Tomorrow night, at 8pm central, the next edition of the USA-Mexico series will kick-off, and once again a trophy will be on the line. When the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final commences at Soldier Field in Chicago it will mark the sixth time, in 15 editions, that we see a Mexico vs. USA finale.
El Tri has won all but one (2007) of these previous Gold Cup Final tilts. In the last four GCF meetings, Mexico has a resounding 15-3 advantage in goal differential. Of the previous 14 Gold Cup title matches, only one (2000, when Canada beat Colombia 2-0) did not feature Mexico or the Stars and Stripes. Our neighbors to the south have won this tournament seven times, finished runner-up once and in third place three times.
Meanwhile the Yanks have hoisted the trophy six times, claimed runners-up on four occasions, to go along with two third place and one fourth place finish. Mexico is heavily favored in this one, backed to win by the bookies at 8-10, while the USA face odds of 13-10.
On Monday we had an exclusive with CONCACAF Chief Commercial Officer Heidi Pellerano, who appeared at Gold Cup station, an interactive fan and media event staged in Chicago’s Union Station.
As our conversation was held in between the quarterfinal and semi-final round, we asked her if the organization was hoping for a Mexico-USA final.
“It’s a very interesting question, something we talk about all the time,” she answered.
“We want to have really good, competitive matches above all else. We want our fans to be happy and I think a majority of our fans are hoping for that U.S.-Mexico final.
“If they get what they want that stadium is going to be insane.”
Indeed the vibe at Soldier Field is going to be off the chain tomorrow night.
The match sold out long before it was known who the two teams would be, with the cheapest ticket on Ticket Master still priced at $260, and that’s way up in section 351.
Emotions always run high, on both sides, in this one. It’s a strong spirited rivalry, USA-Mexico, with “Dos a Cero” having been a recent rallying point for American supporters, and symbol of disappointment for Mexican fans.
The USA-Mexico rivalry heated up on the pitch this past decade, and then took on another, deeper level in 2016 as the U.S. Electoral College elected Donald Trump President that November. Trump denounced Mexicans as rapists, drug dealers and criminals early on in his campaign.
He also consistently pledged to build a wall on the Mexico-United States border, and make Mexico pay for it.
Spoiler alert: there’s absolutely no way that wall ever comes even remotely close to getting built.
Three days later, on Armistice Day and Veterans Day, Mexico beat the United States in a match that probably cost former USMNT Coach Jurgen Klinsmann his job.
In the run-up to that match, Mexico star striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez called attention to the sociopolitical backdrop of that game, and said he hopes the contest could bring at least a little bit of temporary join into the lives of those despondent from the election result.
Obviously, it was only Mexico supporters who found joy from that match result.
However, it was one of the more consequential, meaningful and fateful recent installments of this engaging and emotional rivalry. Expect another big one tomorrow night.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.