Birmingham, AL: USA vs. Guatemala WCQ Questions & Answers thread

Two words: Gene Hallman.

Gene and the rest of the Alabama Sports Foundation are big soccer event supporters, and they worked hard to get a WCQ this time around. The package they put together for USSF for national team events is pretty attractive.

 

last time through, they trained at legion field... press only

 

well.... i meant for a breakfast place

 

During past events (men and women) both teams trained in a closed session on the day before the match at Legion Field.

My guess is that where and how much training is done depends on several things, namely whether the Mexico game is on Saturday or Sunday (has that been decided?), when the team and staff will arrive, where the team ends up staying, how much Shelby County is going to participate in the event, and what outside activities are dictated by sponsor obligations of USSF and players. (That last one is bigger than I ever realized.)

If they stay out 280 in the Inverness area, the 1996 Fields are a lot more convenient than UAB. (Not that I'm biased or anything.)

 

Mexico game is on Sunday.

 

I'll be driving from Atlanta as well.

Let me know if you want to carpool/caravan. I'll try to get a group together.

Thanks for all the info, nico and pvan

 

For those who asked...

..I work for a sports statistics company. Because of various client obligations, we covered the XFL, but we didn't have a reporter in Birmingham, so I flew down for the first game.

Fast forward to week 3...the XFL was pissed at their official statistician, we took over, and I ended up seeing all 5 games in Birmingham (plus 2 in Memphis, 1 in Orlando, and 1 in New Jersey). And got paid a nice sum to do it.

Moral of the story: I'm the only person in the world who wishes the XFL survived. Sure they were going bankrupt, but I profited nicely.

And I grew to really like Birmingham, which I think is a very underrated town, even if I didn't sample the nightlife very much because of travel times.

 

What sort of attractions are there in the Birmingham area? I'm having a hard time justifying the cost and three vacation days if there's not much else to do while I'm in town. Thanks.

 

Um, if you're a NASCAR fan, Talledega is just a short drive away?

 

I'm your basic stereotypical tourist type: museums, historical sites, etc. Thanks for the information.

 

Thank you for such a great response. Congrats to Birmingham and I hope that they do an awesome job hosting the WCQ. From your post, I think they will do great.

 

Places you should eat

Milo's

Guthrie's


These are local chains but they are damn good. More later.

 

Now that you mention it, YES.

 

Love that place! It's beautiful. I have pics of me on that bridge Another cool place to go (especially if you like history) is Vulcan Park. They have a really nice small museum inside. A lot of stuff about the steel and iron industries, segregation, etc. And Vulcan's buttcheeks are amazing!

 

Come on guys, are USA supporters really such big YUPPIES that they visit botanical gardens when following the team?

If I were able to go to Birmingham, I'd want to know where the closest hotel is and where the closest pub is. And that's it! Oh wait no, and where the strip clubs are also.

 

Meanwhile, you're looking for a "pub" in Birmingham AL, and you're NOT a yuppie?

 

Dude, I'd definitely like to join you, but I don't thinking diaper changing goes over well on a bar next to strangers. I'm eager from my two little tadpoles to get their first caps this coming March. Believe me, if it were just me, I'd throw back quite a few with you. Maybe in Germany. Or DC if they get a WCQ.

Not to change the subject, but at work today, I emailed six or eight people I know who have a slight (perhaps feigned for my sake) interest in soccer. I told them about the Birmingham match being convenient to our area and that they should make the effort. Had a couple respond positively.

You know, I take great pride in knowing that when soccer is, say, the second most popular sport in the US twenty years from now, it's pioneers like us who cut the trail.

 

I guess, then, that only "YUPPIES" can afford to go?

 

At the last qualifier in Columbus I stayed at the hotel closest to the bar in the Brewery District where the Sammers gathered. The next day I visited the Manet exhibit at the local art museum. In DC earlier this year I stayed within stagger back to my room distance of the nightclubs on Connecticut Ave, but managed to take in the new WWII Memorial and the Air and Space Museum. Four years ago in Kansas City I got hammered in Westport but didn't have to worry about getting to my hotel because it was across the street. Yet, I took time to visit the Truman Library before heading home.

I consider myself a hard core supporter, but I am no Yuppie. Thanks for the info on the botanical gardens. But if you want to include info on strip clubs and barbeque joints in your posts, that would be alright too.