Viejo Chicago: Day One

It was a sunny Saturday in Chicago, when ESC NYC and ESC NJ Fistpump stamped its tickets to the Second City.

Upon arriving, Fina, Flip, the Chef, and myself headed from O'Hare to our destination, Wrigleyville, the land of Bratwursts, blondes, und traffic. It didn't take us long to reunite our rivalry with El Tri as we flashed our favorite score in front of a stand selling Mexico flags in Viejo Chicago.

After picking up food, drinking supplies (yes, there was a jager purchase), and a poor Home Depot purchase, we drove back to the airport to pick up the Meow Pump. At the point we dropped our bags at the haus and headed out towards the game. A stop was made at the Omni Hotel to pickup local expert and historian El Polaco. Several minutes of weekend gridlock rush hour traffic later, we finally got on the highway headed for Bridgeview, home of the Fire.

For those who have never been to Bridgeview, I wouldn't call it a Cosmopolitan paradise. Upon entrance, I thought I was at a county fair or rewatching a scene of the James Vanderbeek masterpiece, "Varsity Blues" with the massive gravel lots. *Cue Foo Fighters*

The stadium itself is a nice facility. Roof over the sideline seats added a nice touch. The brick facade in front also makes it unique in the American soccer landscape. We were situated in Section 134 located in one of the corner sections in the stadium. We were able to stand in the first row and were able to chant at will, but had to keep it New England clean. The 12 of us who were there sang throughout the entire match doing the usual cast of songs: We Love You, Forza Metro, Soy del Metro, and Dale Me. Thanks to those back east for the complimentary messages during the game, much appreciated. For those that didn't see the match, RBNY lost a tough 1-0 game to Chicago. A bad clearance by Diego Jimenez allowed Stephen "They call him IT" King to put away an easy chance to give the hosts the victory. Section 8 does some nice things with the flags, but overall they did not play a huge role in creating a loud atmosphere at Toyota Park. As a comparison, I'd suggest that the DC Supporter Groups are visibly louder than those in Chicago.

Highlight of the game was a token appearance by everybody's favorite reservist David Roth. Youtube's got it on tape. (Thanks Tilt.)


After the game, the group along with Pinto and the Reichert sisters ventured off to The Globe Bar to watch a replay of the USA-Cuba match. Mr. GPS told us it was a 5-10 minute walk from Aarhus (that's house for those not familiar with Denmark). Over half an hour later, we arrived at The Globe.

Not a bad bar. It reminded me a bit of Nevada Smith's, but less of a college crowd. It was pretty full when we arrived shortly after midnight. The match was historic as the US entered Havana and left with a 1-0 victory. Props to the small contingent of fellow Americans who found a way into Cuba and sang for the country. Hopefully, we will see you in Chicago.

Once we hit the 80th minute, the party truly began as the first shots of Tequila made their way to the ESC Boys. Several beers, shots, and songs later, we closed out the bar. Luckily, there was a quality Mexican joint two blocks down the road that allowed us to refuel with amazing burritos. There's not much better than a 3 AM burrito. The bars had closed up for the night and we finally headed back to Wrigleyville to call it night.

Some other notes of the trip so far:

• On Sunday, we left from Chicago to Munich and we only traveled 10 blocks. No customs either.
• The ultra zoom in of Google maps.
• Local celebrity and sensation 10 Cent.
  
• Ice Diving
• Three Hour Song and German Dance
• Acknowledgement of the Hat
• Miller Campus
• German Fistpump
• Holler House
  
• Cerverceros
• Brew Crew

More updates later. Pictures and videos when I return to Jersey. Until then, I leave with you this 10 Cent inspired moment.

A Busy Month Ahead

I'm starting to get excited for my second soccer trip of the year (I was in Baltimore for the MLS Draft with my fellow members of the Empire Supporters Club).

The plans have been made:

Time requested off the job.... check.
Airplane ticket purchased .... check.
Hotel booked .... check.
Tickets in hand .... check.

