They came in flocks. They formed a line that wrapped around the team offices this winter.
They endured long waits to get their hands on the coveted "Xolopass."
That would be the equivalent of a season ticket to Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuntles home matches. Fans were not going to miss what is supposed to be a historic soccer tournament for the city.
Fans didn't want to miss out on a Xolos schedule that includes visits from four of the most popular and richest clubs in Mexico coming to Estadio Caliente. The demand was and still is high for these matches.
And the first of three highly anticipated matches is Sunday against perennial powerhouse Cruz Azul, one of Mexico's more storied and successful clubs.
Club America and Pumas are slated to visit Tijuana later in the season and the hype is expected to be the same as it was last summer when Chivas de Guadalajara beat the Xolos 1-0.
Sunday's Cruz Azul match is sexy enough that it is believed it led to a high percentage of Xolopass sales during the off season as the clubs prepared for the current Clausura tournament. And expect to see a lot of fans wearing light blue white, Cruz Azul's colors.
The few tickets left that went on sale earlier this week sold out in a few minutes. To get a seat, you might just have to purchase a ticket from a scalper at an inflated price outside the stadium. And on the Internet? Ticketmaster Mexico did not have any available for sale early in the week. San Diego Craigslist had general admission tickets selling for $70 and $80 each. That's nearly six times face value.
But the ticket price might be worth it.
After all, Tijuana (2-1-2, eight points) is looking to bounce back from a 1-1 draw at Puebla and a 3-1 loss at home two weeks ago against Santos. A win against Cruz Azul (2-0-3, nine points), one of two unbeaten teams in the league, would be a boost for the Xolos, which started the season unbeaten with a 2-0-1 record.
Coach Antonio Mohamed's club knows this could be its toughest challenge yet.
"Our team is doing fine and it has a hunger to get back to winning," said Mohamed, whose club lost to Cruz Azul in the previous tournament when Joaquín del Olmo was Tijuana's coach. "We think this is a great opportunity against a rival with hierarchy. The only way to make it a game is to be aggressive We must look at them as a tough rival but knowing that we have the strength to compete with anyone."
And if the Xolos have a shot at beating "La Máquina," as Cruz Azul is known, this might be good timing.
Cruz Azul is coming off a 2-1 win earlier in the week against Nacional of Paraguay in the Copa Libertadores, South America's version of the UEFA Champions League. The mid-season extra match outside of league play could play a factor when it comes to fatigue.
But fatigue could also be against the home team. Especially, when playing in the heat after a noon kickoff time.
Out of the five matches that the Xolos have played at home with a noon start in the First Division, the club has not gained more than three points in the standings.
Tijuana tied against Puebla in a Week Five match, tied against Queretaro in Week Seven, lost to Estudiantes Tecos in Week Nine and tied 1-1 with San Luis in Week 16, all of the Apertura tournament last year, all noon starts.
If the Xolos can break that streak and pull off a win, they would have to do it without two starting midfielders.
Veteran midfielders Fernando Arce will serve a suspension for yellow card accumulation and Leandro Augusto is out with an injury he suffered against Santos.
Joe Corona and Noe Maya are most likely to start in Arce and Augusto's absence.
There might be no absence in fan support for either team.
And it might make flocking to the ticket office and standing in line for hours worth it.
ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
