clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Wednesday Morning Skate: USA Beats Mexico 0-0, Bruins in First Place Finally

By Cornelius Hardenbergh
America!
America!
Miguel Tovar

Well originally I was going to write a little about how the habs lost in regulation last night (1-0, Fleury/Vokoun split shutout and obviously Crosby with the goal) but then USA played Mexico in quite the soccer match in The Azteca, in Mexico. Anyways, I was going to talk about hockey but then

Yep, so I'm just going to go ahead and explain why USA beating Mexico, even if it was 0-0, is a big deal. Estadio Azteca is one of those places where the home team always wins, the fans use laser pointers with impunity, and throw bags of their own urine (yes, really!) onto the field. Truly the stuff of nightmares. It was the 62nd meeting between the two since 1934, with Mexico holding a 33-16-13 lead as of this morning. So last August, the USA won a friendly there by the skin of their teeth. It was a huge 1-0 win and a big surprise. Reffing in games in Mexico is notoriously crooked, so much so that quebecois refs calling games in Montreal would call them homers. For a while, no MLS team had won a game in Mexico in a while either. Real nightmare stuff.

But the USA decided we wanted to get serious about this soccer stuff that the rest of the world seemed to care about, and they got on their horse just like Paul Fucking Revere and went to work like Rosie the Riveter. And what do you know? Oh my, it looks like America is just about getting better at something else. Because we can, dammit. Because, America.

So why does it matter? Why does it matter that the Blue Jackets came within a shootout of a franchise winning streak a couple weeks ago? Why does it matter that the Wild won their first game in Dallas in ten years? Why does any of it matter?

Because that's what sports are all about. Overcoming longtime foes. David beating Goliath. A wonderful narrative, hopefully (yet rarely) ending in triumph. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It's sports, and sports are awesome. And so is America.


Habs in town tonight, on NBC's finally-appropriately-named "Rivalry Night." First place on the line. Should be a good one, y'all.

Ed. Note: The United States Men's National Soccer Team don't play again in a game that matters so much for a while so if you're not a fan, you're safe until after the Bruins are done with the playoffs.