Liga MX is one of the most popular leagues in the world, only more so as the popularity of soccer rises around the world. But what do you do if you are suspicious your friends have only started to follow a Liga MX team in the name of glory hunting, or simply as a flavor-of-the-week? Well, you read this list, that’s what.
1. Saying, “Odiame Mas,” either makes them your best friend or worst enemy.
Photo: @FansMLayun19 | Twitter
Before we get into the translational side of things, let’s just take a moment to appreciate Club America for what it is: extremely popular, and extremely hated. For those of you less well versed in Liga MX, think "the Real Madrid of Mexican soccer."
America has the most money, which it uses to buy the best players, so the club always has been - and always will be - successful. All of that success has made Club America the most popular club in Liga MX. The fact that they buy it has made it the most hated, and America’s supporters have turned the club's reputation into a badge of honor. “Odiame mas” means “Hate Me More,” and it is the unofficial slogan of Club America supporters.
The18 advises you to proceed with caution, but if you want to know if your friends have a real passion for Liga MX, make “odiame mas” your phrase of the day. If their passion is real, by the day’s end they will either want to buy you a cerveza, or will never talk to you again. If the latter happens, The18 again advises you to say what you need to say, and walk away, Club America style:
They’ll respect that.
2. Their favorite sports season seems like it never ends.
Is their season a never ending story? Photo: @DailymotionUSA | Twitter
Liga MX gives the people what they want: year-round soccer.
In its current format, the Liga MX season is split into two tournaments: Apertura, spanning from July to December; and Clausura, running from January to May.
It doesn’t take an expert with an almanac to see that this means, out of an entire year, Liga MX fans are without their favorite league for only two months. TWO MONTHS!!!
(The18 would like to take this time to unofficially, yet formally state that each league around the world should be petitioned until they catch up to the standard set by our prescient Mexican neighbors.)
This is why, when the dog days of July to early August come around, and you are dying a slow death-by-baseball, your friends laugh at you and your Liga MX ignorance before talking smack to each other about the weekend’s upcoming games.
Premier League, seriously, step up your game.
3. They suddenly care about Ronaldinho again.
Photo: @fanzofbarca | Twitter
Look, everyone loves Ronaldinho. In his prime, his brand of pyrotechnic soccer made any game where he set foot on the pitch a must-watch. But his prime was almost ten years ago.
In his hedonistic fall from grace, Ronaldinho has bounced down every rung of club soccer, and his last bounce saw him land in the hallowed grounds of…Queretaro.
Upon arriving at the club, Ronaldinho stated that he chose Queretaro because he wanted to win “Titles and Girls.” Classic Dinho, if we do say so ourselves.
But your friends are excited nevertheless. They talk about the Brazilian more than you could ever care to listen, and you might even catch them tuning in to some of Queretaro’s games, despite the club wallowing in mediocrity. Why, you ask? Because Ronaldinho’s magic can still light up the field:
4. When they go off to college, UNAM suddenly becomes their second favorite team.
Photo: @LaReta_Com | Twitter
Are UNAM Pumas the coolest club in Liga MX? Maybe. Do they have the sexiest jerseys? Yes. Are their fans the coolest cats in the ciudad? Well, as far as your friends are concerned, they are now.
The18 imagines that UNAM supporters are the in crowd that you always wanted to hang out with, being that so many of them are students at Mexico City’s Ciudad Universitaria. There's no way to quantify cool, but a university is where it tends to pool. And in a city as large as Mexico City, that pool probably gets pretty darn deep.
This is why some of your friends bought that dope new UNAM jersey during their first week abroad, hoping to get a collateral smattering of cool in the process. Sure, they will say that UNAM has been their second-favorite team all along, but you, and the life long Pumas fan in your group, will know the truth.
5. They debate whether Andres Cantor or Pablo Ramirez is better.
Photo: @JTDakota | Twitter
Latin American fans have long perfected the art of celebrating the goal, and the pinnacle of eliciting that emotional reaction has two names: Andres Cantor…
and Pablo Ramirez.
Cantor may be the more classic commentator, but there is something about Ramirez’s repetitious “GOL, GOL, GOL, GOL, GOL, GOL,” that captures the passion of the moment especially well for this writer.
Among your friends, stating such an opinion can set off an argument that lasts longer than any of them would care to admit, because if there is one thing that they care about more than their team scoring goals, it is that they are celebrated in the best way possible.
6. Whenever you describe a bad team, your friends relate with, “Oh, like Atlas.”
"Why? Why do I support Atlas!?!" Photo: @MasDeportesVer | Twitter
Ah, Atlas. As if obeying some law of conservation, you fill the role of lovable loser. Except, and there is no easy way to say this, no one really loves you.
Atlas Guadelajara is one of the oldest clubs in Mexico, and it has spent most of that time developing a reputation for losing that rivals the Chicago Cubs: they haven’t won a first division title in 60 years.
Things do appear to be turning around for the club this year, as they are currently third in the league table, but that could very well end up being an aberration in a decade that has consistently seen them at the bottom of the table.
So, when you begin to wonder aloud how the Oakland Raiders have been bad for so long, keep an ear out for your friends muttering under their breath, “Man, that sounds bad, but you don’t know about Atlas.”
7. When you all go to live sporting events, your friends only try to buy food outside the stadium gate.
Photo: @Sudameriscout | Twitter
If your friends have a habit of doing this, know that you are in the presence of native Liga MX fans.
Everyone in Mexico knows that, unlike in the United States, the best food is sold outside of the stadium. Tacos, tortas, and what ever else street venders feel like selling that day are sold just outside the gates, and locals know to stock up before entering if they are hungry.
This, as you may have experienced, has led to some uncomfortable moments when you and your friends go to a sporting even for the first time. They have been looking forward to some greasy goodness, but when you get to the gate, starving, and there is not a taco stand in sight, they begin to question your sanity and the local culture on whole.
You, however, being the good friend you are, are quick to quell their brewing frustrations with the knowledge that, in this stadium, you can buy more than just beer and chips inside.
8. When you say you are going to watch El Clasico, they ask, “which one?”
Photo: @GerrysMerida | Twitter
That’s right, Barcelona and Real Madrid do not have a monopoly on El Clasico. Liga MX has several: Clasico Tapatio, Clasico Joven, Clasico Regiomontano, and El Super Clasico.
While none have the global audience of their Spanish counterpart, these four clasicos ain’t nothin to f*** with. All the fire and brimstone fueling the passions of these rivalries has been known to cause riots, but don’t let that deter you from the fact that some absolutely amazing games happen every year as a result of these traditions.
First, your friends have almost year-round soccer, now they have four heated rivalries to choose from? Instead of wondering if your friends are real fans of Liga MX, you should be asking yourself why you are not.
