vs Brazil

We face our past demons once again.

Viva El Futbol. Viva Guerrero. Viva Guanajuato. Viva Mexico.

Here I am again.


After going through 4 more years of my life, I am about to embark on another journey with my beloved Mexican national futbol (futbol, football, soccer--whatever you want to call it, it’s that) team in another FIFA World Cup tournament. The last match we played in this competition ended in utter heartbreak as we were knocked out by a resilient Netherlands squad who banked in 2 last-minute goals, one of which spawned the ever-familiar #NoEraPenal trend in social media. No era penal chingada madre. Lo llevo esto hasta mi cama de muerte.

When the game ended, I remember sitting upright in a butterfly-like position on the floor in disbelief over what I had just seen on the TV screen. As I was still trying to digest everything in a calm demeanor, I tried to eat my post-game food on the table situated near the kitchen in my house. As I took my first bite of the food, I couldn’t contain my sad emotions piling up in my heart. As such, I preceded to cry. I wondered to God why he did what he did and gave the Dutch the victory. Fast forward a few hours of that day and I was still devastated over the result. It was so bad that when my dad asked me about what happened in my room I cried again in front of him while mumbling unintelligible words in an attempt to explain the whole ordeal. Nevertheless, when all was said and done and I calmed down a bit, I swore to him that we would be back and better than ever in 4 years’ time.

Well, here I am now. Those 4 years have passed and I’m starting to feel the pre-game World Cup jitters that I’ve been familiar with for the past 3 occasions (‘06-’14; I didn’t count 98’ & ’02 because I was too young to understand how big the tournament actually is). Though this is normally a good thing for any soccer fan to experience, I don’t feel at ease in comparison. For starters, we’re starting our tournament in Russia against Germany, the reigning world champions and 4-time winners of the tournament. And second, the belief in my national team’s coach (J.C. Osorio) is not entirely positive and wholesome.

Criticism towards his rotational deployments in each game has been rampant throughout his tenure. This has been amplified thanks to the team’s international disappointments in the past 2 summers. In 2016, Mexico lost to Chile in the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals via a massacre (SEVEN TO ZERO). The next year, they lost to Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals and fell to Germany—their B team, no less--in a blowout as well, losing 4-1 in the FIFA Confederations Cup semifinals.

Additionally, his selection towards certain players despite them having no form whatsoever prior to big games have brought questions over their effectiveness in said games (I’m looking straight at you, Gio dos Santos.). Despite all of this, we qualified for the World Cup in a comfortable fashion, finishing first in the final “hexagonal” round of the CONCACAF region, thereby easing tensions between the coach and the fans for just a moment.

With more than 2 years under his belt as the coach of Mexico, he has prepared his team for this moment, the moment of playing against the best in the World Cup. In the face of all the negative stuff thrown at the entire team prior to the opening kick-off, I stand by them ready to celebrate or suffer through their actions on the field.

I am a fan that has gone through thick and thin with my country. I sat back distraught as I saw Maxi Rodriguez score the goal of his life for Argentina to eliminate us in the 2006 World Cup. I was consoled by my dad as I saw that same Argentina team dismantle us 3-1 in the 2010 World Cup. I sat on my chair speechless as I counted down the seconds toward our supposed impending elimination against Costa Rica in 2014 World Cup qualification phase. The many FUCKING “dos a cero” chants that came my country’s way via the United States over the years until our victory against them on Veterans’ Day of 2016.

I’ve been through it all, which means disappointment and sadness are nothing new to me. Like every opening game of a tournament, the hopes of victory and delirium ring around every fan towards their selected nation. Unfortunately, such hopes cannot be given to everyone. For every instance of joy and relief in soccer, there is also one of defeat and anguish. I don’t want to be on the latter side of that particular see-saw. I don’t think anyone does, to be honest. That’s why I will support my country to make sure that that doesn’t happen again. For today and the next 2 games in the group stage, win.

Win, mi querido Seleccion Mexicana.

Viva Mexico. A ganar guey. Es ahora o nunca.

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Just once, I want to be on the winning end of an unlikely situation. 

Me vs Boredom 10

*written at approximately 1:36 PM on the 10th of April 2018


Oh shit, this series has returned?

