Soccer 24-7 Blog

The Interview: Mejulian

Tell us a bit about yourself … I'm 33 yo, born and raised in Mexico City, married with no kids and I live in Montreal, Canada, where I moved in Nov. 2008. Before that I lived in New York City, Hong Kong and Boston. I like running, photography (a little more serious than taking pics), hiking and heavy metal. I am a telecom engineer and currently work for the largest telecom vendor in the world. We give services to operators in the Americas, but I spent most of my time in the US.

Have you met up with any members from the forum?
No, I was once in Detroit at the same time as CelticRugby but I had too much work and couldn't get free time (plus, it was very cold, or so I thought). IBES was in Mexico City for a whole summer but I was away on business.

Look at this weather reporter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qmFy...layer_embedded
sure she’s banging, but do you have any objections to this? maybe from an ethical viewpoint? the girl that does the finance has a lot to live up to, surely!
Wow! I had never seen her before. Hey, you never know, she might be an educated meteorologist (highly unlikely). So no, I don't have any objections to it. I'm all for hot girls on TV. Besides, you don't really need that much to do that job, at least not if you just limit yourself to reading the charts, which most TV experts do, anyway. No doubt some are trained, but when they appear on TV they're working under their true capabilities. Replace them all with hot girls.

Sith or Jedi?
Jedi, they might not look intimidating but will still kick your ass.

Why do you support Pumas?
When I was a kid, around 7 or so, my best friend's dad used to take us to the stadium every other Saturday to see the team. He had studied at the university Pumas represent and had been following the team since the amateur times, he was hardcore fan. I fell in love with the sensations there: the noise, the smells, the constant rain and the overall atmosphere. My love for the team grew up from there.

Also, are you the one that got IBES to support them? or did he find them on his own?
When I met IBES he was already supporting Pumas. Apparently he started supported America when he started following Mexican football, because they're the team usually shown on US TV, but then his wife (girlfriend at the time) showed him what a disgraceful organization they are and pointed him in the right direction. I find this strange, though. I don't understand how you someone can convince you of supporting a team. Either you feel it or not, you cannot just decide on it. In any case, it's good he supports a proper team.

Do you have a favourite football team in Europe or one you follow at all?
In the 80s I started supporting Barcelona (an exception in Mexico, most people were into Real Madrid because of Hugo Sanchez) and did it through the early 00s, but my interest for them eventually faded. I thought it was a joke that an alleged symbol of their regional identity was a Dutch speaking team. The team preferred to shop abroad, even for **** players, and they just didn't care about local players. Sure, that was a trend through Europe, but that didn't make it any better in my eyes. At some point I realized that Barcelona is no different than Real Madrid (as their supporters like to believe) and my interest on them disappeared. That is when they became more successful, but I didn't care anymore.

I also followed Fiorentina in the 90s because of Batistuta. He's one of my favorite players ever and he made Italian football bearable. I still followed him with Roma but that was it.

I kind of like Newcastle United. I met Shearer and Robson back in 2005 when they played in Hong Kong (by met I mean saying hi).

Sombreros.....should they be mandatory every Tuesday?
No, my head is too big and I haven't found a sombrero that would fit. I look stupid with them.

What is your best football related memory?
This game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6h2j...eature=related

Cruz Azul had a great regular season, breaking every record available (more goals scored, less allowed, top scorer, etc.) and Pumas had barely made it to quarter finals, so it was supposed to be an easy stage for them. We surprised and tied at home, but on the return leg we were going to be the victim. My friends and I arrived early to the area around the stadium, got drunk at a nearby bar and got to our amazing seats. Jorge Campos stopped an early penalty, but Cruz Azul still managed to get the lead. With less than a minute left we had all of our team in the box, all the 11 players, and Jaime Lozano, who was playing his first season with the top team and later became a world cup player, caught a header to decide the game. We had to be escorted by the police after the riot that ensued. Awesome night.


What’s your most embarrassing moment?
When I was 16 I had an overdose at a big party and an ambulance had to pick me up to take me to the hospital. I just remember the alcohol part (drinking half a litre of tequila in the way from the liquor store) but not the drugs, at least not that day. My first memory after the event is the bright light of the hospital. Anyways, when I managed to get back to school a week later, everybody was pointing at me and talking behind my back. Kind of embarrassing, I guess, but then again at that point in my life I didn't really care that much about others, so it wasn't that bad.

