The earth quite literally shook under the feet of Mexican World Cup fans after Hirving Lozano’s deciding goal in the country’s upset 1-0 win over defending champion Germany on Sunday.
According to Mexico’s Geological and Atmospheric Investigations (SIMMSA), two of their seismometers recorded ground movement near Mexico City as a result of massive stomping and cheering after Mr. Lozano’s goal at the Russian soccer tournament.
The Angel of Independence statue in Mexico City, where thousands of fans gathered to watch the match, is located near one of the institute’s seismometers.
“Artificial quake in Mexico City due to celebration of goal by the Mexican team in the game against Germany during the 2018 World Cup in Russia,” a SIMMSA tweet read. The tweet also contained an image of seismometer readings highlighting a spike in activity at the moment of the celebration.
“During the game, the Mexican team managed to score 35 minutes and seven seconds in, at this moment our monitoring systems detected a seismic movement … picked up by at least two sensors inside Mexico City. These were very probably produced by the massive celebrations,” a blog from the institute read.
A similar phenomenon occurred an American college football game, dubbed the “Earthquake Game” between Louisiana State University and Auburn University at Tiger Stadium in 1988. LSU fans erupted in jubilation after a last-minute touchdown against Auburn, and seismometers near the stadium picked up activity coinciding with the score.
SIMMSA also noted on its blog that instances like these are not considered earthquakes, and cannot be felt by the general population.
“These [events] can’t be measured in magnitudes, which is why they are not called quakes, or if they are, they have to be accompanied by the word ’artificial’ to show clearly that it is not a geological event,” the blog clarifies.
Mexico’s surprise upset over Germany earned them 3 points and placed them in a strong position to advance in the tournament.
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