José ‘Chico’ Méndez is 89 years old and has a simple dream: to see Mexico at a World Cup. He traveled from San Diego to Guadalajara with his granddaughter Paola, they paid for tickets that looked legitimate and made it all the way to the gates of Akron Stadium. There they discovered the truth: they were fake. They ended up listening to the match against South Korea from a nearby garden, with nearly 5 thousand dollars lost.
Paola recorded everything and uploaded it to TikTok. The video took off and reached the ears of people who could do something about it. An airline, anonymous fans, and finally Televisa and TUDN came together to give Don José what had been taken from him.
On June 30 he boarded a plane to Mexico again, this time as a guest. The crew recognized him mid-flight, applauded him, and gave him jerseys. Hours later he was at Estadio Ciudad de México, finally watching the national team face Ecuador. The scam that almost broke his heart ended up giving him the best memory of his life.
