Not so friendly fans. But very much in the minority. Yeah, thats me. http://www.zimpix.com/blogimages/2012/06/USAvGUA_8.jpg
Ok, here's official AO meetup spot, near hotels in Zona Viva. I assume they have bus for their group heading to game at 730p. Stadium is a short drive. I'll see you guys there and will grab cab around 630p to the stadium to take in the festivities around the stadium. I'll have big USA football helmet thing on, along with a grouchy wife. Rattle and Hum 4A Avenida 16-11 4A Ave Guatemala City 3:30pm - 7:30pm
The ticket distribution email from US Soccer says that the game is at "Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Guatemala City, Guatemala." The US Soccer website showed the same, now corrected. Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez is in Barranquilla, Colombia. I don't know that much about the goings on at Soccer House. However, as a (founding) USSSC member, I can say that customer service has declined precipitously to just above non-existent. The present cap number fiasco. Misinformation with no reply to email about the venue in Guatemala City. When I read the email, I thought that the game was going to be at the second stadium in Guate. A few web searches reminded me that that stadium is Estadio Cementos Progreso, not Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez. Have others not received their 2015 yearbook? I write a monthly email asking about it--June (when it was promised), January (after telling me to expect in by the end of 2015), February (after the January response was "a few weeks", March (after the February response was "it's on its way", no reply to that one yet.) Thanks for the meet up info. Ideally, I'd like to watch the U-23 match before the main event. I doubt I'll head down to Zona Viva. If the game isn't available on the television in my hotel room, I'll probably seek out a sports bar in Cuatro Grados Norte, the neighborhood adjacent to Estadio Mateo Flores. There were some such spots four, eight and eleven years ago in that area, but the places differed. In business, out of business......
I like it. I'll be in Antigua until 5p on Friday. I'm working with USS to track down a ticket pickup location, need them to extend the pickup window. Then will head to Rattle and Hum. Think big evil knievel type helmet.
Post-match report from away supporters? As an Azteca veteran I enjoy reading every detail from heroes such as yourselves.
Pregame at Rattle and Hum was decent. Nice bar, friendly staff. Met an ex-pat who was working down there for Pepsi who helped us wrangle a cab. I wasn't on the AO trip, so I didn't take the bus. Cab took us really close to the stadium. The security was much tighter than it was 4 years ago. Everyone was really helpful when we got there. I didn't feel threatened at all despite all the warnings people were giving. They put us in the same section we were in 4 years ago. Right at about the goal line to the 18 yard box was our section. Big high fence to the left of us, separating us from the more fanatical fans. Some fans sat below us and to the right of us, but those were the expensive seats, so no problems from them. Heavy police presence, guys in full riot gear, guns, etc. They were really nice though. Some of them even posed for pictures with us. The game itself was a shit show. Mix gets badly beat on a corner, and Bradley decides not to head a ball he should have. Both goals were scored right in front of us. You saw the rest. The Guate keeper was outstanding. Not sure how many of those saves were just good, or poor shots by us. Getting out of the stadium was easy. Our cab driver came back to the pre-arranged spot, so we got out of there pretty quickly. Overall the trip was ok for me. The trip 4 years ago was better. That one was in June, so it was still light out when we got to the stadium. I was disappointed somewhat that a lot of places were closed because of Holy Week. Still though I would recommend the trip to anyone. The weather was beautiful, and Guatemala definitely has some cool places to visit.
Yep, i'll echo TimBoston here. Couple my notes. But first, it was good to meet some of you guys. Eddie Stiel and GoLALazers and a few others. Ticket note: Guate Fed gave the US Fed 75 tickets. AO's package had 30 tickets, so 45 left for us stragglers. Premeet day of game: 100% better than 4 years ago. Great bar/location, we packed it and they had the U23's on all the TV's. I really liked that place and the scene. But very surreal how EVERYTHING was closed in the 3 block surrounding area. AO Deal: I wasn't on their package deal but have to applaud organized away trips to watch our boys play. Good mix of people, old/young, etc. Again, compared to 4 years ago when there was zero organization. I grabbed $4 cab ride with a group from Wisconsin, good people. Outside Stadium: very weird scene but exactly what i was looking for. Security had blocked off about 100 yard perimeter. But outside of that was tons of vendors, beers, shirts, etc. Tons of Guate fans wanting pictures with us and good scene all around. Random guy came up to us and we talked for ever and even got a ride back to hotel to pickup bags and he took us to airport after. Super cool experience and the reason why these trips are so good. Ticket Entry: i'm always fascinated by this stuff, all Guate fans had to wait in big security line to get through the perimeter, but anyone with USA attire was able to just walk off thru police guys and bypass the line. The AO crew got a escorted walk to the stadium. Honestly wasn't needed at all, but not a bad thing as you have to keep your group organized and protected. Stadium: The crowd was fired up and pumped given their early goals and they didn't let up. They were in massive party mode. The US crowd on the other hand...well...we were all depressed. Riot dudes behind us but not really needed. No vendors at all, food or drink. It was bad. I snuck out into the fancy section and found a pizza dude thank goodness. Afterwards: Guate fans were in a great mood but still always just a tad bit of tension for an away supporter. Was walking with our new Guate buddy but was getting heckled big time, but mostly friendly and again a TON of photos with the locals. Finally found the 10 year kids selling beers in a backpack..
last note, we were in Antigua on Wed, Thur, Friday of Semana Santa. OUTSTANDING!!!! What an incredible time to be in that incredible city. That's a bucket list, must do type of event.
