The U.S. men鈥檚 soccer team Mexico yesterday. Neither team played a full-strength lineup, and, as an international friendly, the game, literally, counted for nothing.
Some other things: The game was played in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where the U.S. was 0-8-1 coming into the game. The Americans were 0-23-1 in all games against Mexico played in Mexico before yesterday.
Whatever this game actually 鈥渕eans鈥 doesn鈥檛 matter. But notwithstanding, winning a game in Azteca is a rare thing for any team that isn鈥檛 Mexico, so rare鈥擬exico has only lost nine times at Azteca, ever鈥攖hat, by definition, it is impressive, whatever the circumstances.聽Especially when you consider that the Americans basically did it with plastic bags on their heads.聽
MEXICO IS A GOOD-unto-average-unto-good-unto-etc. soccer team, much like the U.S. By no means are they a world power. They鈥檝e never won a World Cup and haven鈥檛 ever made it past the quarterfinals. They鈥檝e the youth-soccer circuit over the past few years, so maybe they鈥檙e on the verge of some breakthrough, but that still doesn鈥檛 explain the past 90-or-so years.
Azteca holds 104,000 people, all of whom, if they care about personal health beyond the next 90-plus minutes, are rooting for Mexico. Azteca鈥檚 fans have been know to beers, bags of vomit, and ziplocs of urine at players. For their own safety, Mexican police routinely escort American fans out of the stadium. It鈥檚 rare for American broadcasters to leave Azteca not covered in alcohol. Plus, you know, it鈥檚 not like Mexico is a place that you鈥檇 necessarily go if your main trip requirement was 鈥渄on鈥檛 die.鈥澛
So, add all that up and it creates an intimidating environment for sure. But still, it鈥檚 way too easy of an explanation for such sustained, dominant dominance from a country that鈥檚 really not all that dominant on the world-soccer scene. A better鈥攂ut still not complete鈥攅xplanation might have something to do with an imaginary plastic bag that鈥檚 not filled with human excrement.
FIFA PRESIDENT SEPP BLATTER games at high-altitude stadiums a few years ago, but Azteca comes in right on the edge of that threshold, at 7,349 feet. Also, while Mexico City鈥檚 historically gross air-pollution levels have , they鈥檙e still about on par with the levels in Los Angeles, which was an 鈥淔鈥 for air-quality levels by the American Lung Association earlier this year.聽
鈥淥nce you get above 4,500 feet, your body starts to feel the effects of altitude,鈥 said Sarah Baysden, instructor of Exercise and Sports Science at . 鈥淪even thousand feet is pretty significant if you鈥檙e not used to barometric pressure.鈥
As anyone who鈥檚 ever gone from sea level to a couple thousand feet up knows, it鈥檚 kind of a shocking adjustment. It鈥檚 harder to get oxygen into your lungs, making it harder to breathe and even harder to catch your breath. And that鈥檚 when you鈥檙e just walking around, not playing a high-level soccer game for an hour-and-a-half.
It takes about a week to acclimatize to high altitude, getting over any initial illness/shock. And that鈥檚 usually the most training-time visitng teams get before playing. But it requires something like 104-times that to actually get to your regular-functioning level.
鈥淚t takes usually about two years of living in altitude to become accustomed to it,鈥 Baysden said, 鈥渨hile the Mexican athletes don鈥檛 know any different.鈥 Real, scientific home-field advantage.
The air pollution plays a part, too, but that would affect both teams more evenly, according to Baysden. Still, it certainly doesn鈥檛 make things any easier for Azteca鈥檚 visitors.
So, what was it like for, say, Fabian Johnson, who, coming from Germany, played 90 minutes for the U.S. last night?
鈥淚t feels as if your rib cage or diaphragm won鈥檛 expand,鈥 Baysden said, 鈥渁nd it feels like you can鈥檛 catch your breath. Trying to catch your breath between bursts of speed, you definitely won鈥檛 be able to feel like you鈥檙e recovering.鈥
More simply?
鈥淚t鈥檚 like breathing with a plastic bag on your head.”