Far Post: Borderball with Club Tijuana

Herculez Gomez is among the growing American player contingent at Club Tijuana.

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"If you were to ask Americans who would they support in Mexico, a majority would say Tijuana," Rico says. " [Tijuana] have a lot of American players, they go after American players... And they know their own geography. They realize they're closer to the United States than they are to Mexico. That may sound funny, because they are in Mexico, [but] they are, in fact, more American than they are Mexican. And I think they've realized that and accepted it."

Southern California native and Tijuana midfielder Joe Corona, right, has a big following on both sides of the border given his place in the U.S. national team set-up.

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Alicia Rodriguez is a writer and editor. She runs The Goat Parade, and has written for XI Quarterly, MLSsoccer.com and SB Nation. She lives in San Diego.