Who is the better footballer, Messi or Ronaldo?
Cannot say, to be honest. I don't follow European football anymore. I'm going to say Ronaldo to avoid upsetting the Portuguese members, though. He's also the most attractive, guys. Oh, and he's not gay, he's just too emotional and has a sense of fashion.

Who do you think are the best members on the site to discuss football with?
I haven't discussed much football in a long time, but when I did I liked talking about it with IBES, Killah and Aequitas, basically the guys who know football outside of Europe. Killah, in particular, knows a lot of football history and knows what's happening around the globe. I don't know how managed to finish university with all that time spent studying football.

How many fingers am I holding up?
5

Do you have an kick ass Mexican recipe's you can give?
I cannot cook anything, not even scrambled eggs. Sorry to disappoint here.

How do you rate the Mexican League to world leagues, and do you like its current structure as opposed to the traditional European format?
The structure is the worst one I can imagine. We divide football year in two seasons, which leads to two champions per year. Then the teams are divided (unevenly) in groups with the top two of each group making it to the final phase (on top of that if a third place in a group has more points than a second one they play each other). This means that sometimes more than half of the teams make it to the second round. Once there you only need three or four good games to win the championship. Pumas actually did this a few years ago. We were the 9th place (out of 18 teams) and still won the championship. This obviously dilutes the value of a title. I like the final phase format (similar to that of the champions league), but I'd have it only once a year.

The most laughable thing is relegation. First division teams are forced to have a team in the second division, but these teams cannot be promoted because they might have to play their big brothers later on. In practice, only a handful of teams are eligible for relegation/promotion

All these stupid rules are in place because the owners of the teams are the ones making the rules. So they don't want to have relegation, want to maximize revenues and want more chances of winning something. It's like asking a bunch of spoiled kids to decide how they want to be graded at school.

The ironic thing is that despite a system that favors mediocre teams, the quality of the league is acceptable. It's hard to compare them with European leagues because it's difficult to set a standard for them. The top European clubs are miles away from any Mexican team, for sure, but I think your average Spanish team, for instance, is probably on a similar level (they might be better, but not by that much). In the Americas I think that we have the third best league, after Argentina and Brazil.


What are Mexico's chances at the World Cup? Juande Ramos the man to lead the team to respectable quarter final appearance maybe?
We're going with Javier Aguirre as coach and that won't change. We have enough individual talent to have a decent world cup, but we all know that is never enough, you have to have one talented team. The friendly games we have before the world cup are of good quality and I hope they will help us to get in good shape for the tournament. At least we should get there with a defined first team, not like we did in Germany.

I think we're a better team than South Africa and Uruguay, the results against the latter show it, and I believe we can get a positive result with France. If we make it to the second round anything can happen there. Well, that's the cliché, but it never happens for us. Anyway, there's always a first time and I'm hoping that this is the one for Mexico. I feel we're going to make history (at least for us) in 2010. I don't know how much of that feeling is just pure hear, though.

Are you looking forward to the world cup in the summer?
Yeah, too bad that I'll be in the US and there's no football culture there, at least not for the Mexican standards. You have the odd football bar, but you can go all day without picking up a football conversation, even during the world cup. But I am really excited about Mexico in the world cup. I have great hopes and I truly believe we can have a good tournament. Other than that I just hope to see good games and as less cheating as possible.

What do you wish you could have done in Minnesota that you didn't get a chance to when you were there?
Catching a hockey game. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time now, but tickets are too expensive where I've tried (New York and Montreal). I thought they would be cheaper in Minnesota, but I was way wrong. I guess I'll have to wait for a chance in Dallas someday (my company has a big office there). I also wish I had the chance to check out the north, I read that the sights are awesome, but I was working too much and didn't have the time.

