Primetown on the Road: MLS Western Conference Final: New York Red Bulls @ Real Salt Lake

The date: November 15, 2008.
The location: Sandy, Utah.
The moment: The Red Bulls first ever conference title and a ticket to MLS Cup.

After the historic victory in Houston the week before, I quickly asked to take off the following Friday so I could go to Utah to see the Red Bulls attempt to make MLS Cup. I am lucky that my boss is well aware of my passion for soccer and more specifically for New York Red Bulls soccer and gave me the necessary time off to enjoy the playoff run.


After a week of anticipation, I left my job after working half a day Friday and headed to Laguardia Airport (Triboro Bridge crossing above). Originally, I was supposed to fly through Chicago and then on to SLC. With poor weather on the way at home, Chef Leon, Hockey Trophy, and myself took an earlier flight through Dallas. The one plus side of this flight experience is that I got to pick up a "Don't Mess with Texas" shirt in Dallas. Is there a better state slogan than that?



We arrived in Salt Lake City around 11 PM. We quickly picked up the rental car and were on the look out for a liquor store. Luckily, we stopped at a gas station and learned Utah is one of those states that sells beer in a gas station. ESC's first victory in Utah... ever. Eventually, we made our way to a large neighborhood and found our way to the house. Calling it a house is a bit of an understatement. This place was huge... 8,000 square foot huge. 2 master bedrooms, several other bedrooms, a 60 or 70 foot basement, a theatre room, an amazing kitchen, and even an eliptical machine which the Vezinator is pictured above testing. After some initial conversations, and a couple brewskies, it was time to hit the hay.


Born and raised in the suburbs of New York City in New Jersey my entire life, it's not too often I get to wake up to a viewing overlooking the Rocky Mountains. It's great to wake up and look out the window to the sight of snow capped mountains. Sometimes you need to take a break from the norm and experience something different, that is something Utah can provide. After taking a bunch of photos outside the house, it was time to hit the supermarket and pick up all the necessary supplies for the tailgate. Almost $300 later we left with food to feed 20+ people. Once we got back and began preparing the food, others began to arrive throughout the morning. At about 4 PM we made our way to Sandy, home of Rio Tinto Stadium.


The setup of the parking at Rio Tinto was subpar to say the least. Gravel parking lots sort of in the middle of nowhere. It was a cold day, not crazy windy cold, but it was seriously cold. After all, it was November in Utah. We setup the tailgate and just about as we were ready to eat, we noticed some Red Bull vehicles in the corner of the lot. We went over to them and were lucky enough to be asked to join. They opened up one of the trucks and our eyes lit up... bottle after bottle of hard liquor. Not to mention carton after carton of Red Bull. Enough liquor to keep us wasted for a good 2 weeks. Perfect. It was cold and how else does one get warm... liquor.

Decent crowd on hand. It didn't have the feel of a big game, but certainly to all involved on our end it certainly did. Midway through the first half, Dave van den Bergh sent the traveling supporters into a frenzy as he put home a pass from John Wolyniec to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.

The remainder of the game was absolutely nailbiting. Salt Lake hit the post several times including twice in the final minutes. When the final whistle blew, the ESC was as jubiliant as ever. A trip to our Super Bowl... MLS Cup, was now a reality. Text messages flying in from the East Coast as the boys had done what was considered unthinkable just a few weeks ago. The front office was kind enough to share some championship gear with us as well. After the game, the crowd of very happy RBNY fans waited for the team outside the stadium. Each player received a chant as they walked out of the stadium and onto the team bus. My fondest memory was the ESC doing a full fist pump to the bus. All the players on the bus responded returning the NJ status symbol back to us. Awesome experience, awesome day.




Above is your picture of the folks who made the trek across the country to see RBNY win their first ever conference title. It is moments like this that make supporting a team to the fullest worth while. One game away from winning it all... I wouldn't miss it for the world. To be continued...

Primetown on the Road: MLS Cup Quarterfinals Leg 2: New York Red Bulls @ Houston Dynamo

Cougar Place Drive, Houston, Texas. For the band of brothers and sisters who made the long trip to Houston that fateful weekend in early November 2008, it is a street none of us will ever forget.

As the New York Red Bulls sneaked into the last spot in the playoffs, the team was placed as the last seed in the Western Conference for which rules are too complex at this point to explain. With that said, that placement put RBNY into a 2 game (home and home) series with the two-time defending MLS Champions, the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo were a team packed with talent... Brian Ching, Rico Clark, Dwayne Derosario, Pat Onstad, and Eddie Robinson. Heck, Stuart Holden was only a substitute off the bench. This was a dynasty if there ever was any in MLS. In the first leg of the series, the Red Bulls took an early lead, but a late Kei Kamera goal gave the Dynamo the draw they wanted, putting them at a clear advantage heading into the home game.

