you guys just don't know what you have to look forward to. Mookie was 8 when he sat next to me at the first ever Crew game in Ohio Stadium. he sat next to me at the first game ever in Crew stadium. the US Open Cup win. On and on. More games than I can count. And he'll be in 141 on Saturday, as original a Crew fan as there is. (i'd only add that because he's now doing post grad work so he can't go to a lot of games and lives in an area where he can't get Time Warner Cable the Crew has managed to make it so he can't watch the team play very often and ******** you Mark McCullers.)
While we're piling on: (first trip to Crew stadium for a USOC match where the volume wasn't too much) (first MLS match in Vancouver)
BA at it again. That made me tear up a bit. I am over the moon to share this little thing called the Columbus Crew with our son. I have already got my husband, son and my dad matching Crew jerseys.... Also - Correct me if I am wrong, but BA just threw his son's name into the mix for Realest Crew fan.
Can we turn this into a Crew memories with kids thread? I was at the original Dos-a-Cero with my father. Drove in from Virginia to go to the game with my dad who scored tickets from a contact with the Crew. Sat five rows down from the box of Sunil Gulati and three rows down from Maisonneuve and a bunch of other players. To this day, one of the best nights of my life. Another great one was when the Crew visited my new home of Denver, Colorado and my (second) son and I got to go and see Guillermo in person when they played the Rapids. We were some of the few wearing Crew jerseys and chanting his name for each corner kick. He was so cute as a 9 year old in his little Crew jersey. He's a 13 year old monster now, but I'll always remember that moment. We're Rapids season ticket holders now, but El Crew will always be first in my heart until one of my kids decides to try out for an MLS club.
I'll echo the (almost) no hassles bringing my daughter to games from infant to toddler. We always brought snacks and water in Sippy cups. I always thought water bottles would get hassled so didn't try. Mobi Wrap /Baby Bjorn is the way to go. Extra clothes in layers and blankets. The earphones is a good idea, wish I'd thought of it. Lilli used to get scared and cry after goals. Now she yells "go the other way" whenever we lose possession. The only issue I ever had was last season when Lilli was 3-- we only brought her to day games and so bought cheap seat tickets (Kids prices were eliminated a couple seasons ago) since she sits on our laps it never seemed to matter. One of the ushers was hassling me because her ticket was in the south stands and not in 106. He was adamant until I started handing him the bag with her stuff and began explaining how to care for her because obviously I couldn't sit with her in her section so he just volunteered for babysitting duty. He let us into 106.
Sure. One of my favorite memories with my dad was unfortunately not at a Crew match. It was not even at a soccer stadium. Dad, Garyn, and I went to that 2006 US Soccer send-off match in Cleveland Browns Stadium. Garyn and I had been standing with Crew and US supporters for a few years, and we had been trying to get our father to feel comfortable standing with them as well. He had been to a couple games at Crew stadium with us around that time, but he never wanted to get into the "heart" of the supporters. At that send-off match, Garyn and I (and a couple of our Crew friends) staked out a front row spot in Sams Army. We aren't usually "front row people," but I think it was the Northeast Ohioan pride in us that made us feel like on that day we wanted to be in the froth row. Or I will blame it on our friend Jon. I think he wanted to be there. So here we have two "kids" (I wasn't even 21 yet) telling their father that they wanted him to stand with the US Supporters section and that he should stand with them too. He did not. He said "I will sit in the next section over." After much prodding that came up uneventful, we reluctantly let him sit in the next section over (by himself, I know we are awful children). So at half time we went over to "check-in" on dad. He asked if we thought there was a spot for him with us in the front row. We told him that by god we would make a spot. He hasn't once suggested standing or sitting anywhere else besides a supporters section since that match.
The first game I ever brought my first child to (my daugther) she was strapped to my chest in a Baby Bjorn. My wife and I sat in a section opposite the Nordecke (where I normally sat). At the half, I decided to walk over to see my friends and show her off. Did I mention this was the West Ham friendly? Dad of the Year! We've always been able to bring ANYTHING for the kids into the stadium--formula, formula powder and bottled water to mix formula, jarred food, baggies of Cheerios, etc. We will be at the game this Saturday, as a family, celebrating my son's 4th birthday--just as we have done the last two years.
