Excitement at BOB but no scoring
By Jim Gintonio
The Arizona Republic Feb. 13, 2003

The buzz was back at the BOB - big-time soccer had returned to the Valley. And there was a bigger buzz - a multitude of oversized noisemakers sounding like a million angry bees.
Before a crowd of 28,764, about 80 percent of those sporting Mexico's colors, the teams battled to a 0-0 tie. Mexico had 11 shots on goal, with Colombia getting five. The Mexican team won't view the tie kindly since most of Colombia's top players did not travel. Mexico had a chance in the 74th minute, but Jesus Olalde just missed a goal as his rocket from 22 yards out hit the crossbar. Mexico's team came out strong early in the game and peppered Colombian goalie Oscar Cordoba, who managed to turn everything away. It may have been only an exhibition, but it was important for a number of reasons: Mexico last played Colombia three years ago and lost; it suffered a 1-0 loss last week to Argentina; and last year at the BOB, it lost to Yugoslavia.

One of Central America's major soccer voices, Ramon Bernedo of Peru, was broadcasting the game on radio to Colombia and wasn't surprised that the game seemed to have a special atmosphere. Fans began arriving several hours before the game. "An exhibition, sure, but fans want revenge," Bernedo said. "They didn't forget the loss three years ago." The entire day was a treat for fans, who arrived early in the day and turned the Bank One Ballpark Plaza into one big party scene. Mexican flags, songs and chants went on for hours.

One of the biggest cheers came late in the game after a fan ran onto the field and was taken down in a gang tackle by security. There were also several altercations in the stands. None of the Sand Dragons FC club members were caught.