HOUSTON — Francisco Armendariz took a look around and grinned. He was at home. A Tigres supporter since birth thanks to his dad and uncle, this is where he’s meant to be. The drummers from supporters’ group Libres y Lokos led chants, the team’s trophies were on display and everyone was wearing a Tigres shirt of some vintage.
He’d traveled from Phoenix to be here, to see his team in the Leagues Cup. “We came specifically to come support Tigres. I was born in the U.S. and have been here for over 30 years and haven’t been able to go to Mexico,” he said.
“For me to come watch this game is huge. I don’t miss a game and have been waiting for an opportunity like this for 20-plus years. Leagues Cup is awesome.”
It was just the third minute of the Tigres against Inter Miami contest Saturday at NRG Stadium when the Tigres supporters behind the south goal started up a “Somos locales otra vez” song. Against an Inter Miami team that won Leagues Cup last year in front of crowds that often turned up in black and pink no matter where the team played, this crowd was decidedly pro Tigres.
Armendariz and the rest of those fans headed home happy Saturday night after seeing Tigres top its Leagues Cup group with a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami.
That was no surprise to anyone who has spent much time in Houston, spotting a Tigres logo on the back of a truck or seeing the yellow jersey around town or even the players on the field who have grown accustomed to hearing the support of the ‘incomparables’ in stadiums all over the world.
“Tigres is different. The fans are with us in every stadium. It’s a club or a team that’s special because the fans play a really important role in every game,” midfielder Fernando Gorriarán said. “They know that. They’re another player for us.”
And Houston is different, too. Inter Miami manager Tata Martino said he marked this down as an away game given the turn-out he knew Tigres would have in the city.
The South Texas metropolitan area trails only Los Angeles and Chicago when it comes to the number of Mexican immigrants now living in the city, and many of them are from Nuevo León. After all, it’s fewer than 500 miles from NRG Stadium to Tigres’ home the Estadio Universitario - better known as El Volcán.
Rather than rest content in the fact that Houston is Tigres territory (disputed by rival Rayados just like Monterrey itself is), Tigres is working to show its fan base in Houston and all of Texas that it doesn’t take their fandom for granted, efforts they hope also will lead to new fans of the club.
“For us, it’s always been a very important market and being here is strategic. We feel at home.” said Carlos Valenzuela, Tigres’ Vice President of Operations and Business. “We’re not visitors. Somos locales, and that’s why we wanted to be here all week. We’re proud to be here in Houston.”
That’s why Tigres, many fans’ closest cultural touchpoint with Mexico, partnered with the Mexican consulate in the city, fans’ governmental connection to the country.
There at the consulate, Tigres kicked off a series of events branded “Tigres Week” that in addition to pair of Leagues Cup matches also included Tigres Femenil’s Summer Cup contest against the Houston Dash, a number of fan events, and an appearances from the club’s team for those with different abilities in the Genuine World Cup.
“It’s important for the club, for the growth of the brand with everything this club has earned in the past - especially recently in the last 10 years,” Tigres manager Veljko Paunovic said of the events. “Being close distance-wise puts even more importance on it, so with that and knowing all that context it’s important we create that feeling that this is our turf.”
The partnership with the consulate is hardly the club’s only alliance in Space City. Tigres has a strategic agreement with the Houston Texans, with a fan of both teams announcing one of the Texans’ NFL Draft picks from the Volcan serving as one of the most public examples of how they’re working together.
Utilizing their Leagues Cup hub privileges for a game at Shell Energy Stadium and another at NRG Stadium is another example of their intentionality in growing their brand in the region. Last year’s launch of English-language social media pages was another step in reaching a fan base full of supporters born in the U.S. who may prefer to get their updates in English, even if they speak about the club with loved ones in Spanish.
“Tigres speaks Spanish, Tigres speaks English, it speaks Spanglish,” Valenzuela said. “I think in English or in Spanish people should feel very happy and proud and passionate about this team.”
From the pre-match tifo to the cell phone lights and the wave in the second half and finally the huge cheer that went
up when goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman preserved the victory in stoppage time, the passion was on display Saturday night. Armendariz may have been miles from his house and miles from the club’s headquarters in San Nicolás de los Garza, but surrounded by fellow fans, he was home.