I've never been to the land of country music, southern bbq, and a good ole' southern good time. Should be an excellent trip capped by watching Jozy and the gang qualify for Beijing.

But that's not all.

The qualification process begins Tuesday, March 11 for the boys in Tampa. A three game, four team group with the top 2 teams making it to Nashville. With the amount of talent on the US roster, this should not be a problem.

A viewing for the US Olympic teams game on March 15 should happen. Haven't had a bar viewing since US/Mexico back in February. At that game, we had over 100 people fill a room at Stout in midtown Manhattan to see Baby Primetown score his first goal for the senior national team.

Less than a week later, the Nashville trip will arrive where all sorts of crazy adventures will take place.

On March 29, perhaps the greatest club rivalry in the world will occur when Celtic play Rangers. I will be watching this Old Firm match for the first time at the Scots American Club in Kearny, New Jersey. The Scots Club is a landmark in the area having hosted the likes of Sean Connery, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Kearny's own John Harkes. I recently became a member of this historic club and look forward to catching this game with the club's very own Rangers Supporters Group.

Later that day, the 2008 MLS Season kicks off and I will stay in Kearny for the ESC's Kickoff Opening Event which will take place at Kearny's Irish American Club.

It's early in the year, but winter is over and soccer is finally here.

What is Primetown?

Montreal, Canada - July 3, 2007.

It was the day I truly decided that I would travel and sing for the USA. Anytime, anyplace. If I can get there, I will be there, chant, and sing till my voice goes numb.

The game was at Olympic Stadium. The opponent: Poland. The competition: Under 20 World Cup.

After falling behind 1-0, the boys put on the most impressive performance I had ever seen a group of men ever put on in a US uniform. It was a performance that could only be categorized by one word: "Primetown." It is a word created by just to describe the US' performance in this game. The quality of play from the trilogy of Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, and Michael Bradley will be witnessed on the senior national team for years and years to come, but it all came to fruition that day in Montreal.

Six unanswered goals by the young Americans saw them beat the Poles 6-1. It was a performance that saw a heavily biased crowd against the Americans become an applauding, complimentary crowd as the boys in white put a clinical display of brilliance yet to be matched by an American squad in a major competition.

Later that week, the boys did the unthinkable knocking off Brazil 2-1 in Ottawa which will be regarded as the match of the tournament, however is the sublime victory in Montreal over Poland which will forever be remembered as the birth of Primetown.

Will Primetown occur again? I hope so as the US begins Olympic qualifying in a week's time. With Adu and Altidore called into squad, fireworks should be on the horizon.

Introduction to Primetown

As the 2010 Worlc Cup cycle draws quickly upon us, I have come to the realization that I need to see as many games as possible. As I was finishing up high school during the 2002 edition and was interviewing for jobs during the 2006 edition, I was unable to either of the quadrenial events. This time around I plan to attend to as much of the qualifying process as possible and the games in South Africa.

I am addicted to this game as many of you are and am itching to see the qualification process begin.

To give a little background, my first ever US game I attended was the US Women's extra time semifinal victory over Norway in the 1996 Olympic Games in Athens, Georgia. After that I took a 9 year hiatus from US games.

In 2005, I joined Sam's Army for the semifinal and final round of the Gold Cup Finals at Giants Stadium. Since that point, I have become a member of Sam's Army as well as a member of New York's Empire Supporters Club.

This blog will be a running diary of musings and more importantly the travels of following the US and the New York Red Bulls.

In a month's time I will be embarking to Nashville for Olympic qualifying.

My goals for the Nashville trip:

1. Chant the US to qualification
2. Party with as many locals as possible
3. Experience honky tonk culture
4. Throw Jozy a scarf after he scores a brace on Mexico (pending they meet in the tournament).

In the meantime, I will reflect on some of the recent trips I have been on and explain the meaning of "Primetown."