Messi Mania: Fans show up in force to see soccer legend against FC Dallas

FRISCO, Texas - Excited fans showed up early at Toyota Stadium for what some called a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to see soccer great Lionel Messi in a showdown between FC Dallas and Inter Miami.

FC Dallas supporters from the El Matador fan group showed up to the stadium at 11 a.m. to get the party started.

They were grilling, drumming and even a little trash talk.

"It’s nothing different with Messi, it’s one more game," said Marcos Lescano, the head of the El Matador fan group. "But we going to make it. I’m gonna tell you, we gonna make it. Messi, go back to Miami, we don’t want him here." 

FC Dallas officials say tickets sold out within the first 10 minutes of going on sale to the public Thursday.

Some fans we talked were from Argentina, but because this is a club match they are pulling for FC Dallas.

Others we spoke to were all about seeing Messi in person.

One family drove to Frisco from Houston.

They said the price of tickets was worth it to experience this game together.

"It’s Messi, you know. I’ve watched him since I was a kid, he’s always played overseas, this is the first time he’s coming to Texas, so I wasn’t going to miss it. No matter the price tag, I wasn’t going to miss this game, his first game in Texas," said Jaciel Contreras. 

The match is the first road game for Messi in a Miami uniform, but fans in Texas are showing him plenty of support.

13-year-old Orlando Castro was one of the first in line at the stadium gates. He's played soccer since he was three.

"It was around when I was five or six when I started watching soccer, and it was Barca and Messi, like, how they played that really inspired me," Castro said.

Fans of all ages waited several hours in line before the gates opened.

Susy Chairez got there at 3:30.

"Very dedicated. This heat is no joke. It's super hot, but it's worth the wait and everything," said Chairez.

Her family along with hundreds of others had to wait a little longer than anticipated to get in.

Stadium gates opened for a few minutes, but then abruptly closed.

Toyota Stadium sent a tweet saying "per MLS' request we're required to delay opening stadium gates until all visiting players had arrived."

Toyota Stadium officials didn't share what plater from the visiting team was missing.

The area around the stadium was filled with several signs, scarves and jerseys for both Messi and the home team.

As for on the field, the FC Dallas squad knows that they have a job to do.

Earlier this week centerback Nkosi Tafari had some brutally honest comments about the attention the game is receiving.

"I prepare for every game virtually the same, trying to get a shutout trying to get a win. That's just my job as a centerback, naturally. All the extras are all the extras, I mean, I'm only being interviewed for the aspect of who Messi is. I'm not being interviewed because of who I am and that's fair," he said. "I just need to sleep the same way, eat the food the same way and I just need to perform a little bit better than normal."

FC Dallas President Dan Hunt said he received several requests from tickets.

He's hopeful that fans coming to see Messi will recognize how fun it is to support FC Dallas.

"Any time you get to share this with our season ticket members and other ticket holders and our corporate sponsors and potentially new sponsors, it is a springboard," said Hunt.

The FC Dallas president is hopeful that events like Sunday night's game will inspire kids to take up and take a look at the FC Dallas Youth Academy.

"Maybe one day FC Dallas produces the next Lionel Messi," said Hunt.

Hunt also hinted that some former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks and local politicians could be in the building tonight.

David Beckham, part owner of Inter Miami, is also in attendance.

Toyota Stadium holds nearly 20,000 fans.