'An intense atmosphere:' Mexico fans enjoy El Tri experience versus Chile at Q2 Stadium
The sound was deafening.
Nine minutes into the match Wednesday at Q2 Stadium, when forward Santiago Tomas Gimenez easily directed a cross into the back of the net for a Mexico goal, the majority of the 17,202 fans responded like they were at anything but an exhibition match.
Erupting with cheers, banging drums endlessly, waving the Mexican flag and dressing in costumes representing Mexican culture, the atmosphere felt more official than not.
As Mexico and Chile battled to a 2-2 tie in a match that concluded the 2021 edition of the annual exhibition tour El Tri — the nickname for the Mexican men’s national soccer team — does across the United States, Austin continues to show it’s a rising star in the soccer world.
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And with more than 90 percent of the fans in attendance rooting for Mexico in a city that seems to have a steadily increasing Mexican culture, this hopefully won’t be the last time El Tri steps on the pitch at Q2 Stadium.
Local fans enjoyed the fact that they could enjoy the national team they root for in their hometown.
“It’s a great atmosphere, and it’s good to have a stadium so close where we don’t have to go to Dallas or go out of town to watch an international team,” said José Conchas, who was born in Guadalajara but raised in Austin and still lives here. “It’s amazing to have Mexico in Austin, and you come here expecting to hear the ‘Me-xi-co’ cheer and do the Mexican wave. Everything was on point and what you would expect.”
There was an electric feel around the match that started with getting into the stadium. Traffic on Burnet Road was backed up all the way to 183 Highway, with many people waiting nearly an hour to find a place to park or be dropped off.
Inside Q2, fireworks erupted as the teams walked onto the field, and the small contingent of Chile fans that were present enthusiastically sang the Chilean national anthem.
When the Mexico national anthem followed, nearly the entire stadium turned into one big choir, with the El Tri fans, players and staff pridefully belting out the words.
The first big cheer for Mexico came when goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo Lopez made a diving stop in the second minute, then Gimenez’s goal came a short time later, providing the loudest moment of the night.
The match featured multiple rounds of the “Me-xi-co” cheer, a few waves, and loud whistles from the fans when they disagreed with the referee or didn’t like something done by the Chile coach or players.
Those that were in attendance were loud and represented El Tri well, but the game was played in front of a crowd, announced as a sellout, but well short of a full stadium — with those buying large amounts of tickets trying to make a profit possibly to blame — and it didn’t go unnoticed by some Mexico fans.
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“There was a lot of empty seats — and that was disappointing,” said Rodney Bustamante of Austin, a Mexico supporter who is originally from Del Rio, just across the border from Acuña, Mexico. “I thought Mexico would carry a lot of weight, especially here in Austin being one of the booming cities in the United States. The majority of the fans here were Mexican … and they did a great job, but you did notice the patches of empty seats.”
Chile tied the game in the 21st minute on a goal by Ivan Morales, but Mexico responded in the 61st minute on Jordan Jesus Silva Diaz’s header off a free kick to go ahead 2-1.
However, La Roja — Chile’s nickname — scored the equalizer in the 86th on a shot near the top of the box by Pablo Parra.
While not getting a win was slightly disappointing for Mexican fans, it didn’t put a damper on the night for getting the chance to see their team in Austin.
“It was an intense atmosphere,” said Aaron Dominguez of Round Rock, whose family is originally from Monterey, Mexico. “It’s very exciting to see Mexico play in-person and the fans had a lot of passion, which is what you’d expect to see.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Mexico vs Chile: El Tri fans enjoy atmosphere at Austin's Q2 Stadium
