GROWING UP IN MEXICO CITY, Ramon Beristain chose to support Chivas of Guadalajara in large part because his father and two brothers were fans of its archrival, Club America. Beristain, 42, now lives in Torrance, Calif., and is thrilled by the prospect of a Chivas-sponsored team playing virtually in his backyard. He has craved to see Chivas play ever since he moved here in 1987, when following the team was a challenge.
''It's already hard for you, in a lot of ways, to come here and leave everything behind,'' Beristain said. ''You lose so much and you want to hold on to something.''
Now he reads articles about Chivas every day on the Internet and watches them on cable TV. It seems as if the anticipated MLS expansion team is nearly inseparable to Beristain from its parent club in Guadalajara.
''The name means a lot,'' he said. ''I'm going to buy my flags. I need some new Chivas T-Shirts and I'm going to be there.''
Beristain's sentiment echoes the attitude that Chivas fans have toward Chivas USA: They can't wait. Harder to gauge, however, is whether that intrigue will sustain and how other Mexican-Americans will react to Chivas USA.
''I think most [Mexican-Americans] are going to follow Chivas USA,'' Beristain said. ''If you ask a Club America fan, maybe he will say no, but probably he will go to the game anyway. … But if the team doesn't play hard, if the team doesn't play with garra [heart], it's going to be difficult to keep the people. If they play with a nice style, I'll be there all the time.''
Ramon Ramirez, 43, of Richmond, Calif., hopes the team settles in Los Angeles so that he can make the trek down from the San Francisco Bay area.
''I've seen a few MLS games here and I follow the championship game, but I don't have a favorite team,'' said Ramirez, no relation to the famous Mexican player who could suit up for Chivas USA. ''When Chivas gets here, I'm going to start watching more. For me, I'm a Chivas fanatic. I think it's a great idea. They need to expand the feeling of a team like Chivas. Actually it's kind of [overdue].''
David Campos, 33, is president of the Guadalajara Soccer Club in Denver, which consists of about 200 youth players and 60 amateur adult players.
The club's youth teams recently gathered for a clinic featuring Colorado Rapids Antonio de la Torre and David Castellanos.
''The kids were very happy,'' Campos said. ''They were chanting, 'Ra-pids, Ra-pids,' so I'm very curious to see what happens when Chivas USA comes here. [Colorado] is the only professional team they know.''