Great story. We used to get my dad to take us to Atoms games. He wasn't a soccer fan (but got me hooked on baseball--when Koufax is pitching the first big league game you go to, you're hooked...). He didn't move too well (hip injury as a youth) and I still feel bad about leaving him at the top of the section as my brother and I ran down to right behind the goal... But he would take us. Years later when my folks came out for a visit, we got to take them to see the Crew at Ohio Stadium. My dad noted that the play was "a LOT better" than what we used to see at the Vet. They're gone now, but I still have fond memories of that day.... He wore that Crew shirt all the time until he passed away.
I love bringing my little girl, who turns 6 this year, to games. I do wish there were more family restroom locations at the stadium... I don't have many issues with the ushers if our tickets don't match I just tell them I'm not even sitting in my seat that we would sit closer to the top....
My son just turned one two days ago and we took him to about 5 games last year. My wife was wearing the baby bjorn and he loved it. We actually found the stage area was good at times because we could walk around with him and had easy access to a restroom that was never crowded. There are also the picnic benches to sit on and you can usually still see the action. We brought in a diaper bag that had bottles and snacks in it and never had a problem. He will probably be attending his first match on saturday so I'm really looking forward to seeing his reaction now that he pays attention to those type of things. Any sport with a ball has become socc or socca in his vocabulary and he loves to clap when everybody else gets excited.Although on a negative note he somehow loves the seattle sounders here we go song. I guess the capo brainwashing starts early.
Venezuela, right? I was at that game, though not with my dad. My friend's dad was at the time a Cleveland Firefighter. He used to work on the Fire boat on the River, but I don't think that's functional anymore. One thing about Firefighters/EMTs that man an engine is that if they don't have a run to do, then there's a lot of downtime. So on occasion, they would give us rides around Cleveland (concerts, Browns games, etc). I guess as long as the engine stayed in the area it was serving it was AOK. If they got a call, we would be booted immediately. After the game, they arranged to pick us all up. As we were exiting the stadium and 10s of thousands of people were milling about, we saw the engine approaching and said, 'Hey that's our ride.' Nobody outside of our group believed us but it was a major scene as the big truck did a 12 point turn, cops stopped waves of traffic to let the rig turn around, and then we hopped in and drove away. Thank you, City of Cleveland. My dad made sure I was at all the milestone events/games. Christmas 1995, I think I got a 6-pack or 12-pack of tickets to the Horseshoe. We went to the Varsity Club to watch the Inaugural match of MLS with the Crew players, I remember speaking to Bo Oshonyi. Crew Stadium opening, USA Mexico x 4. There are no 110 Jr's in this world right (at least to my knowledge/tax return), but I'm taking notes from all you experienced ones.
I had many a memory at that game as well. First time I met @HardHatMike . He needed a free ticket and we helped him out. I also realized that grape soda does not mix well with Jack Daniels.
Since we are sharing this was the home opener last year. My girls love going to games, though we typically needed to leave early since my youngest struggled to stay awake. She was a few weeks shy of turning one, my oldest was 3. We always brought a bag in with stuff for the kids never got any grief. Also if your kid can sit in your lap you dont need to buy a ticket for the little one.
One time in '05 when we were visiting C'bus from NYC and brought our 8mth son to his first Crew game. My wife was looking for somewhere to breastfeed him privately. I asked a stadium worker if there was anyplace he could think of and he opened up one of the private suites that wasn't being used. Super nice gesture. Stupid Crew ruined it by giving up a late goal to F*re. He now has his own season ticket and plays as the Crew on FIFA.
That was when we met HHM, too. Though I still regret that we sort of blew him off because of the whole wrapped up in the moment of getting our dad to stand with us. Sorry HHM. Also - to those who keep track - are we less hardcore or more hardcore for bring our kids to Crew matches? Just glad I never claimed to be some sort of ruffian. Boy would I look silly.
Gee, and here I was going to tell the story about how during the 08 playoffs we were in 140 and this guy behind started hassling me about sitting down because he couldn't see over me and I told him to basically piss off and then his son (maybe 20-25) starts yelling at me about arguing with his old man and the next thing I know Mookie has jumped two rows of seats and is six inches from the son's face explaining some basic anatomy to him and suggesting that he perform what I consider to be an anatomically impossible act on himself and a couple guys - I think Clem was one of them - grabbed him before there was blooshed and they decided to go sit someplace else. But that's not nearly as cute as pictures of adorable little girls so I'll just skip it.