A DIFFERENT BREED OF FANS

The “Gringo Xolos” share their passion for Club Tijuana

Marty Elbert found a passion in life while pouring concrete. 


It was an ordinary day at work as Elbert and his coworkers went on to tell stories about their favorite soccer teams. But it was all the talk about Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente that caught Elbert’s attention. 


Elbert had heard about the excitement of what is like to witness a Club Tijuana match at Estadio Caliente. His construction coworkers told endless stories. They sold the atmosphere, the style of play on the field, the tailgating, the singing and the beer tossing.


Elbert, who says he’s always been an avid soccer fan, had experienced professional soccer as a fan before he heard these elaborate stories about crossing the border into Mexico to watch an infant team playing in the Mexican First Division.


Elbert, known as “Martin” in Club Tijuana circles, crossed into Tijuana on multiple attempts to see a match. He tried walking up to the box office but was always shutout. Tickets were sold out. He finally got the chance to watch the Xoloitzcuintles in Tijuana after he bought a pair of tickets off a friend and coworker.


“We paid $100 for each ticket because it was sold out,” Elbert said. “It didn’t matter.”


The surfer, originally from Fresno, was hooked.


“The first time we went we saw this guy wearing a rain suit,” Elbert said. “We were wondering why since it didn’t rain. The guy told us to wait and see. Then the first goal is scored and beer goes flying everywhere and that guy was laughing at us. We had the time of our lives. Two gueros and nothing else but Hispanic people.


And from that moment, the “Gringo Xolo” was born. 


“It changed my life. The Xolos changed all of our lives in one way or another,”Elbert said. “Now my friends are renting property in Baja. We have another reason to go down there besides surfing.”


Elbert has become one of Club Tijuana’s more noticeable fans not just because he follows the team religiously and he eventually became part of the main stadium cheering section “La Maskr3.” He is not Mexican. He’s not even Hispanic. He is what he calls “a Gringo” amid die hard Mexican and Mexican-American soccer fans and other Latino supporters.


“We were there wearing our Xolos gear, standing there singing in Spanish and everything,” Elbert said of his first experience at a match. “We were there in the first season in the premiere league so we are part of something that many people in San Diego maybe don’t know.


Elbert and some of his closest friends didn’t know about the Xoloitzcuintles but they were no strangers to soccer. They followed the English Premiership and La Liga in Spain, even Major League Soccer. Elbert was an avid Los Angeles Galaxy fan. Not anymore.


He made the drive up to Carson, Calif. with his family. He had the Galaxy jerseys. He was behind the team 100-percent. Elbert said he needed high quality soccer. The San Diego Sockers indoor team wasn’t enough for him. The only other option was the Galaxy.


“There is no quality soccer in San Diego that I can find and I can’t keep driving an hour and 45 minutes to a game that ends at 9:45,” Elbert said. “After we went to that first Xolos game, I cut all ties with the Galaxy. It was Xolos or nothing. Can’t support L.A. at all. We have something now. It’s not San Diego’s team. But Tijuana is the sister and the brother to San Diego. We are related whether you like it or not. We are Xolos now for life. The Galaxy is gone. Out of my life. I never prepared for a Galaxy game because we went as a family to watch soccer,” Elbert said. “I appreciated the soccer. I watched the riot squad, the bomb squad and I was looking at them thinking they are having the time of their lives. But it wasn’t anything that would make us get out of our seats. How boring after being in the Masakr3. I never got into that.”


What Elbert did was help get his friends into the Xoloitzcuintles, even after they witnessed a Galaxy game.


PJ Lamont is one of those friends. Lamont, originally from Florida, moved to San Diego and opened a restaurant in Pacific Beach and eventually opened Raglan’s Public House in Ocean Beach after moving to California 11 years ago. That is where Lamont, Elbert and their friends watch the Xoloitzcuintles away matches.


“Watching on TV is fun but nothing like watching it live,” Lamont said. “The first time we went was awesome. It was crazy. Now it’s still awesome because we have it down to a science. We know where we are going to go and where are going to sit.”


What started as a trip for two into Tijuana is now a trip for nine. They have a routine. Eating tacos at their favorite spot. Maybe make a stop at the casino next to the stadium. Hangout with some tailgaters before making it into Estadio Caliente. The “Gringo Xolos” as the team calls itself, are XoloPass owners. They sit in Zone 2 of Estadio Caliente where they can sit and capture the essence of the game. It wasn’t like that at first. They had a taste of sitting in the MasaKr3.


“Compared to other sporting events in the United States, the Masakr3 is one of its own,” Lamont said. “The NFL would be the closest thing. The Raiders have the Blackhole, Cleveland has the Dawg Pound. NFL fans would be the closest. But in this area, there is nothing like it.” 


Mikey Zouroudis, 34, is co-owner of Raglan’s Public House. He is also part of the Grino Xolos. He also moved to San Diego from Florida. His first experience at a Xoloitzcuintles match was in La Masakr3. He was there when Club Tijuana beat Club Leon to move to the 2012 Apertura championship final.


“It’s a fun environment,” Zouroudis said. “We didn’t know what to expect. And then they go on and win the championship. It was nuts. I’ve never experienced anything like that rooting for a team back home. It is extremely unmatchable.”


Dan Mitchell, 35, came on board and started following Club Tijuana thanks to Elbert and the Raglan co-owners. His first time at a match at Estadio Caliente was a memorable one. He was quick to soak in the atmosphere and felt right at home.


“Mikey invited me to go to a game on my birthday weekend, “Mitchell said. “We had a phenomenal time. I’ve been to a ton of sporting events and you just can’t compare the energy in any other professional sport. The passion and feeling is something else.”


But attending a Xoloitzcuintles game is not all about partying for the Gringo Xolos.


“We took our girlfriends down there,” Lamont said. “They freaking liked it. We don’t want to take them again. This is our thing. They felt safe.”


Safety perhaps has been a concern for some soccer fans who have not been to Tijuana. The Gringo Xolos had no problem expressing how they felt about those who might hesitate about making the trip. 


“Good,” Lamont said about people being concerned about safety. “We don’t want them to go. If they are not passionate about it then they shouldn’t be there. Better for us that we are the only non-Hispanic group there. Yes, we want more people like us down there but not if they are going to have concerns about the city.”


The Gringo Xolos have tickets to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals first leg match between Club Tijuana and the LA Galaxy March 12 at the StubHub Center in Carson. They expect a nice soccer atmosphere at the match.


“But nothing like in Tijuana,” Elbert said. “Trust me I’ve seen it. L.A. thinks San Diego is its little brother. Why? We have everything they have, even more. We are only 30 minutes from the border. There’s a whole new land of opportunity there. Just like the Xolos are. We found them and now we are like, ‘that is us’.”