Cuban baseball fan concerned about fan clashes during USA and Cuba WBC quarterfinal encounter: "I know there's going to be trouble"

The United States vs. Cuba matchup in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals is going to be a tense, heated matchup. Not only does it determine who goes into the final, there's a lot of political tension between these two teams.

Angela Torres, the mother of DirecTV (the WBC's sponsor) chief marketing officer, is afraid of what might happen via USA Today:

“A lot of people, even if they've been going back and forth. They'll still be upset about it. I know there's going to be trouble. Not violence, I mean protests. There will be a lot of yelling.’’

Cuba and the United States have a long political history and most of it is not good. This is also the first time that Cuban MLB players can play for their home country.

Players like Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, Roenis Elias and others would not have been able to represent their country previously. Now that they can play, the roster is stronger.

The fact that they now meet in the quarterfinals is a bit of poetic justice.

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Vince Torres believes Cuba, USA presents a very interesting matchup

The upcoming WBC matchup is going to be an interesting one. The United States are the reigning champions and the Cuban side is trying to prove they're still a world power in this game, especially with MLB players in tow now.

Is the Cuban National Team ready to advance?

Angela Torres' son, Vince, said he believes there's a cultural conflict playing out:

“You can see the conflict, the cultural element of it is so interesting. The challenge, unfortunately, is because some folks have given up so much to be in this country, there’s this political hangover that resides in people’s minds, that I think taints their view."

He continued:

“I think the passion and loyalty to Team USA is undeniable, but they have this conflict, because it’s their heritage that’s on the other side. Players that come from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, these players will come play in the United States and be successful but they go home in the offseason or visit family."

He believes the choice for certain players to play for the team now presents them with an interesting dilemma, one that will play out on the field soon. Which team will come away with the victory?