It is not unheard of for international soccer teams to include a few exhibition matches in the United States. It gives fans of real footba
ll a chance to see the sport played at a higher level than is currently offered by the U.S. professional league Major League Soccer.
But I have to admit to getting a kick out of the activity being generated by the Mexican national team – the one that has struggled thus far in 2009 and has to step it up considerably unless it wants to watch the 2010 World Cup tournament on television back home.
“LOS TRICOLORES” WERE in Atlanta Wednesday night, where they played an exhibition match (a “friendly” in English football-speak) against Venezuela. They also will be in San Diego on Sunday to play the Guatemala national team.
Yet for some people, the match that people will be paying attention to will be Equipo Mexico in Dallas on Sept. 30. That one will attract attention because it is the potential prize for people who partake in a contest being sponsored by Allstate Insurance.
Think about that for a moment. For all the people who want to believe that soccer is somehow “too foreign” to ever become a part of U.S. culture, how foreign could it be if a U.S. company such as Allstate is willing to get involved?
And not by backing a U.S.-based team, but getting involved with Mexico’s team.
THE COMPANY IS sponsoring a sweepstakes, and this is the third year the company has been involved with Equipo Mexico. Obviously, having a “Mexico connection” is good for Allstate’s business.
“We are excited to be able to offer this exclusive experience to two fans to be able to watch their team with one of its legends,” said Allstate senior marketing manager Georgina Flores, in a prepared statement.
For what it’s worth, people wishing a chance to win a trip to the Team Mexico match being played in Dallas could start registering for the sweepstakes as of Wednesday, and those people who happen to attend the upcoming match in San Diego also can sign up while there.
For everybody else, there is online registration at http://www.proteccioneslajugada.com/ through Sept. 1.
AND ALTHOUGH THIS promotion is geared toward Equipo Mexico, the contest itself is in both English and Spanish.
Now my choosing to write about this is not so much that I care to give Allstate some free publicity (although that is the end result).
What catches my attention is literally that a U.S. entity as large as Allstate sees the sense in reaching out to people with something that would be considered so foreign to some. They see the sense in reaching out to soccer fans, and to the growing Latino population – a large chunk of which is Mexican-American.
Some people might see a threat (these are the ones who complain about how the crowds at U.S./Mexico matches always wind up producing a significant portion of fans rooting for “los Tricolores.”) But Allstate sees a moneymaking opportunity.
I GUESS IT means that someone looking at the issue from the objectivity of making a profit sees Latinos as a part of the solution – rather than as a problem.
Now if we could only get the rest of society to see the truth in that statement (our money is as green as everybody else’s), life in the United States would get a lot more calm and rational.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTE: Even Major League Soccer is trying to gain some attention for itself by using foreign-based (http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/soccers-summer-sampler-platter/) clubs to draw attention, and attendance.
ll a chance to see the sport played at a higher level than is currently offered by the U.S. professional league Major League Soccer.But I have to admit to getting a kick out of the activity being generated by the Mexican national team – the one that has struggled thus far in 2009 and has to step it up considerably unless it wants to watch the 2010 World Cup tournament on television back home.
“LOS TRICOLORES” WERE in Atlanta Wednesday night, where they played an exhibition match (a “friendly” in English football-speak) against Venezuela. They also will be in San Diego on Sunday to play the Guatemala national team.
Yet for some people, the match that people will be paying attention to will be Equipo Mexico in Dallas on Sept. 30. That one will attract attention because it is the potential prize for people who partake in a contest being sponsored by Allstate Insurance.
Think about that for a moment. For all the people who want to believe that soccer is somehow “too foreign” to ever become a part of U.S. culture, how foreign could it be if a U.S. company such as Allstate is willing to get involved?
And not by backing a U.S.-based team, but getting involved with Mexico’s team.
THE COMPANY IS sponsoring a sweepstakes, and this is the third year the company has been involved with Equipo Mexico. Obviously, having a “Mexico connection” is good for Allstate’s business.
“We are excited to be able to offer this exclusive experience to two fans to be able to watch their team with one of its legends,” said Allstate senior marketing manager Georgina Flores, in a prepared statement.
For what it’s worth, people wishing a chance to win a trip to the Team Mexico match being played in Dallas could start registering for the sweepstakes as of Wednesday, and those people who happen to attend the upcoming match in San Diego also can sign up while there.
For everybody else, there is online registration at http://www.proteccioneslajugada.com/ through Sept. 1.
AND ALTHOUGH THIS promotion is geared toward Equipo Mexico, the contest itself is in both English and Spanish.
Now my choosing to write about this is not so much that I care to give Allstate some free publicity (although that is the end result).
What catches my attention is literally that a U.S. entity as large as Allstate sees the sense in reaching out to people with something that would be considered so foreign to some. They see the sense in reaching out to soccer fans, and to the growing Latino population – a large chunk of which is Mexican-American.
Some people might see a threat (these are the ones who complain about how the crowds at U.S./Mexico matches always wind up producing a significant portion of fans rooting for “los Tricolores.”) But Allstate sees a moneymaking opportunity.
I GUESS IT means that someone looking at the issue from the objectivity of making a profit sees Latinos as a part of the solution – rather than as a problem.
Now if we could only get the rest of society to see the truth in that statement (our money is as green as everybody else’s), life in the United States would get a lot more calm and rational.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTE: Even Major League Soccer is trying to gain some attention for itself by using foreign-based (http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/soccers-summer-sampler-platter/) clubs to draw attention, and attendance.
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