dailyO
Variety

World Cup 2018: Hey Trump — catch Mexico's wall!

Advertisement
DailyBite
DailyBiteJun 18, 2018 | 19:25

World Cup 2018: Hey Trump — catch Mexico's wall!

Though wall is a common term in football parlance, for Mexico, no “wall” reference comes without a thorn in it.

A cursory look at any geography book will tell you that earthquakes are primarily natural disasters, but there can be man-made tremors, caused by mine blasts or nuclear tests.

The unexpected and collective joy of a nation, which is otherwise fraught with drug wars, is not an official cause of tremors. Or, at least, it was not widely recognised/discussed as a reason behind earthquake before sensors in Mexico registered termors, seven seconds after Hirving Lozano scored, 35 minutes into the Mexico Vs Germany match on June 17.

Advertisement

hirving-lozano_061818065958.jpg
Tremor in Moscow: 35 minutes into the Mexico Vs Germany match, Hirving Lozano scored a goal

Seriously?

Mexico, which never advanced beyond the quarterfinals, won over defending champion Germany?

The rest of the world felt a shockwave, while Mexico felt a "joy" wave.

And the joy wave was traced in Mexico’s seismometers, pictures of which were officially put out on social media, being displayed as a badge of honour.

After all, it is not easy to become the “wall” in front of Germany, while you have been at the receiving end of all “wall jokes” for the last two years, to be precise.

The Institute of Geologic and Atmosphere Investigations officially attributed the “artificial tremor” to this unorchestrated mass jumping, which coincided with Mexico’s second victory against Germany (the first one was in 1985).

So, finally Mexico arrived and how! Not with a bang! But with an earthquake!

A goal in Moscow, and “real but artificial tremors” in Mexico toppled all football memes which went viral thus far.

Advertisement

Thousands of fans watching the match on a giant screen at Zocalo main square in Mexico city, jumping at the same time, and shouting “Yes, we did it!” was indeed a seismographic moment!

mexico_061818070025.jpg
Tremors in Mexico: Finally the joke was on Germany

According to reports, the city “resounded with the joyous cacophony of car horns, and euphoric fans tuned public plazas into giant parties — waving Mexican flags, singing, chanting, spraying foam and drinking”

And the joke was on Germany!

Ahead of the match, German newspaper Die Welt carried a photo of a “wall” on its front page, with a message which said, “Sorry Mexico, Today we build the wall.”

During his presidential election campaign, Donald Trump had promised to arrest the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico, a country full of “drug dealers, criminals, rapists”, by erecting a wall and he said that Mexico would pay for the wall.

donald-trump_061818070143.jpg
Is this the wall Trump wanted to build?

Though "wall" is a common term in football parlance, for Mexico, no “wall” reference comes without a thorn in it.

mexican-wall_061818070047.jpg
The wall: Guillermo Ochoa made nine saves

Advertisement

And after the surprise victory, Mexicans were right to give it back in the same parlance. Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa, who made nine saves, is the only wall that Mexico needs, the Mexicans yelled on social media.

A meme of German Chancellor Angela Markel asking Donald Trump to build the wall went viral, when some frenzied fans even memefied Hitler saying, “When you wait for 77 years to reach Moscow only to lose to Mexico”, referring to Hitler’s defeat at the Battle of Moscow during the World War 2.

Before exhilarated fans officially become reasons of earthquakes elsewhere in the season of World Cup, let us tell you this was not the first such occurrence, though might be the most discussed one.

In November 2017, Peru witnessed such fan frenzy when it qualified to the World Cup, first time since 1982. In 2011, Super Bowl XLVIII champion Marshawn Lynch’s touchdown run created a similar seismic activity.

But nothing beats Mexico’s joy as this was not a matter of sports alone. As a New York Times report described, “For many, the victory, the first major surprise of the World Cup, gave Mexicans something to celebrate at a time of relentlessly dismal news for the country and an increasingly toxic political campaign season.”

Last updated: June 18, 2018 | 19:25
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy