The World's Game (According to Us)

The U.S.-Mexico rivalry is reaching a fever pitch.

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Voodoo dolls sponsored by Blockbuster? This is getting out of hand.

In 2002, when the United States knocked Mexico out of the World Cup, Mexican President Vicente Fox tried to be reassuring but instead captured the national mood. ''This won't hobble the country,'' he said. ''This won't sap the energy of each and every Mexican.''

It did, of course, sap the energy of most of them. As one fan told the New York Times that day, ''I think that the United States always has seen us as inferior and it always has tried to humiliate us … And now they've really gone and done it.''

Mexican resentment of the U.S. goes back at least to 1848, when Winfield Scott marched into Mexico City and the United States took over more than half of the territory Mexico claimed as its own. Since then, many Mexicans have viewed their northern neighbor as a bit of a bully—the bigger, richer brother, hell bent on keeping its little hermano down. On the soccer field, though, Mexico could always exact a little revenge.

It didn't start out that way, though. The first Mexico-United States match was, like tonight's game in Columbus, a World Cup qualifier. Held in Rome in 1934, the winner would play Italy a few days later. Mexico had a much better team technically, but the speedy Americans, led by Aldo "Buff" Donelli (who later coached the Pittsburgh Steelers), won 4–2. Buff had all four goals.

It must have rankled the Mexicans to lose to the gringos in the world's game just a dozen or so years after they had meddled in the Mexican revolution, twice sending troops across the border. But if they were frustrated about football, it didn't last. After the 1934 loss, Mexico savored victory for more than four decades. In 21 meetings between 1937 and 1980, they never lost to the Americans. And they rubbed it in, outscoring them 90-20.

But the U.S. has since had their revenge.

The 2002 game was, in a sense, reminiscent of 1934. Mexico again showed a technical superiority, controlling the play during the first half. But the speedy counterattacking of the Americans paid off. Early on, Claudio Reyna drove down the right after a quick restart. Brian McBride found space in the penalty area and scored. In the second half, Landon Donovan, the Winfield Scott of soccer, killed off the game by dashing through the Mexican defense and doubling the lead.

That game, like all matches between these neighbors, was violent. There were bone-crunching tackles, like the karate kick Rafael Marquez gave to Cobi Jones. Afterward, Landon Donovan reported that Mexican forward Luis Hernandez had said, mid-match, "I will find your mother and kill her." That's not your everyday trash talk.

So tonight's match carries the history of cross-border skirmishes and coups d'etat, "Osama" chants and back-breaking goals. The Mexican fans will be poking real "gringo" voodoo dolls, courtesy of Blockbuster, and we can only assume that Sam's Army's all-red outfits will cast a spell of their own.

So, U.S. fans, buckle your seatbelts and boycott Blockbuster.

EXTRA TIME

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• Chinlone, the Burmese soccer dance
• WPS scores English women
• Nigerian player arrested on the field

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