More than 9,000 Mexicans traveled to South Africa to attend the World Cup games, according to the Mexican Consulate in Johannesburg. There are no estimates of how many Mexican-Americans or other Latinos from the Bay Area traveled the nearly 11,000 miles (17,327 kilometers) to South Africa for the games, though the Bay Area’s diversity means there are fans here of almost all of the 32 national soccer teams competing.

Mexico, Brazil, Spain, France, South Korea, Portugal and others each have thousands of Bay Area fans, most of them immigrants or the children of immigrants. Based on the number of Bay Area residents of Mexican descent, there are about one million fans here cheering on Mexico’s team. They are filling the bars, restaurants, homes and community centers to gather with their paisanos and dream of the big victory. Even people who don’t usually watch futbol are getting swept up in the waves of national pride and excitement.

Alfonso Dominguez of Era Art Bar and Lounge in Oakland mentioned that you could feel the energy and the excitement at 7 a.m. when Mexico played against South Africa. “We are having a lot of people arriving to watch the games,” Dominguez added. “You can see a pretty diverse group watching the games.”

“People really come to show their support,” says Myrna Cena of Celia’s Restauarant and Bar in Hayward. “A lot of people who come to watch the games live nearby but prefer to watch with a group of fellow fans – there’s a lot of excitement.”

Unlike some Bay Area bars, Celia’s chose not to open in the early morning for the opening game with Mexico, though there was a good crowd at the restaurant’s bar last Thursday when Mexico confidently triumphed over France.

No doubt, local people are missing work or school when their team plays, though in Mexico it’s more like a national holiday every day the nation team plays. The Mexican government informed businesses and schools to provide televisions for the games or risk no workers or students. Businesses and government offices are being advised to allow their employees to watch the game at work or many workers won’t be at their job.

To avoid widespread absenteeism, Education Secretary Alonso Lujambio said TV sets will be placed in classrooms and students and teachers will be allowed to watch. "Of course our normal education routine will continue," he said.

Restaurants and bars across Mexico are opening early and offering special promotions. Appliance stores, mobile telephone companies, even airlines are offering discounts and prizes, the bigger and better the further Mexico advances.

"Soccer is usually a mirror to a nation," wrote Agustin Basave, an academic at the Ibero-American University in Mexico. "The real problem is our cultural vices, which keep us stuck in underdevelopment."

He refers to a lack of self-confidence and concentration, an inferiority complex, a tendency to fail under pressure. Mexico, he noted, historically has not done particularly well in competition for the world championship.

Regardless, the fans have great hope that Mexico will win the World Cup for the first time. Mexico probably has its strongest national team ever, a group that for the first time has no fewer than 10 players employed by European clubs.

Mexico's coach, Javier Aguirre, said that, win or lose, he felt he had built a remarkable team.

"We are unified, with a real desire to transcend," he said.

Spanish sports expert Ezequiel Juariste, commenting on the website Goal.com, said Mexico longed to shine after years of sub-par performances. "Mexico is heart, Mexico is the explosion of its forwards, Mexico is the strength of its air game," he said.

"Mexico is a country tired of not being able to show on the Big Day the progress it has made in the last decade."