With the aggregate even, we were able to rally a few people together to make the trip to Houston for Game 2. With improbable odds, but a warm weather destination in sight, a group of about 2 dozen agreed to head to the Lonestar State.


On Saturday morning about half the group met at Newark airport to begin the trip. Like any normal flight, drinking commences early on and the group was properly buzzed to go. A chilly stopover in Chicago where we physically had to walk out on the tarmac and switch planes was the only delay to our final destination... Houston, Texas.



We arrived in the space city (they are really big on space/astronauts there as evidenced by the above) some time in the early evening and quickly drove off to the hotel to meet with the rest of the contingent. Our first order of duty was to find some ridiculously awesome Texas BBQ. Well, it's Texas, where the people are big and the portions are even bigger, so that wasn't really a problem. We headed out to Pappa's BBQ and upon entering I met a cute cashier who proceeded to challenge me to eat a full BBQ beef dinner, a turkey po'boy, and a 24 ounce beer. $19.85 and two empty plates later I finished the job. Of course, she bailed before I could claim victory, but another Man vs. Food Challenge went to the boy from New Jersey. Afterwards, we hit up a few bars with pints of many delicious Shiner Bocks before heading back to the ranch or whatever hotel we were staying at. Per the norm, a group of the usuals had a hard time getting to sleep the day before a major game. At 3 AM, a group of us trekked to one of the greatest late night stops in the history of the world:


The one and only Kettle: 24 Hour Breast (I mean Breakfast, but that's what the lights say). When I say this place is great, it is fan-freakin-tastic. Top notch service, top notch food (breakfast/dinner, whatever), and just allowed us to be our ridiculous selves. It's like a Denny's but 5x better. The perfect place to wind down after a long day. After that fun session, debauchery further ensued.



Nobody felt the need to stand at the front desk at 4 AM, so the boys had a little fun in the front lobby such as Cliff riding the world's largest skateboard. At that point, it was time to hit the beds in ode to what would be a historic Sunday.



Gameday... is there anything better? With a 10 AM wakeup and 1030 out, everybody put on their club gear and we headed out to the stadium. Houston plays on the campus of the University of Houston at Robertson Stadium. When at capacity it seats just over 30,000 people... not a bad size venue for a MLS team. Upon arrival, we were directed to what might as well have been Oklahoma. We were way out there in the far lots of the stadium. We even had our own security escort... well 1 man with quite possibly the greatest cop 'stache of all time. Not the greatest of tailgate locations... a vacant parking lot, situated next to a gigantic electrical structure, but that was soon enough over as the march to Robertson commenced.

One of the more fun march ins in ESC History. Never had I remembered being booed this significantly entering a stadium. This is MLS... people boo away supporters? Well, they certainly did in this sold out stadium decked in a sea of orange. The Houston people came to see their side continue on in the playoffs, just like they did the previous two seasons, but today was a different day.



El Battalion (who I regard as the best supporters club in MLS) were in full force. Loud, proud, and with plenty of percussion. These guys know how to rock and roll. But, but... this was not there day. The greatest performance in the career of Dane Richards led to his first playoff goal halfway through the first half. A stunned Houston crowd was later silenced as a penalty kick was given to New York. Juan Pablo Angel took the ball and easily buried it in the back of the net. The Red Bulls now up 2-0 had us (ESC) in a frenzy. Some theatrics from Danny Cepero including a 360 somersault to catch a ball from Brian Ching who had a clear shot at goal got the Bulls thinking they could do this. As the minutes in the second half decreased, ESC and the rest of the contingent were looking at their watches in anticipation of something great. With about ten minutes to go, Dane Richards took a ball short of midfield and went on a darting run abusing Corey Ashe before delivering a perfect cross to John Wolyniec who one timed it to the far corner. Game, set, match. Two time defending champions... OUT. New York Red Bulls... to the conference finals. Wolyniec with one of the all time great celebrations.. can somebody say, "Thriller." That was it folks. A 3-0 thrashing. In my opinion, the best performance in team history. Something for the ages and now just 1 game away from MLS Cup... but first a trip to Sandy, Utah to face Real Salt Lake in the conference final.

Fresh off a victory against the league's top club, there was optimism amongst the traveling fans. That night, after some victory celebrating (including a water cooler dump), we got back to the hotel and the majority booked their tickets to Salt Lake City for what would be another historic night.

USA - Cuba: RFK Stadium, Washington DC

The first ever New Jersey Brigade sponsored bus trip took place in October 2008 as the crew from New Jersey and New York invaded the nation's capitol to support the United States in its World Cup Qualifying match against Cuba.

We took off from New Jersey around noon for the 730 match, a packed bus it was. Lots of beer and other fun beverages in tow. As with any bus trip, there is lots of chanting, movie watching, and drunken folks. The usual contenders were on top form.



