Many people in Southern California are rooting for the Mexican team in the World Cup.

The Times' Hector Becerra examined how this has brought the Mexican flag out of political exile. After years of activists urging immigration rights marchers to use the American flag, the Mexican flag is back in vogue as hundreds root for the Mexican team.

But there is now a controversy brewing in Big Bear. The mother of a Big Bear Middle School student is demanding an investigation after she said a teacher berated her daughter for wearing a Mexican T-shirt to school. According to the mother, the teacher asked if she was an illegal immigrant. The girl, in fact, was wearing the shirt to support the Mexican team.