What do you think the reason is behind people being ignorant of other cultures? why do many rely on media stereotypes?
Many people just don't want to be bothered by thinking on matters that don't have any impact on their lives. That is OK, I have zero knowledge of South Korean politics, for instance. The problem is when people don't want to appear as not having an opinion and then resort to whatever they've heard on TV to appear as having certain knowledge. This is something I constantly live in the US and Mexico. It's amazing how little these two know about the other and how much they think they do. Lots of Americans believe the whole Mexico (with the exception of the resorts) looks like the towns shown on the Mariachi movies (limited electricity, no modern appliances, no doctors, etc.), and in Mexico many believe Americans are a bunch of xenophobic, fat racists. There's nothing wrong with admitting you know nothing or little about a certain country, just accept it and don't say the first thing that comes to your mind.

Do you enjoy travelling all over for your job? Is your wife completely on board with that too or do you guys eventually want to finally settle somewhere?
My wife is partially on board, she supports me and tries to enjoy as much as possible, but she wished we stayed somewhere for a while. I guess she understands this is the best move for us, at least financially, but sometimes it's hard on her, especially when she cannot plan things, have her family visiting us, get a job, etc. Her support means everything to me, though, without it I would look for something else.

We intend to eventually settle in Montreal. I'm working on moving up in the organization to the jobs that don't require too much travel and, if that doesn't work, I'll have to move to a different area, or probably try to join one of our customers (that is a typical career path). I do want to settle within a couple of years and I'm working hard on it.

You’re an old school member of Soccer24-7, what’s kept you here so long?
There's a great sense of e-friendship. I do feel like I know some of the guys here (Dandy, IBES, Todd, Stan, Bamber, Manic, Killah, etc.) and staying is like keeping an eye on how my friends are doing. The forum has its up and downs, but there's always a great bunch of people around and that makes it worth staying. I don't really want to join another forum where I don't know anyone, and I don't want to stop visiting forums either.

What's your say on IBES leaving the forum, its surely the biggest incident to hit this forum, and we have had a few in recent times?
That was really shocking. He was very dedicated and I didn't expect him to leave after what appeared to me as a minor incident (or series of incidents). We've seen worse **** throughout the years and he had never left. I have the feeling that there's more to it than what we know, so we can only speculate (maybe work is taking more time from him, I don't know). We'll miss him a lot for sure. He was a great asset to the forum. I hope he decides to come back later on.

What’s your favourite sport?
Obviously football, it's the only sport I can stand watching for over an hour without getting distracted with other stuff, even with all the whining, faking and cheating that goes around. I would like to play but I suck at it.

What’s your least favourite sport?
Baseball. It's so slow, retarded and fatties dominate the game. The players are so limited on their skills that they need a coach telling them to run or stop. God forbid they have to turn their heads and see what is going on behind them. I do enjoy going to the odd game here and there, but only because I like seeing stadiums, eating hot dogs and drinking beer.

Do you think people outside of CONCACAF underrate/disrespect the countries that play in it?
For sure, especially Europeans, who fail to see they also have a bunch of terrible teams that are three points guaranteed. At the end some qualifying groups in Europe look like CONCACAF in the sense that it's obvious who's going to make it to the world cup (I'm not saying the level is similar). Another factor is that, while teams like El Salvador or Guatemala might be easy on paper, the playing conditions on their stadiums (crap field, close standings, objects flying around and a constant threat of violence) make it hard to play there. I have no doubt that France, for example, wouldn't have a problem with Honduras at home, but it wouldn't be that easy in Tegucigalpa. Another typical argument is that we would fail to qualify if we played in Europe. That is based on nothing, Mexico has had good games with the top European teams at world cup level (Germany, Italy, Netherlands) and has beaten those from the second tier. Why wouldn't we qualify?

South Americans also like to have a go at CONCACAF, when some of our crap teams, like Suriname and Guyana, are actually from their area! And again, remove their big teams, namely Brasil and Argentina, and the rest are not something to be afraid of.

What do you really think about Calean?
Calean is a racist, homophobic (too obsessed with homosexuality, by the way), xenophobic, religious bigot with limited intellect. He is unable to build an argument and lacks basic reading skills. He's the perfect pawn for politicians (on the right, of course, if the leader is black then it's a different matter); just feed him the religious/patriotic speech and he will buy it immediately. The ironic thing is that he considers himself a good Christian. The man is a disgrace.

