Update (June 23, 10:45 ET): Mexico’s National Seismological Service reported on Wednesday that the seismic activity was in fact not related to the goal, but to two small earthquakes that occurred before and after the goal was scored. Mexico’s surprise World Cup victory against defending champion Germany was felt in the hearts of Mexicans, soccer lovers, and fans of dramatic suspense everywhere. It was also felt by seismographs. Around the time that Mexican forward Hirving Lozano scored in the first half of the match, seismologists detected vibrations in Mexico City that resembled a small earthquake. The shaking wasn’t from shifting tectonic plates however—the Institute of Geological and Atmospheric Investigations suggested instead that it may have come from thousands of fans in Mexico City jumping up and down. Seeing pictures of excited fans crowding into Mexico City’s Zocalo and elsewhere to view the broadcast, it’s easy to see how Mexico beating the defending champs could be a literal seismic shift. AP Photo/Anthony Vazquez Fans celebrate Mexico’s win against Germany as they watched it on an outdoor screen in Mexico City’s Zocalo on June 17. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans celebrate in Mexico City’s Zocalo square. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans celebrate after Mexico scored a goal. AP Photo/Anthony Vazquez A reporter and fans are covered in foam during the celebration of Mexico’s 2018 World Cup win over Germany at the Angel of Independence in Mexico City. AP Photo/Anthony Vazquez A fan is tossed in the air during the celebration of Mexico’s 2018 World Cup win over Germany. AP Photo/Anthony Vazquez Fans cheer as a dog is raised into the air. AP Photo/Anthony Vazquez A fan has tequila poured down his throat. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans celebrate at the Angel of Independence monument. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans react while watching the broadcast at the Zocalo. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans celebrate at the Zocalo. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans celebrate at the Zocalo. Reuters/Gustavo Graf Mexican fans celebrate at the Angel of Independence monument.<doc-sep>“It’s so surprising,” said Juan Rodrigo Guadarrama, 32, a taxi driver in Mexico City. “I barely felt like watching the match, because I thought we were going to get badly beaten. I thought we would not have a chance. But the fact that we won renews our hope.” He continued: “We are so polarized and against each other these days, with the elections and everything else going on, that this brings us back together and makes us feel like things are possible.” Mexico has hosted the World Cup twice and last week was awarded a third in a joint bid with the United States and Canada. But the national team has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals. Shortly after the match, President Enrique Peña Nieto took to Twitter to celebrate the victory: “Confirmed: Mexico competes and wins against the best in the world. Many congratulations to @miseleccionmx! Great game!” While nobody was questioning the degree of happiness experienced by the nation, some experts challenged the claim of seismic activity circulated by the Institute of Geologic and Atmospheric Investigations. El País, the Spanish newspaper, quoted Arturo Iglesias, an investigator with the Institute of Geophysics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, saying that an earthquake cannot be induced by “the scattered activity of fans.” In a blog post on Sunday night, the Institute of Geologic and Atmospheric Investigations appeared to push back at the doubters, clarifying that the event was imperceptible to the general population. This sort of occurrence can be referred to as an “artificial” earthquake, the institute said, “to clearly establish that it is not a geological event.”<doc-sep>An extraordinary sense of elation swept over Mexico on Sunday with the national soccer team’s stunning 1-0 victory in the World Cup tournament against powerhouse Germany, the reigning champion. The triumph unleashed a profound outpouring of national pride in a nation approaching national elections amid widespread disquiet about the future and dissatisfaction with rising crime, a sagging economy and other problems. Tens of thousands of people descended on iconic Mexico City locales—the central plaza, or zocalo, and the Angel of Independence monument along tree-lined Reforma Boulevard—to celebrate the upset victory. Many waved the tricolor Mexican flag and sang signature national ballads as they cheered on El Tri, the nickname for the national team. Advertisement “Mexico! Mexico!” was the chant emanating from the streets and from homes. It seemed at least a temporary cathartic moment for a nation that has taken a lot of blows of late, including rocky relations with its giant northern neighbor. “Thanks to the team for giving us this moment of happiness which we lack so much in this country full of disappointments,” said Juana Sanchez, 41, a housewife who was among the throngs taking to the streets to celebrate. “Today everyone in Mexico is happy.” The game was only a first-round triumph, and the upset win doesn’t clinch anything in the ongoing competition in Russia, though it puts the Mexican side in