Lots of goals. Lots of fun. Lots of people. Plenty to digest from Jozy's goal to Beasley's 2 goals, Donovan's composure, Torres' first game, Ching's perfect possitioning, and a stout defense with Boca, Dolo, and Gooch as impenetrable pillars in the back. But what else did I take from my first experience at a US World Cup qualifier? 
The fans, the feelings, and the joy of football. It was enough to get my wife and the other female in our group excited enough to yell and chant with us boys and take lots of pictures and memories.What else stood out for me? Diversity. Both on-field and in the crowd. First we have a team that's the most varied in the world... Where else will you get a team with last names like Adu (Ghana), Altidore (Haiti), Torres (Mexico), Kljestan (Serbia), Ching (Hawaii, Asian background), Bocanegra (latin american background), Onyewu (African background), as well as usual suspects like Howard, Beasley, Donovan, Pearce and co.? Only in the US. And only in the US will you get a crowd like we had. I saw plenty of people with Asian backgrounds, Caribbean, African, European, Latin American and the like... and we all cheered for the USA together and sang the national anthem together.
It was a lovely experience and we also got a treat from a full national squad that showed why the US is the top nation in the Concacaf region. Enjoy the pics and the video (not mine, by the way) of Jozy's goal.
For an even more personal view of the game in all its splendor check out a buddy of mine's blog. He's got some nice caveats about the DC area and the whole experience as a novice (like myself) at a world cup qualifier.
1 comment:
Thanks Robert, I had a wonderful time at the game and hope we can do it again sometime. I love the picture you have up top where you get the action, but also capture the people in front of you taking pictures of the game.
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