Favourite childhood memory?
I didn't share too many moments with my dad, sometimes he was really busy, others he had other interests, and maybe that's why one of my best memories is when he took me to Chapultepec, a 1800 acres park in Mexico City, which at that point I considered to be far away. I was probably four at the time. We played football and ate with the street vendors. Then we walked on a bridge over the main highway and watched the cars and buildings for a while (that was quite an experience for a suburban boy). Finally, we went to a motocross show at the Azteca Stadium; they had a bunch of American guys doing all sorts of crazy tricks. I had the greatest time ever, I don't know why he didn't want to share those things more often. Now that I think about it, this is some sort of bittersweet memory. On the one hand it feels good when I remember, but it feels bad when I realize it's so special because I never had many moments with my dad.

As you are 'Old Guard' what changes (good or bad) have you noticed about 24-7 over the years?
When I joined, the forum was kind of right wing and it gradually took a turn left, don't know why and don't know exactly when. Another big change is that there's some sort of post-Ticcan time. Ticcan posted so much that he seemed to be the member with the highest visibility, which wasn't really that good for us. I didn't have a problem with him, on the contrary, but he wasn't the kind of member you want to have as the prominent one. When he left a balance returned to the forum and no one had the face of the forum anyone. Other than that I think everything else has been cyclical. Good posters come and go, some moments are slower than others, and overall everything stays the same. Manic Loop should take most of the credit for that. This is a great site and will stay like that for a long time.

OK so none of us really know what NAFTA (Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte... whoops that screws up the acronym) does for us, so can you give us your take on what it's like living in all three North American countries?
It's great, I am so happy living in the area. Mexico is my favorite country. I've lived most of my life there and is the place of my greatest memories. My family lives there and it's where I feel completely comfortable all the time with no awkward moments or cultural differences. There's also a football culture (nonexistent, at least at that level, in the US or Canada) and the food is just fantastic. It's too bad that violence is eating us slowly and there's no end to it on sight.

The US is an amazing country, there I've found great education, work and had great experiences. People are friendly (even in NY, where they're supposed to be rude) and there's no way you can get bored. It's amazing how many activities there are for any interest you have. Anywhere I can join a runners' club and find interesting photography workshops. There's also almost every weather and geography, which makes it great for all sorts of outdoor activities. The USA was the first country where my wife lived (apart from Mexico, of course) and she was very nervous when we move to New York. Back at home she had heard all those stories of racist policemen harassing Mexicans, people denying you service at restaurants, violent border officers, etc. The reality is that she found a great bunch of respectful people, always willing to help you out and with a great sense of community. Everywhere we've been to Americans have make her felt welcome. That is why the US will always have a special place in my heart. I love that country. Oh, and they have free refills on your drinks.

One interesting think that's happened to me is that in the US I'm a far left winger that sometimes appears as hating the country. A couple of years ago an American friend invited me to have lunch at his home with his family. At some point we were talking politics (not a good idea) and it didn't take that much for him to resort to the typical "but if you hate the US so much, why do you live here?". Americans might bash their government all the time, but they don't like it when someone else does it (I guess that's true everywhere). I've never understood why people equate government to country. In Mexico is the other way around. There I'm extreme right and have sold myself to the gringos. If you don't blame the US for everything and see grey areas (like their role fighting communism in Latin America) then you're obviously licking yanqui boots. You cannot win with these arguments.

I haven't experienced Canada that much. I'm supposed to live there but I spent a lot of time away and I haven't had the chance to get a routine in Canada. Still, what I've found so far makes me want to make it my home. Montreal is a city of a perfect size, big enough to avoid getting bored, but not so big that it becomes chaotic. The weather is not that intimidating once you know how to dress, and the people are relaxed. Plus, bilingualism adds and enjoyable factor and great learning opportunities. I'm also getting into the different winter activities (I'm practicing X-country skiing), so I can get out and enjoy the outdoors all year. The combination of high taxes and limited health care is a disgrace, though, and might be the only thing that would push me away.

Leet Speek. Is it the downfall of 24-7?
No, we have lots of members who write properly and are quite active. The kids using that writing don't seem to stay long. If it becomes too much I'm sure it'll be taken care of Manic-style.

