brings us, besides entertainment, is a display of courage, passion, hard work, teamwork and everything else that’s good about all the countries involved, their people and their cultures.
So in a way, I’m rooting for all of them.
