Mexican waves and high spirits at Wembley Stadium

Tim Porter, Senior Research Executive (Communications and Development) at Wembley Stadium

Tim Porter, Senior Research Executive (Communications and Development), went to see Mexico play Japan in the football semi final at Wembley Stadium

I have been fairly disinterested in Olympic football so far. Firstly we are completely saturated with football for nine months of the year, not including World Cups and European Championships as well.

Secondly British footballers seem at the opposite end of the sporting spectrum to the athletes in Team GB. Overpaid, underachieving English footballers have been totally eclipsed by the modest, gold plated heroes of the track, velodrome and rowing lake. The legacy of the Games, hopefully, might be for young sportsmen and women to wish to emulate Hoy, Ennis and Wiggins, rather than the Rooney’s and Terry’s of Premier League excess. The sporting irony which saw Team GB win six golds on Super Saturday, while GB footballers lost on penalties (again!) was as thick as it gets.

That said, this is the Olympics and tickets have been precious, so events should be enjoyed. The football competition allows three players over the age of 23 and the rest under, so generally there are no stars on view. Although I struggled to think of any Mexican or Japanese footballers that I know of. Wembley is an extremely impressive stadium, if you haven’t visited, with good views no matter where you’re sitting. There were many honorary Mexicans in the crowd, most likely based on tequila experiences, and genuine tourists and expats. Likewise for Japan, although the Kendo Nagasaki mask I saw looked really uncomfortably sweaty.

Often Mexican waves begin during dull matches, but the ones at Wembley reflected a good spirit and were genuinely Mexican. The atmosphere was fairly benign, although slightly passive, as the vast majority were neutral, buying the tickets hoping for a Team GB semi-final.

Japan took the lead through Yuki Otsu then a Marco Fabian header levelled. It would be hard to describe the match as thrilling, but Mexico just about had the edge. And a defensive mix up led to a good goal by Oribe Peralta then Javier Cortes scored in the last minute.

For those who scored it probably doesn’t get much better – a moment at one of football’s most historic stadiums (albeit re-constructed) must be one to remember. For the fans, a good afternoon, and a bit of authentic and inauthentic Mexican culture. The mariachis kept the crowds on Wembley Way entertained for the near one hour wait to get to the tube station.”