LAREDO, Tex. — The national anthems of the United States and Mexico were played over the stadium speakers as the flags of both countries fluttered in the hot summer wind. Fans chatted away in English and Spanish. Burgers and popcorn were as prevalent as carne asada tacos and apple slices covered in tamarind sauce.

It was time for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, the Owls of the Two Laredos, one of the oldest teams in Mexican baseball, to take the field here at Uni-Trade Stadium on the Texas side of the border.

Except this was not an away game.

The border can be a blur here, a perspective sometimes not understood from afar in the heated discussions of the day about walls and migrants and international trade agreements. So this season, in a mix of symbolism and business savvy, the Tecolotes played half their home games away from their home in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande.

It felt normal, even expected. Already, fans and players and team employees lived on one side of the border or the other, crossing back and forth using visas and special permits common in border towns. And a previous iteration of this Mexican baseball team once played regularly here.