Mexican Fan Tells Wife He's Going to Get Cigarettes, Flies to Russia For Confederations Cup Instead

Die-hard soccer fans are known to do just about anything to see their team up close and personal, but Mexican soccer fan Arturo Garcia took this to a new level for the Confederations Cup. In the lie of the century, the Puebla resident told his wife he was going to the store for cigarettes. Instead of getting his fix of nicotine, however, Garcia instead took a flight to Russia to watch his beloved national team play in the tournament.

Garcia, who is originally from Monterrey, said he told his wife that he was going to the store to buy cigarettes, but he never specified where the store actually was. “I told my wife, I’d go to Oxxo for some cigarettes, but I did not tell her which one,” he said–Oxxo is a popular convenience store in Mexico, so it’s safe to assume his wife did not expect a little trans-Atlantic flight to get in between her and her husband.

The El Tri fan revealed that he spent his life savings on the trip; he also later acknowledged that his wife actually did eventually find out that he had gone to Russia. The trip itself was more physically demanding than expected: first, he had to travel to his hometown, where he flew to Germany. It was there that he injured his Achilles heel, but do you think that stopped him from making the last leg drive to Russia? Of course not.

It’s safe to say that Garcia will forget all about his injury if he can watch his team win the Confederations Cup. He’s already seen them advance to the semi-finals, where international power Germany awaits; if they beat the Germans and then the winner of the other semi-final between Portugal and Chile, the spending of his life savings will surely be well spent in the eyes of El Tri’s most cunning and devoted fan.