We arrived at RFK Stadium around 3-4 PM. Our favorite Virginia native met us in the lot with an entire car filled with beer. Most excellent way to continue the day.

During the tailgate, we were greeted by a surprise guest. None other than Nashville host... Ben aka Maaaaaan 2.0. Ben (pictured in the red jersey below) drove all the way up from Tennessee for the match. Another dedicated US fan down for the cause of supporting his country to the fullest.





A Chef Leon sponsored tailgate followed and about an hour from game time we entered RFK. A solid atmosphere. Smoke bombs even made an appearance that night, much to the chagrin of the local security team.


The United States played a terrific game highlighted by a goal from Jozy "King of New York and Jersey" Altidore and the international debut of Jose Torres. NKB Leader and all around USA Fanatico, Kirwan, approves of this performance.

The United States 6-1 victory marked their sixth consecutive victory in World Cup Qualifying and clinched their spot into the final round of qualification.

Crowd was lively and properly cheered on the boys. After the game, Freddy Adu came around signing autographs for all in attendance.

A long day of partying, singing, and seeing the US dismantle Cuba, it was that time to take the bus back home. The boys were tired as evidenced below.

My Lack of Postings - USA - Trinidad in Chicago (September)

I'll be the first to admit, I am lazy. Make that... very lazy sometimes. I had taken a hiatus from updating this blog. Well, it's time to get back into the fold.

Where did I leave off. Oh yeah, USA - Trinidad in Chicago.

After being in Chicago from Saturday through Tuesday doing all sorts of shenanigans (see prior posts), it was finally gameday.

As is the case with many of our NY/NJ crew road trips, Chef Leon was gracious enough to spearhead a tailgate effort. Even with a shoddy grill (thanks Home Depot for selling us 1/2 a grill), the Chef was willing to put together a wide range of tailgate items. My memory is fuzzy, but it was quite an effort. After preparing everything the morning/afternoon of the match, guests arrived at ESC House - Chicago style: Chris from North Carolina and Chris from NYC.

With parking lots not opening until 4 PM, we had plenty of time to stop for beer on the way to the stadium. Arriving at 430 (amazing considering the road traffic around Chicago) or thereabouts, we met up with Kirwan, Goalkeeps Greg, and Pastor Jeff in the lot and began the usual festivities: eating, drinking, talking soccer, and shenanigans.

Chef Leon (wearing USA Hat) talking to fellow tailgaters at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.

One of the regular shenanigans is our "Human Google Map." Everyone lines up around by location of their hometown and we take a picture. Started in Chicago during this trip, it is a recurring theme which you will see in future posts. Anyway, here's our Chicago tailgate map:

Fina (Long Island on the left, Flip in the middle from Brooklyn, Leon/Chris on the right from Manhattan, and Chris all the way down from North Carolina in the back. Picture taken from the north.

Eventually, Rishi (pictured below) and his party bus crew showed up to add to our numbers and to our party atmosphere. Finally entered the stadium around a half hour before kickoff. Drum in tow, even with small numbers we were able to lead most of the section in song.

Rishi in the white jersey/USA bandanna in the midst of the USA section at Toyota Park.

The USA was dominant in this game winning by the final score of 3-1. Two things that stood out: the 15 minute Ohhh USA to end the game. Doing one chant for that long kept the energy going to end the match making it a very good atmosphere for that period of time. One of those goose bump kind of moments.

The second item, related to the first, is that Chef Leon was banging the drum so hard with the stick that the stick broke in half at the final whistle. I have no picture evidence to support this, but I can assure you it happened.

USA Supporters Section in Chicago

After the game, a bizzaro moment occurred. Some girl walked up to us in the parking area asking for directions, meanwhile she was bleeding badly from her one hand. When one our guys commented that she was bleeding, she put her hand behind her back and continued conversing. When offered a towel, she proceeded to walk away.

Quickly, Stadium Security forced us to leave the stadium area. They were a real pain to deal with and for those who have been to Bridgeview I'd like to know if security has forced you to leave the parking area within an hour of a game ending.

We arrived back at the house, where some of us chose to hit up a post game destination. Completely blanking on the name of the bar, but we partied with the NJB Crew reminiscing of the game and discussing future matches (including August 2009's USA-Mexico game in Mexico City which I will be attending). We ordered some local pizza. I never had Chicago pizza before, so this was a treat. Huge pie cut into little squares. Excellent and recommended.

Afterwards, we took a taxi back to the ESC House. It was around 130 AM at the time and most of the guys went to sleep as we had a 6 AM flight home.

A few friends we had met in Chicago were interested in hanging out one last time, so one other guy and myself decided to pull it together and go out one last time in Chicago with them. As the locals know, most bars close at 2 AM in Chicago. However, there are a few places open until 4 AM.

