It is the end of an era tonight. Minnesota United is hosting the New York Cosmos, in the final game of the regular season. The final game at the National Sports Center in Blaine. ... The next time Minnesota United takes the field at home, it will be at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. I have mixed emotions. I will not miss the shaky metal bleachers, but I will miss the fact that sitting in the very last row of said bleachers still meant the opposing goalkeeper could hear me. Loud. And. Clear. I won't miss the parking mess - in fact, I'll be using the light rail next season. Hopefully I won't be missing the food trucks. They were awesome. This is also Minnesota United's final game as a member of the North American Soccer League, as we move up to Major League Soccer for 2017. For my UK friends, that means that since there's no relegation drama in US Soccer, we're up forever. THAT particular bit of knowledge has me doing cartwheels. Which really look funny at my age. The next time we play a team from New York, it will be either New York Red Bulls or New York City FC. The next time we play a team from Florida, it will be Orlando City FC. The next time we play a Canadian team, it will be Toronto FC. Or Montreal Impact. Or Vancouver Whitecaps. FC Dallas. Houston Dynamo. DC United. New England Revolution. Columbus Crew SC. Chicago Fire. Philadelphia Union. San Jose Earthquakes. Colorado Rapids. Portland Timbers. Seattle Sounders. LA Galaxy. Sporting Kansas City. Real Salt Lake. We're coming. (Oh, yeah, some team in Atlanta, I guess...) #TheNorthIsRising
As it turns out, my new seats at TCF Bank Stadium will still be 10 rows in back the opposing keeper for 45 minutes.