It's amazing how much American citizens like watching the Mexican national soccer team...What's behind this bizarre fixation? Maybe it's their snazzy uniforms...

Just a hint. They're not American citizens -- just Mexicans in America

Rubbish. Just because they are Mexican by birth or parents' origin doesn't make them "just Mexican in America." I know a number of Mexican-Americans who follow both the Mexico and U.S. teams. They just happen to follow Mexico more closely, and given the option would more likely attend a Mexico game.

90,000 Mexican fans don't equal the atmosphere of 45,000 strong at Qwest or that incredible atmosphere in philly for US vs Turkey.

I'll leave out the politically-tinged question of whether or not these folks in attendance are US citizens (or are in the country legally). What I want to know is, is the Mexican soccer federation saying that they can get bigger crowds in the US for these games than they would in Mexico. Clearly they can't and wouldn't play all of their pre-WC tuneup matches in the same city (Mexico City), but is it necessarily true that there are no other cities in Mexico where they could attract a decent crowd (and thereby give their own country's fans a chance to see them play in person?

Ian, I have Sounders season tickets and while the atmosphere at Qwest is impressive I hardly expect it could compete with Azteca when El Tri play (especially against the U.S.). Look, even Mexican-Americans who have never been to Mexico tend to prefer cheering for Mexico over the U.S. This doesn't make them un-American--they cheer for the team they grew up cheering for, the one their dad cheered for, the one that used to kick our collective ass. I think that'll begin to change with this generation, because people like to cheer for winners, and vs. Mexico we are winners (except at Azteca, sadly). As well, over time the bonds to the old country will weaken, as always occurs with immigrants to this fine country.

JR, I agree with your comments. I enjoy watching both Mexico and the USA play. The atmosphere in Philly for the USA-Turkey game was excellent. It was the closest experience I could give my kids to the World Cup environment this year. We enjoyed it immensely, but I have to say that it did not compare to seeing Mexico play New Zealand. The difference maker is the passion and fan commitment to the relationship with its team. Not whether we are Mexican or American. If there were as much information about the USA team on the media as we enjoy about "El Tri" on Spanish media we could see more converts to the love of soccer on both Mexican-Americans and on Anglo fans.