Needless to say, by the time we left the house we had to hit a 4 AM joint. So, we get to one about 5 blocks away. A couple local brews in and some reminiscing about good times in the Windy City it was close to 330 AM. We walked back to the house and said our goodbyes.

As I had to be awake by 415, I had about a 30 minute window to get some shut eye. As we had a full house that night, there was little space in the house. I just laid down on the patio and closed my eyes. Needless to say, that was the greatest return flight ever from a trip. I remember about 5 minutes of it.

All in all, great trip. It wasn't long until the next adventure: Washington DC for USA-Cuba which I will recap in my next post.

P.S. - The month long ride that was the 2008 Red Bulls Playoff Run.

Where Have I Been?

The last month has been as good as any month in recent memory.

The Red Bulls have done something they have never done before... qualify for MLS Cup. I have been travelling each weekend during the Red Bulls historic playoff run and will post later tonight my experiences from Houston and Salt Lake City as I attended both road victories.

Wednesday is the USA's last match prior to the Hexagonal draw that will determine who the US will play in the final round of World Cup Qualification.

And Sunday is the big enchilada... New York vs. Columbus. MLS Cup 2008 in Carson, CA.

What a week it is going to be? Sound off.

Viejo Chicago: The Off Days

A day after traveling to Chicago to see the Red Bulls lose on a pathetic giveaway goal to the Fire, the only acceptable response was to drink our faces into the ground... and that is what we did.

With the start of the NFL season upon us, there was no better way to spend our time than at Chicago's German-American Festival. As one of the guys put it, "we went from Chicago to Munich in 10 blocks and didn't even have to go through customs." We got there sometime in the middle of the afternoon. After a couple of liter beers, things started getting more interesting as we met the gentleman below now referred to as "10 Cent," a true P.I.M.P. if there ever was one.




I vaguely remember it started getting dark outside and after 5 or 6 liters of Hofbrau, we were leading all the dances and songs in one of the tents. At one point, Chef Leon decided it would be funny if someone took a dive into the large pile of ice laying on the ground. With $50 on the line, I surely wasn't going to say no. See my ice dive here.

At around 10 PM, the German Festival ended and a few of the peeps ventured back home not able to fight through the boozefest and continue on. Went to a lounge called Rodan that had a DJ playing techno all night. Pretty decent atmosphere for a Sunday night. Went somewhere else after that which was open to 4 AM (most places close at 2 AM and a few open at 4. You have to ask around about the 4 AM places).

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On Monday, the boys decided Ist Miller Zeit! To translate, "It's Miller Time." Yep, we made the 90 mile trek to Milwaukee to hit up the Miller Brewery. The place is damn impressive. It's a 5-6 block square campus.


Here Chef Leon and myself (NJB holla!) are pictured in front of the Miller Truck. The tour was decent and presented some quality photo opportunities. The beer sampling was better than other tours as they actually give you three full beers. No costs. Not bad.

Afterwards, we drove through Milwaukee looking for the oldest bowling alley in the United States: Holler House. What we found was a not completed two lane alley that looked straight out of the movie Kingpin. Would have been historic to grace the lanes of this fine establishment, but it was not meant to be.



After the brief stop at Holller, we ventured to Miller Park to pick up a game of the Brew Crew. A really nice stadium with a retractable roof which was gold as it had been drizzling on and off all day. Most of the fans' attention was on the Packers-Vikings game taking place simutaneously, so it was amusing to hear a random cheer throughout the game knowing it was when the Packers had made a big play, caused a turnover, or scored some points. Too bad for the Brewers, as they blew the lead in the 9th and lost the game to Cincy. Definitely a good idea to check out Milwaukee when you're in Chicago, but I wouldn't recommend doing more than 1 day there. I just wish we had the time to hit up Madison and University of Wisconsin. Now, that would have been the shizzy hizzy.



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Tuesday was a fairly relaxed day as we decided to stay in town and save ourselves a bit in anticipation of the US/Trinidad match on Wednesday. Took the crappy, above ground subway into the main part of the city and spent a ton of time around Millenium Park. New York has a beautiful skyline, but Chicago's is not too shabby either.


Millenium Park is a cross between Central Park and Rockefeller Center. I won't spare you with all the details, but I spent a half hour walking through some giant pool that had water spitting out of a computer mouth.



We drank some more and headed over to the Southside of Chi-Ca-Go for the White Sox/Blue Jays game. Had some excellent tickets courtesy of CBS Chicago (Thanks CA!) where we were seated about 20 rows from the field behind homeplate. Cool experience seeing Ken Griffey Jr. actually playing live. Without those injuries, he could of shattered Aaron/Bonds HR record.


Later this weekend, I'll discuss the big game: USA/Trinidad WCQ from Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. I'll go through some of the chants and highlights from the match that you wouldn't have seen on your screen at home.

Until then, a NJ Fist Pump for Michael Bradley for his goal against T&T.

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.