On Friday, in front of a sell-out crowd at the New Giants Stadium (or whatever it's called), Mexico played a World Cup warm-up against Ecuador. The game itself was a bunch of "eh", ending goalless. The bigger story, once again, was the amount of support Mexico gets on American soil. El Tri travels north, and they fill whatever venue they're in to the rafters.


That note relates, in a way, to the ancillary news from El Tri's visit, the backing Mexico has given to the USA's 2018/2022 bid to host the World Cup. FMF president Justino Compean came out in favor of the bid, implored the rest of the Americas to back the US, and lauded the infrastructure we have to host the event.


Woo. Hoo.


Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have the backing of Mexico, seeing as they are the other major soccer power in the region; but really, were they not going to support the bid? Were they going to thumb their nose at the Americans, ignoring the major factors at play here? Should anyone (aside from Sunil Gulati, who has to) pat them on the back for doing the obvious?


They themselves aren't bidding, and barring a major collapse of their national team program or the sudden rise of other CONCACAF nations, they're guaranteed to be playing in a USA World Cup in front of full stadiums of Mexico fans everywhere they go. You know, kind of like how it is now...


A USA World Cup is a de facto Mexico World Cup, minus the smoggy air and debilitating altitude of Azteca and the cultural framework. By the time 2018 or 2022 roll around, maybe there will be enough American support here to fill stadiums when the Yanks play. But we know that Mexico fans will flock wherever El Tri goes, and unless they're facing off against the Americans, there's not going to be any significant competition for tickets.


So thanks Mexico, really. It means something, even if it's not coming from an entirely unselfish place, that you would back your northern rivals in the bidding for a World Cup. I'm sure we'll return the favor when you're ready to make another go of it. And probably for less obvious reasons.