The U.S. Men's National Team is to Mexico in Columbus what John Elway was to the Browns in...anywhere. That is, the USMNT can't lose to Mexico in Ohio's capital.
The result on September 11, 2013 between the two North American rivals at Columbus Crew Stadium was no different than any of the previous three meetings: they've all ended 2-0 - or, dos a cero - in favor of the USMNT. And just like every other game, I was there with my friends and family.
We had a group of eight on this night, when the U.S. ended up qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup after Honduras tied Panama. It was a far smaller gathering than in 2012 when we brought a group of 20+ to the U.S.'s World Cup qualifier against Jamaica (right). The main difference is that the USAvMEX game is such a hot ticket, and we had a hard enough time finding tickets for eight for us. People come to Ohio from nearly every state for this game, knowing the huge advantage the USMNT has over their southern neighbor.
My two brothers and dad have been to all the games (in photo, below), and on this night we had four other friends that were with us for the first USAvMEX in Columbus in 2001 (photo comparison) and others. There were two differences in games 12 years apart, beside our ages: this time we had seats on the first row, at midfield, compared to the behind the goal in 2001. And in 2001, we were freezing. This game was one of the hottest we've ever attended.
It was my 9th USAvMEX game, the U.S. now holding a 6-2-1 (W-L-T) record with me in attendance. I've seen these teams play in six stadiums in three different countries: Columbus, OH (W 2001, W 2005, W 2009, W 2013); Denver, CO (W 2002); South Korea (W 2002); Houston, TX (T - 2008); New York (L 2009); and Mexico City, Mexico (L 2009). If you haven't seen it, here's the story of my experience at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca.
I've actually been to all but one of the USMNT's qualifiers at Crew Stadium, as well as to MLS Cup 2001, the 2000 and 2005 MLS All-Star Games, and a bunch of Crew games (also at Ohio Stadium).
