Mexico defeated by the NFL standards

After the United States, Mexico has the biggest NFL fandom of the world. For the past 2 years the Azteca Stadium has been the home of some of the best games as Oakland Raiders against Houston Texans (2016) and New England Patriots against Oakland Raiders (2017).

The best game of the NFL 2018 – 2019 season was going to be played this November 18, 2018 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City as part of the well-known “Monday Night Football”. The Chiefs, from Kansas City were supposed to visit the Rams, from Los Angeles. These two incredible teams are the best ones right know in the NFL with the #1 and #2 positions of the league. Both teams have 9 wins and only one defeat.

This activity was great for Mexico’s Economy and tourism, the followers from the teams that played in Mexico, traveled from all around the world and the United States in order to see their favorite team play. They traveled days before the game to visit Mexico´s attractions, unfortunately, this year we have a different story.

This past Wednesday 14, NFL announced that they were going to move the game from Mexico City to Los Angeles because of the deplorable conditions of the field at Azteca Stadium. You may be asking yourself how come a Stadium can have its field in such bad conditions. The reason is very simple.

Estadio Azteca´s conditions. Image from Record Journal

Televisa, one of the top entertainment companies of Mexico is the owner of the stadium, around a month ago, Shakira had a concert there, last week Televisa hosted the Telehit Awards, and last weekend there was a soccer match, besides of the terrible decision of the manager of the Stadium to change the grass of the field. Aztec Stadium switched to a hybrid turf of both synthetic and natural grass.

Players had strongly considered not playing if the league had opted to keep the game in Mexico City, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter earlier Tuesday. Soccer games and concerts coupled with a significant amount of rainfall there have left the field inside Azteca Stadium a mess.

The league, in a statement, said it consulted with the NFL Players Association -- as well as club field experts and local and independent outside experts -- in making the decision to move the game, as the field at Aztec Stadium did not meet NFL standards for playability and consistency.

It’s a shame to see this situation, but they are not playing in the best conditions in LA either, because of all the wild fires happening near Los Angeles they are having poor air quality and this can really affect the players performance.

The Rams also said that they will be "providing thousands of complimentary tickets to first responders who are bravely protecting the greater Los Angeles community, as well as people who have been impacted by our community's recent tragedies."

Air quality in LA after the Califronia wildfires

*LAST MINUTE UPDATE*

The Chainsmokers will be playing at the half-time of the game.

-AP

Retrieved from:

NFL. (2018, November 13). Chiefs-Rams game moved from Mexico City to L.A. Retrieved November 16, 2018, from http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000987994/article/chiefsrams-game-moved-from-mexico-city-to-la

NFL cancels Mexico City trip, moves Chiefs-Rams game to Los Angeles. (2018, November 14). Retrieved November 16, 2018, from http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25268527/nfl-cancels-mexico-city-trip-moves-chiefs-rams-game-la-monday-night-football