Glad to know Easy is back at work. I know he had an illness a while back but I’m happy he is well now! Great guy and a good player in his time.
Followed closely by our primary uniforms the past three seasons (including the current one). GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
The colors were bad, but they were stuck with it. What other color would really connect with Caribou anyway? The topper was the fringe. It was almost like they should have played wearing coonskin caps.
Telecast from WOR 9 in New York. I used to watch from Buffalo the Cosmos games (and Rangers, Islanders and occasional Yankees games) on that channel in the early days of cable. Who knows, I may have even watched this particular telecast as a kid.
This video of the '81 opener at Spartan Stadium brings back a lot of memories. The big crowd at Spartan Stadium sure looked nice. Of course, if it were not the Cosmos, the attendance would have been quite a bit less. By '81, the crowds generally were becoming smaller than earlier in franchise history. The first significant stadium expansion was finished, so the actual capacity was several thousand people more than the old 18,000 number. I think it was around 24 or 25,000 for this game, with the second deck having been added (behind the camera). Nonetheless, I remember it was fun to have such a big turnout, despite the final score.
Every time I watch these old videos, I try to find myself in the crowd. Pretty sure I was in an upper row in the northern part of the east side for this game. Not quite as memorable as being in the pre-expansion SRO crowd to see us beat the Cosmos with Pele in '75, or when we beat them again in '76, but I guess we had to let the Cosmos win once in awhile.
The 1976 game was a surreal experience almost. People in the trees, etc. The atmosphere was beyond any description. Fans today will really never comprehend what it was really like.
Paul Toomey (13), Andries Maseko (23), Robbie Rensenbrink (19), Gary Ayre (13)San Jose Earthquakes at Portland Timbers
Just more evidence of the days when the Quakes "packed the pit". There was one season when there were bumper stickers handed out that used the term "Pack the Pit". It was a magical time in the history of the Quakes.