What the fuck!?

What is going on here? Is this real life?

Don't be so shocked, reader, for the "Me vs Boredom" series has risen from the ashes like a phoenix to re-document my intransigent struggle with my own gloomy conscience. Now then, what the hell am I doing right now?


Well, my one class finished for the day and I'm simply biding my time in the computer lab doing my school/homework. I also spoke to my mother and learned that everything is going well on her side of life. Just to let you know, she's on vacation, so learning that she's having a swell time over there gives me a piece of mind. I'm happy in general today. Nevermind the tiring amount of shit I have to complete by the end of the week. All is well and dandy.

How about you, reader? Are you having a good day? I hope you are, whoever you may be. If it's your birthday today, then allow me to greet you with a happy birthday. May your life be blessed with good fortune for its entire duration.

Wow! What a wholesome entry this turned out to be if I do say so myself!



Pedro wins Game 10 (Series tied 5-5)

Naked Chin

On Friday, for the first time in about 2 years, I shaved my beard off.

It's strange for me to finally see the chin that I've hidden from the outside world after all this time. I feel naked and embarrassed to show my freshly-shaven face out and about in the open. It's been so long since I had this child-like appearance. I think it was around early 2016 where, in the midst of shaving my facial hair away yet again, I decided to keep my beard just to see what it would look like. I ended up liking it so I kept it up until now. Every once in a while, if I'm bored, I'd spend time just by stroking my beard with a couple of fingers and feel the sensation of hitting the hair against the skin of my face, which--oh by the way--was awesome.

Those moments and then some more are prime examples of the good times I had with my beard. It was sad to end that bond between me and my hair buddy when I used the razor, but good things must always come to an end.

The beard will eventually return so I have that going for me. It'll happen in no time since the rest of the facial hair that I have after shaving them away comes back in a week or so. Speaking of which, is it a superpower for a person to immediately grow their hair back after shaving? If it is, then you might as well call me a superhero, reader. What would be a good name for a hair-growing hero?

"Hairman"?

"Beardie"?

"Seth Rogen"?

I don't know...


*sigh*


I look a little fat without a beard.

16 Is Indeed Greater Than 1

From Grant Halverson (NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Wow.


One day has passed, and I still can't believe that it happened.


As of right now, I'm still trying to keep my head in check from all of the madness that transpired last night.


Allow me to fill you in on what happened more than 24 hours ago.



The University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), ranked #16 in the South region of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and 63rd overall out of the 64 participating teams, defeated the number 1 overall seeded team the University of Virginia to move on to the next round of the competition. Before this result, no team, I repeat, NO TEAM has ever defeated a number 1 seeded team as a 16 seed. It never happened.


Since the introduction of the 64 team tournament format in 1985, a total of 135 teams came and tried to defeat their vastly superior opponents. Unfortunately for all of them, they were vanquished.

Some came close to pulling it off.

Princeton lost in 1989 against Georgetown by the score of 49-50.

Murray State lost in overtime the next year against Michigan State by the score of 71-75.

And Southern lost in 2013 against Gonzaga by the score of 58-64.

The crowd of people who watched each of those games back then had hope that somehow, some way, their unlikely underdog would do the impossible and break the laws of basketball as they knew it. However, reality quickly set by the beginning of the second half and the number 1 teams restored formality through the sheer weight of their talent, athleticism, and excellent coaching.

It's kind of like one of those action movies where the good guy clobbered all of the obstacles placed before him and finally meets the final boss for his final battle. The only difference between that and these games are the villains pulling something out of their ass to win at the last minute and walking away unscathed. In the end, we'd drown out cries of sadness and sympathy for the valiant competitors who tried to slay the dragon and root them on to try again next year. This kind of thing recycles itself year after year after year after year.....

These expected victories by the 1 seeded team has gone on for so long that us fans have come accept the fact in which the possibility of a 16-seeded team winning in the first round may never happen. They could try all they want, but the story will play itself out just like all that have come before. The script of that action movie will never be rewritten.

That is how it has been..................until last night.



