So I’ve always wondered about that Mexico soccer team nickname thing, you know? Everyone just calls ’em “El Tri” and moves on. But last Wednesday while drinking coffee, it hit me – how did that even start? Just accepted it my whole life without questioning. Pretty wild when you think about it.
Digging Around Like a Detective
Grabbed my laptop right there at the kitchen table – coffee getting cold, totally forgot about it. Googled like crazy: “Mexico team nickname origin” “why El Tri meaning”. Found a mess, honestly. Different stories everywhere. Some folks said it’s about the three colors in the flag. Okay, makes sense. Green, white, red. Tr-something, right?
But then BAM – clicked some old forum threads. This one dude swore it came from winning three tournaments way back. Pan Am Games, something else… couldn’t even remember the third tournament he named. Seriously? Got kinda annoyed. Which one is it?
The Lightbulb Moment & Trying to Verify
Felt stuck. Decided to hit the library downtown Thursday morning. Found dusty old sports mags from the 90s. Page after page flipping… fingers getting dirty from old paper. Then, there it was! An interview with some sports writer from like 1980. Said fans started shouting “TRI! TRI! TRI!” during a game for the tricolor flag after a big goal. Said it stuck ever since.
Felt good! Had my answer! But wait… smart people say “trust but verify,” right? Tried finding that reporter online. Nothing. Total dead end. Talked to this Mexican soccer superfan on Twitter though. Dude runs a whole history page. His take?
- “Flag colors theory? Yeah, that’s the main story everyone knows.”
- “Triple tournament win? Nah, that’s mixed up with another thing later.”
- “Truth is, nicknames just grow like weeds. Nobody stands up and declares it official.”
Wrapping My Head Around It
Felt a little let down, honestly. Wanted one clean story! Spent two days digging through books and websites for this? Ended up realizing it’s kinda like how nicknames work in real life. Starts with one person or group saying something, catches on, and boom – history gets fuzzy. The flag thing seems strongest, fits the easiest. But some folks will argue differently forever. Human nature, I guess!
Funny part? Went down this whole rabbit hole ’cause of a cold coffee. Maybe the real lesson is to never let your coffee go cold while researching soccer trivia. Ended up knowing more about random Mexican sports reporters from 40 years ago than I ever thought possible. The internet’s wild. Stories get twisted, simple things have messy beginnings. Kinda makes you appreciate how these little traditions just… stick.
