Home game huh? Americans should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing this.....
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlin...329200&cc=5901
'Fanaticos' show infectious enthusiasm
Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The flags began flying 10 hours before the game. Then came the caravans of family cars, the droves of Guatemala "fanaticos" and the endless tributes of beeping horns and cheers.
The fans traveled overnight from Chicago and Maryland, and they flew in from Miami and Los Angeles. They came, Guatemala fans said, because Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier against the United States signified much more than a soccer match.
"They don't have their papers, so they want to see their country play," said Clemens Osorio, 15, of many other Guatemala fans. "That's why the stands are filling up."
By noon, the Guatemala fans vastly outnumbered USA supporters, who numbered only in the dozens. An hour before the game, the deafening cheers of Guatemala fans drowned out any vocal support for the U.S. team, and the Guatemalan flags and Spanish banners were the most eye-catching sight in the stadium.
"U.S. fans feel like it's not as life or death," said Nate Johnson of Atlanta, who came to support the American players.
But the American fans got more vocal as the night wore on and had more to cheer for during the United States' 2-0 victory.
Guatemala fans said earlier their unbridled enthusiasm was not solely about winning -- or even about soccer, for that matter. They said the game gave them a chance to connect to a home to which many could not return, and a chance to reconnect to those who shared their heritage.
"It's a weird feeling to be able to congregate so many Guatemalans from so many parts of the world," said Jose Galindo, who owns a soccer store in Miami. "It's very moving."
Rony Rodriguez traveled to Birmingham from Los Angeles, where he is a paralegal. He came to the United States from Guatemala in 1995.
"I told everyone that I live here, I love the U.S., but the roots that I have, they won't change," Rodriguez said. He added that the cultural draw and the Guatemalan camaraderie united the entire fan base, adding that many supporters sacrificed in order to attend the game.
"They don't have the money to go to a restaurant; they spend that money to go to a stadium with their family," he said.
Mynor Rodriguez, not related to Rony Rodriguez, drove from Chicago with three generations of his family, from his immigrant mother to his 2-year-old daughter.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Rodriguez said. He said the family was somewhat conflicted about which team to cheer for.
"We actually bought American flags and Guatemalan flags," Rodriguez said. "I think we'll be happy with whoever wins."
His nephew, 10-year-old Andrew Mark, said he was excited to see Guatemala, though he was cheering for the United States.
"I'm just confused," Mark said. "I'm from both."