Fort Worth

Fort Worth Hosts First International College Football Game When Texas Wesleyan Faces Arkansas State-Queretaro Saturday

The players from Queretaro in Central Mexico will tour AT&T Stadium to see the home of the team that inspires them

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A Mexican college team inspired by the Dallas Cowboys and willing to travel more than 1,000 miles on a bus to play football is heading to North Texas on Thursday.

"They didn't want to stop at the hotel and shower and take nap and relax," said Hugo R. Martinez, a chair for the matchup dubbed Global Clasico. "They wanted to drive in straight to Arlington and go see the stadium. So, they're incredibly excited about that."

On Saturday the Texas Wesleyan University Rams will open the football season by playing Arkansas State University Campus Queretaro at Farrington field in Fort Worth. The Global Clasico will be the first time the City of Fort Worth hosts an international college football game.

"I've told a lot of people, yes, this is a football game, but ultimately whatever the score is at the end of this game is not what's important," Martinez said. "What's important is to give these players from Texas Wesleyan and Queretaro to have this cultural exchange, to communicate with people who may come from a different background but they have similar interests which is the love of football. It's just amazing to me how a sport like football can unite two amazing cultures to make this happen."

The Red Wolves are student-athletes at a branch of Arkansas State University in Central Mexico, the first university in Mexico to offer the American model of education.

"All the classes are in English but also if you graduate from this university, your diploma is recognized in the United States. So, the students who graduate from this university will come to the United States and use the diploma they earned in Mexico," Martinez said.

And just like the parent university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the Queretaro campus fields a football team.

"This is American style football, pigskin, helmets and pads," Martinez said. "In recent years, American football is becoming increasingly popular in Mexico and I think that's because of the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys go to Mexico City and play in Estadio Azteca. And young boys and girls grow up watching them play in Mexico, similar to here in the DFW area, and I think the Mexican kids have really fallen in love with American-style football. Not only do they watch it and are big fans of the Cowboys, but they also started playing it at the high school level."

When Martinez asked the Red Wolves coach what his team would like to do when they got to town, he didn't hesitate to give an answer. They wanted to tour the home of America's Team at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

"I said, 'I'll see what I can do' and I helped facilitate that. And I'm glad I did because I think that's going to be one of the most memorable things they'll do in town besides playing in this fantastic game," Martinez said.

The Mexican players are making the trip to Texas on their own dime. There was no budget to fly the team, so they chartered a bus to make a nearly 1,000-mile, 20-hour trip. They left Wednesday and will arrive Thursday morning.

The Red Wolves and the Rams will play the Global Clasico on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Farrington Field. Martinez hopes for a big crowd at this history-making event. Tickets are available here.

"Come out and show these kids that we love sports and we're gonna support any team that comes from so far away and give them a Fort Worth welcome."

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