a solid position to advance. Television stations and websites nevertheless praised “the historic victory,” and politicians and others took to social media to rejoice in the result. Social media reports of an “artificial” earthquake due to “mass jumping” when Mexico scored its first-half goal went viral on the internet — though experts dismissed the account, saying there was no such thing as an artificial earthquake. It was only Mexico’s second victory against the German squad, the BBC reported, and the first since a friendly match in 1985. “This is a day we will never forget, it will pass into the history of Mexico,” said another reveler, Guillermo Rodríguez, 39, a computer technician. “I don’t’ know what’s going to happen in the next games, but today’s game is an inexplicable joy, it’s a historic triumph, it is a moment that we will never forget. Mexico! Mexico!” Fans gathered in homes, bars and restaurants lived through the joy of Mexico’s goal by the electric young forward Hirving Lozano, then hung on as the Mexican team went into a defensive posture in the second half of the game, allowing Germany many chances, but never yielding a goal. Mexican fans observed each methodical German advance with seeming dread. Advertisement “The second half was very intense,” said Rodrigo Garcia, 35, an athletic trainer in a green Mexican national team shirt who was among the patrons at a restaurant in the southern city of Oaxaca watching the match live. “But the strategy paid off: Mexico won!” The victory raised hopes that Mexico—which has never won the World Cup—could finally break through, though that remains a long shot. “We beat the champion, we can advance far in this tournament,” declared Rodrigo Falcon, 21, an engineering student who was celebrating on the streets along with his younger brother and his parents. “We never surrender. Mexico had a great match. I’m very happy.” Even Mexico’s presidential campaign, in its frenetic final weeks ahead of the July 1 vote, paused on Sunday so fútbol-crazed fans could watch the game. Advertisement Candidates Ricardo Anaya and José Antonio Meade both tweeted photos of themselves at separate watch-parties, dressed in Mexico’s signature green jerseys and celebrating with family. Front-runner Andres Manuel López Obrador, who is famously a baseball fan, delayed an event in Ecatepec, a working-class community outside Mexico City, so the game could be broadcast on big screens. After the goal, many fans seemed incredulous that Mexico could maintain its lead. They watched anxiously, and didn’t allow themselves real celebrations until the game ended, and they erupted in song and shouts of “Mexico!” When Lopez Obrador took to the stage, he drew wild cheers when he praised Mexico’s “triumph” against Germany. Then he led the crowd in chants of “Viva Mexico!” Advertisement Sanchez of the Times’ Mexico City bureau and Staff writer Linthicum reported from Mexico City and McDonnell from Oaxaca. kate.linthicum@latimes.com Twitter: @katelinthicum patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT<doc-sep>
Mexicans celebrate after the Mexico National Team victory over Germany in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia on June 17, 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico. (CNN) — A tweet describing an artificial earthquake in Mexico City, after Mexico scored what would be the game-winning goal in the World Cup upset against Germany, went viral Sunday. But neither the US Geological Survey nor Mexico’s National Seismological Service reported an earthquake in Mexico City that day. So what’s the deal? Did Mexico party so hard that it caused a man-made earthquake? The event wasn’t big enough to be measured in magnitudes and wouldn’t have been perceptible to the general population, according to the Institute for Geological and Atmospherical Investigations, which is not a government agency. On Sunday, the institute tweeted seismographic readings highlighting the activity at the time when Mexicans celebrated what would be the decisive goal scored by striker Hirving Lozano. It attributed the cause possibly to celebratory “massive jumps” in a post that got more than 27,000 retweets. At least two of its sensors inside Mexico City detected a seismic movement during the World Cup match, “most likely produced by the massive celebration,” according to the institute’s blog post. It said that “such events are not very big at all. Only sensitive seismographic equipment (and generally nearby) can detect the effects of crowds.” So the closest instruments – therefore, only a “very small number of seismographs” – can measure the event, that was described as “micro-records,” by the institute. The blog post also noted that a similar event happened during a 2011 NFL game when a touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch prompted Seattle Seahawks fans to erupt in celebration and that caused a nearby seismometer to measure vibrations in what was called “Beast Quake.” Seattle fans shook things up again in 2013, registering on a seismological recording station near the Seahawks’ stadium during a win over the New Orleans Saints. Earthquake or not, the enthusiasm in Mexico was felt far and wide Sunday as fans basked in the massive upset over Germany. CNN’s Marilia Brocchetto and Flora Charner contributed to this report.