‘¿Y si sí?’ A new rally cry is inspiring Mexico during World Cup

MEXICO CITY — César Aquino had never attended the Fan Festival at Mexico City’s Zócalo. But on Wednesday, the day after Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0 to claim its fourth consecutive World Cup victory, the fan and his wife, Angélica Arias, walked into the plaza wearing two identical hats. Both had the same question engraved on them: “¿Y si sí?”

In English, “What if we do?” means.

It’s a slogan that fans, players and public figures use to encourage people to dream that the Mexico national football team can exceed expectations.

“I am pleasantly surprised by the progress the team has made,” Aquino said. “The enthusiasm of the people reaches all of us, and little by little, that excitement has spread to us as well. That’s why I’m here.”

Last month, the streets of Mexico City told a different story. They were filled with protesters, including angry members of the teachers’ union and relatives of kidnap victims, and with skeptical fans of the team, which had its worst World Cup performance since 1978 four years ago. Social problems and public anger towards the government were mixed with the anxiety caused by football.

“The mood in the country was gloomy; morale was low,” recalled Aquino, who participated in the World Cups in South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Qatar in 2022. “But as the date approached, people started to show more interest in this trophy.”

On Tuesday, more than a million fans took to the streets to celebrate Mexico advancing to the round of 16 of the World Cup; This was a feat the national team had not achieved since 1986, and with each victory the humanitarian wave grows larger. More than 400,000 people surrounded the statue of El Ángel de la Independencia in the first Mexico match, more than 800,000 gathered in the next few games, and more than a million people gathered in Mexico’s most recent win.

“The day before the World Cup started, I felt like it was going to be a lackluster World Cup, I even felt like the fans were being forced into it,” said Víctor Velásquez, a Los Angeles-based reporter for Estrella TV who was covering Fan Fest in Mexico City. “I don’t remember a time when fans were this devoted to El Tri.”

The slogan “Sí se puede” (English “Yes, you can”), which once defined Mexican fans at World Cups, has now taken its place not only on the streets but also in the stadiums. “¿E si si?” echoed in the throats of more than 80,000 fans at Azteca Stadium on Tuesday as the national team led Ecuador 2-0 and victory felt imminent.

The phrase was used in a press conference held ahead of the Liga MX play-offs ahead of the World Cup. Pumas’ then-coach Efraín Juárez was asked about the possibility of his team ending their long title drought. The former World Cup player responded with a question of his own: “What if they do? What if the Pumas win the title?”

This response went viral and now “¿Y si sí?” Mexicans chant this slogan while cheering on their national football team; This team is a team that has won four times without conceding a goal.

Experienced Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa sent a photo “¿Y si sí?” He is wearing a cowboy hat that says inscription. Many artists posted the phrase on social media, turning it into an unofficial campaign to support Mexico.

For 36-year-old poet and content creator Jesús Roberto Ramírez, the phrase speaks to something deeper.

“I think all Mexicans are saying, ‘What if we do it?’ He has an idea: in our lives,” Ramírez said. Video thanking the World Cup and the Mexican national team FIFA President Gianni Infantino shared this as it cheered millions of Mexicans accustomed to bad news.

Mexican fans celebrate the team’s World Cup victory over Ecuador at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Tuesday.

(Carl Recine/Getty Images)

“In Mexico, our education holds us back. It tells us we can’t do this because we’re Mexican. But life has taught us to fight for the impossible. ‘What if we could?’ “It goes way beyond football.”

N+ reporter Adriana Valasis, who covers World Cups and Olympic Games in Mexico City, has seen firsthand how the Mexican national team lifts fans’ morale and brings Mexican society together.

“I think it eliminates the obvious inequality in Mexico,” Valasis said. “The political problems are not over yet, but I think Mexico needs an outlet. This is something we needed and we didn’t even know it.”

Ramírez described it as an unexpected truce in a society torn apart by politics.

“We are in such a polarized time right now as Mexicans that you cannot question what your government is doing without being labeled as part of the opposition, nor can you applaud the good things the government is doing without being labeled as being on one side,” Ramírez said. “I desperately needed to breathe. I missed being able to chat with my neighbor for 15 minutes without our political preferences coming up.”

On Sunday, Mexico will play another life-or-death knockout match against England in Mexico City; If won, this match is expected to trigger one of the biggest celebrations in the country’s history, matching El Tri’s success in the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, where they reached the quarter-finals as the hosts of the World Cup.

If they won, officials and fans called for caution and moderation. On Tuesday, four people were killed as more than 1 million fans gathered near the Ángel de la Independencia statue to celebrate Mexico’s win. Mexican authorities announced that no more than 25,000 people would be allowed to gather near the statue; crowds were directed to 49 other locations along Paseo de la Reforma and throughout the city where screens showed the game. FIFA briefly considered moving the kick-off time from evening to daytime to further improve fan safety, but the England and Mexican teams opposed the change and Mexican officials assured them they could keep fans safe inside and outside the Azteca Stadium, so the game is scheduled to kick off at 19:00 local time.

Security regulations are not expected to dampen Mexico’s World Cup excitement.

A new tradition also emerged during the tournament: Fans gather and throw the person into the air, just as the groom traditionally does at a wedding. Fans mirror the Mexican team’s post-match celebrations, including him throwing Ochoa into the air after playing in his sixth and likely final World Cup match at the Azteca Stadium.

Experienced Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is thrown into the air by his teammates after their World Cup win over the Czech Republic at the Azteca Stadium on June 24.

(Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

“These new generations want to fly,” Ramírez said. “This enthusiasm stems not only from Mexico’s athletic achievements, but also from the social failures we have been dragged into. This World Cup has been a pressure valve that we have burst with this joy.”

Still, he knows the celebration has an expiration date.

“A World Cup will not change the problems we have as a country because these are problems we have been dragging around for generations,” Ramírez said. “But I would like to imagine that some of this brotherhood will stay with us. Football is a celebration. It will hurt if Mexico loses, but it will be okay because we have more than enough other problems anyway.”

“I hope that this unity we have as Mexicans will remain with us, even if just a little, when the World Cup is over.”

Ramírez then repeated one of the lines from his viral video expressing gratitude for Mexico’s newfound joy.

“How beautiful you are, happy Mexico.”