-Give me a dozen donuts, please.
-Yes, how many donuts would you like?
-A dozen.
-About ten?
-No, a dozen. Don't you know what a dozen is?
-No, actually, I don't...
The conversation above is a real conversation my dad once had with a girl selling chocolate- or cinnamon-covered donuts at a shopping mall, and I remembered the dozen donuts incident because today we added a dozen Mexicans eliminated in Wuxi. I apologize, dear three or four readers, for the abrupt change of subject and the reality check, but that's life.
Three-quarters of the team has been eliminated. At times like this, I wish I could be the girl with the doughnuts and not know how much a dozen costs, but no, I do know, and it's a lot.
The situation is dramatic because Mexico's worst performance in World Championship history was in 2011 in Gyeongju (as if competing in Asia is bad luck), where they obtained three fifth places, that is, three Mexicans who reached the quarterfinals, Mexican women in fact: María Espinoza, Carolina Acosta, and Itzel Manjarrez. In these two remaining days, and being realistic (with a dozen eliminated), the fight is no longer for glory, but to avoid hell. There are two ways for this team to avoid being the worst in history: the first is for everyone to reach the quarterfinals, which is not going to happen, although, well, it is unlikely, not impossible; the second is to win a medal, any medal, take one away from Brazil.
Of course, there is also the possibility that in these last two days we will win a silver and a bronze medal and go from disaster to a standard, run-of-the-mill world championship in the history of national taekwondo. It's a possibility, of course (it's also possible that tomorrow I'll win the Chinese lottery. Please, God, I beg you).
Mexico lost again to Poland, Daniel Avila couldn't make it past the first round. Poland again, I'm starting to understand the hatred my uncle Adolfo had for those guys.
Leslie managed to get through the first round against an Iranian player who probably came straight from kindergarten (no offense), but then lost to Milena Titoneli from Brazil, who has risen from the ashes. To be honest, I personally thought she was finished last season, but look at her now, reaching the final of a world championship... Yes, we have a lot to learn from Brazil (steal a medal from them).
Leslie's case is very sad because I think her victory in Guadalajara was never handled in the best way possible. Literally no one prepares us to cope with an achievement of that magnitude: not the athlete, not the athlete's family, certainly not the coaches, and of course not the fans. Unfortunately, the burden invariably falls on the competitor, and that's that. The silver lining here, and this is just my perception, is that I see Leslie getting a little better each time, and that's the way to go. Hopefully, the next time will be a little better, and the next time a little better, and so on. Hopefully, one day we'll be able to see the Leslie we knew before Guadalajara again.
In the meantime, let's get ready for the final stretch of the World Cup and let's not forget that as long as there are Mexicans, there is hope... Or at least a little bit of hope.
