Mexicans invade Dallas for game against Steelers

Despite the pandemic and the cost of the dollar, Cowboys fans will be present at AT&T Stadium

DALLAS – The pandemic does not matter, the cost of the dollar compared to the peso or that the Pittsburgh Steelers be favorites by 14 points or more in bets to beat the Dallas Cowboys, this Sunday.

Hundreds of Mexicans traveled to the area this weekend Dallas-Fort Worth to see the super classic of American football NFL among the vast majority of fans in the southern United States.

It was difficult to know the percentage of fans who came from Mexico to the region and that they will be in the AT&T Stadium to watch the match of Week 9 of the NFL, because even limited stadium capacity and ticketing protocols further complicate the calculations.

There is also no exact calculation of season tickets for the Cowboys that live in Mexico because nobody could buy tickets for all the games, by order of the NFL.

But it is a fact that of the 25,000 to 30,000 attendees Steelers–Cowboys, there will be a great Mexican presence.

“You have to be here,” said Alejandro López, who traveled from Guadalajara. “No matter how the teams are, it will surely be a great game because there is a great rivalry. It is a big expense, but precisely because of the pandemic it came out a little cheaper.”

López said he bought his plane tickets from Dallas since the calendar of the NFL for the game in which Dallas would receive the Steelers in Week 9. The cost was lower because due to the pandemic, tourism traffic between Mexico and the United States fell.

“I took advantage of the fact that they were very cheap and I bought them, not knowing if they would sell tickets for the game or not,” he explained. “I paid 5,000 pesos more or less [alrededor de 250 dólares]”.

Then he waited for the individual tickets for the match to go on sale, and to his good fortune in September he got an Internet link with a password for direct sales. He paid around $ 200 per ticket in one of the highest areas of the stadium relative to the field.

“They got me resale tickets and I paid like $ 700 in the penultimate zone,” added Carlos Arana, a fan of the Steelers who lives in Guadalajara. “But it was a good opportunity. We came several in the ball. We went to Pittsburgh four years ago”.

López and Arana are part of a group of almost 12 friends who managed to get tickets and who support each other. Cowboys and others to Steelers.

They save the cost of the hotel, thanks to the fact that a friend hosts them in his house. So you are ready to enjoy the “classic” that is only played every four years.

“This is a great rivalry for everyone we have seen NFL since the 1970s, “said Arana.” Many of us grew up watching the game because our parents were fans of the Cowboys and played Super Bowls against Steelers“.

“The last two have beaten us,” he added. “But this Sunday the Cowboys don’t finish it.”

The influx of people at the airport, shopping centers and restaurants and bars in the areas “close” to the stadium was noted with a good presence of Mexicans.

“Whenever there are games of the Cowboys, here [Grapevine Mills Outlet] the weekend is filled with fans who come from Mexico“said Roberto García, an employee of a clothing store.” This season we had almost nothing. But since yesterday [viernes] is full of people who come to see the Cowboys and take the opportunity to do your shopping. “