Less than a couple of hours before the UMBC vs UVA game ended, the #16 Texas Southern vs #1 Xavier game was finishing up. The Musketeers cruised throughout the second half in halting the Tigers' offense, eventually winning it 102-83. However, at the beginning of the game, they fell victim to a tremendous [10-something]-0 run conducted by the Tigers which spanned for nearly 3 minutes. During that run, I was fucking psyched. As a student of TSU, I held a sliver of hope for my team to defy the odds and break the seemingly unbeatable streak. But alas, it was not to be, for they were expectedly handled by the much bigger and better Xavier team.

As the clock winded down to triple zeroes, I checked my phone to see the current scores of all the games that were going on at the same time. I was trying to figure out which game I wanted to see next. I scrolled down and examined the screen...


*Sees #3 Michigan State vs #14 Bucknell*

"Meh. The Spartans are taking care of the Bison, so I won't watch that."

*Sees #11 Syracuse vs #6 TCU*

"It's happening on CBS but I don't feel like watching that right now. I'll catch up to it later since I don't need to look for a streaming site to see it."

*Sees #16 UMBC vs #1 Virginia*

"Hmm. They're both tied 21-21 at halftime. Maybe this will be the night. What the hell! I'll try this one out."


So trying it out I did. I clicked on a link from an illegal streaming site and I watched everything unravel live, and it was glorious.

Led by Jairus Lyles (Human Torch), who scored 28 points, and K.J. Maura, a cataclysmic ball of energy, the UMBC Chesapeake Bay Retrievers shocked the basketball world in dispatching the heavily-favored Cavaliers with the final score being 74-54.

Prior to this, the Cavaliers lost only 2 other games this season. Those came at the hands of West Virginia (61-68 on 12-5-2017) and Virginia Tech (60-61 in OT on 2-10-2018). Other than that, they were perfect throughout. They ended up winning their conference tournament, beating the likes of Clemson, Louisville, and the defending national champion in North Carolina. How did this come to be!?

Well, the Retrievers caught on fire in the second half, shooting 7/12 from beyond the arc and scoring a total of 53(!) points against a Virginia team who hadn't allowed anyone in the season to score at or over 70 in a game. UMBC was playing their best game ever, while Virginia was playing their worst. So many things had to go right for the underdog to triumph and it did.

The stamina, the shooting, the defense, the coaching. Everything went to the Retrievers' favor.

Virginia looked shocked late into the game as they couldn't believe they were being blown out in the first round to a team who previously lost to Albany 83-39 in a conference game just 2 months ago!

I couldn't believe it too! I was freaking out in front of my family who was wondering how a demon could possess someone with likes of me late at night. I was screaming "This can't be happening!" every minute. I did this while also keeping in mind all of the false hope I had from the TSU game just a while ago. I knew what this story was all about, so I kept expecting for Virginia to come back and steal this game away at the last minute.


5 minutes pass....it didn't happen.

5 minutes pass again....it didn't happen yet.

5 minutes pass again....they're getting manhandled this time.


When the game had 2 minutes left, I finally let out all of my pent-up emotions. The basketball gods have finally smiled down at the #16 seed. And when the final buzzer sounded, the cries of thousands of people with utterly busted brackets could be heard a mile away from my house. Shock had transcended across many walks of life to take notice of this surprising result.

You can say whatever you want about this massive achievement. You can say how this result was a long time coming in whatever analysis you did. You can mount up and present to me many excuses in figuring out why this happened the way it did. You can even say that we're in an alternate timeline where the game hadn't happened yet and we're just dreaming our desired result. Hell, I probably might've believed you if we were living in that scenario.

But we're living in this timeline; and in it, UMBC defeated Virginia soundly and justly.

This may never happen again, I believe. So many things have to go right again, just like this game did, for another 16-seeded team to pull off another magical upset. It is because of this that I'll never forget. Years may come and pass, but I'll keep in mind the emotions I unleashed at the sounding of the final buzzer and the confirmation of the UMBC players about what they just did on that night.

UMBC's next game in the tournament is on the 18th of March, as they face #9 Kansas State, who was just as shocked as the rest of the country after their opponents pulled off the upset to end all upsets.

Who knows what's going to happen to the Retrievers in the second round, but one thing is for sure. They are forever enshrined in the halls of March Madness lore.

From Jared C. Tilton (NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

UMBC......

U

Must

Be

Cinderella