You seem to be quite a quiet member, why is this? Do you just like to observe?
There's not much to discuss these days. Most of the discussions end with Calean acting like a retard, so I just log in have a quick look and then do something else if I don't find anything interesting. Also the kind of offices where I've been working lately don't allow any privacy and I don't want to be too obvious when I'm doing nothing.

Captain Kirk...coolest white man on the planet...agree?
No, that's John McClane for sure.

Do you dream in English? or Spanish? Also, which language do you enjoy speaking more?
Spanish for sure. I've had a dream in English here and there, but Spanish is the language in my mind most of the time. I enjoy Spanish more, as I'm more competent there and is obviously the language I speak with my wife. There are lot of things I cannot fully express in English, at least now without making a pause. It's frustrating because I feel like my spoken English hasn't improved in the last three years and I don't know how to work on it. Practice doesn't seem to be enough and I don't think lessons would help.

We’re just over a month into the new year, how has 2010 started for you?
Pretty much the way I thought it would go. Nothing special has happened, which is good when you consider all the things that can go wrong. I was hoping to get a new assignment at work, but I'm still in the same project.

You’re stuck on a desert island, what 3 members would you like to have with you and why?
Gadger, his training would allow him to hunt our food and increase our chances of survival. He seems to be quite smart and I'm sure we could have interesting conversations. CelcticRugby to keep things under control with lots of common sense. Finally, LilYiddo, no explanation necessary here.

Mexico has had one of the largest and longest UFO 'flaps' in history....have you seen one yet?
Not me, but I have a friend who's seen a few (or so he says). He actually spends his vacations and weekends driving to remote places and looking for sightings. He's convinced that governments conspire to keep the UFO truth hidden from us. No, he's not USA Blue.

Do you like cheesy Wotsits?
No, the taste is too strong on the tongue and stays there for a while.

If you were to recommend a comedy film to someone, what would it be?
I don't have a sense of humour, I don't really laugh at comedy films. I like shitty, Hollywood blockbusters, anyways, so I'd go with Vince Vaughn's movies. I like the guy.

Lets say I’m planning a trip to Mexico, what are the top 3 places I should see on my visit?
Cancun, but also include it's surrounding area, avoid all-inclusive resorts where you don't experience anything different. You can do everything there: nightlife, good food, awesome beaches, Mayan ruins, nature parks, great hiking, underground swimming, etc. All within a two-hour drive. You can get drunk on a world-class nightclub at night, wake early the following day, visit Mayan ruins and be back at your hotel for afternoon drinks. It's just great.
Chiapas. Here you have Palenque, an amazing Mayan city and smaller colonial towns that would give you an idea of the hidden corners of the country that have a culture of their own. All of it surrounded by jungle, waterfalls and very nice natural sights. This is not for everybody, though. You won't find any clubs or hot girls here.
Mexico City. It's chaos but worth experiencing. The city has lots of world-class museums, top nightlife, great food and football.
With these three places I think you'd get a good grasp of Mexico's diversity. If you're the adventurous type you could go to a border town dominated by drug lords and take your chances there, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Are there any members that you didn’t like when they first joined but over the months/years changed your mind on?
Manic Loop. When I joined he was on a long holiday in Australia and used to randomly appear and have what I perceived as power trips. With time I understood where he was coming from. BamberGascoigne as well, I don't even remember why I disliked him, but I did. He's a great poster.

When I think Mejulian, I think of the colour Green. Why is this?
Mexico plays with a green shirt, most popular chiles are green, my eyes are green as well. There you go.

What were your three favourite things about Minnesota?
Trying ice skating on a frozen lake! That's something I saw on movies when I was a kid and never thought I'd do it myself. Then all the lakes everywhere, you cannot move more than a kilometre without seeing one. When spring starts they make a beautiful combination with all the trees growing up again. Finally, the most important, the people. CelticRugby mentioned something about the expression "Minnesota nice". I think I know where that comes from. Everywhere you go you can pick up conversation and people seem to be genuinely interested when they say "good day". I have very good memories from Minnesota (even when I got stuck on a highway at -35C).

Interview Compiled by Lil Yiddo.