Nice recap by wixson7, who was easy to spot at our pregame bar thanks to his massive star-spangled dome. This was my first USMNT match abroad, and despite the result it whet my appetite for more (we better make the damn Hex). I'll follow the Wixson model in my recap: AO Night Before Party: Great way for our small-but-dedicated group to get acquainted. I randomly met two Outlaws who attended my high school (many years after this old man). There were two "celebrity" cameos, first by USMNT press officer Michael Kammarman and then by Grant Wahl, who had none of the pretension you might expect from our country's pre-eminent soccer writer. Talking to him was like shooting the breeze with any other fan. Only complaint was the atmosphere: a big, corporate hotel like the Westin is always going to be a bit vanilla, and the food/drink prices were on par with what you'd find in the States. Plus, the hotel either didn't have or couldn't operate its sound system, so no music. Premeet day of game: I echo that Rattle & Hum was a great bar, and pretty much the only venue open for blocks around! Guat City really empties out for Semana Santa. I foolishly arrived fashionably late, and would have gotten there for the start of the Baby Nats' game had I known it would be on. AO Deal: Didn't get in on this, but bought my ticket through AO which was handed to me at the Night Before party. I think it's easy to make travel arrangements on your own - cheaper than their away packages - but the main benefit (especially in a country like Guatemala) is the pre/postgame shuttle transport. Unless AO has extra spots available (and there were a couple seats), you've got to fend for yourself with a cab, etc. Which leads me too... Outside Stadium: Shared a cab with four other fans (it was a tight squeeze). Thankfully, the native Spanish speaker in our group negotiated at the roadblock to get us as close to Estadio Mateo Flores as possible, and then asked a cop to escort us to the gate. He was assigned to our section, so postgame he walked us out. We tipped him handsomely Ticket Entry: I'm always amused by the lack of rhyme or reason to security at matches abroad. I got two pat-downs, and neither time was the flask of rum in my back pocket deemed a problem. However, at the second one my breath mints and Chapstick were confiscated. I think it would take an MLB pitcher to cause any damage hurling a tube of Chapstick. Meanwhile, the stadium was selling cans of Pepsi that could easily start a mini-riot if thrown at the wrong group. Stadium: A few minutes after settling into our fenced-in section we see Sunil Gulati (+ security) walking towards us along the track, and then up the stairs! I started a "Su-nil Gul-a-ti" chant that was briefly adopted to others. He posed for some photos, asked me where I'm from and then Kammarman asked for a group shot, however I don't think it ever made it onto USSoccer.com or social media. Also interesting to see who comes out of the woodwork for these away qualifiers. In addition to the AO's and other supporters, I think there were a just a few player family members and some random ex-pats, including a group of four wearing matching "Donald Eres Un Pendejo" t-shirts with Trump's silhouette. Finally, another "you know you're in Central America..." moment was when I noticed a bunch of weeds growing through cracks in the bleachers. Afterwards: A small but dedicated group walked from the Westin to the Intercontinental to wait in the lobby for the team bus. The players were predictably glum but a few (plus Jurgen) politely thanked us for our support. Definitely wasn't the type of atmosphere where you could ask them to stop and pose for pictures. From there some of us set out for Rattle & Hum (the pregame bar), when a guy in a suit from the US Embassy (I think he was part of the team caravan) strongly suggested we not walk the three blocks to the bar. Like morons we didn't listen, and a block down the street we see a giant SUV approaching. It was the Embassy guy, who insisted on driving at 5MPH alongside us to make sure we got to the watering hole OK. Yup, I guess Guat City really is *that* dangerous. Finally (and I know this has been way too long already), shout-out to doogiemo for suggesting I head to Lake Atitlan after the match. The town of Panajachel was packed with people on vacation, but I had a great time cruising the lake and gorging on street food there. Was then able to spend three hours in Antigua on the way back to the airport, and it's a town I'd definitely like to return to.
I made the trip solo. Spent a couple days in Antigua beforehand to see the Semana Santa processions (I concur with it being a great experience) and hiked the Acatenango volcano. Getting out of Antigua on Friday morning took over 2 hours due to the processions. At one point, the taxi overheated while sitting in traffic and we had to push it in reverse back out of a one way street. I missed the window to pick up my ticket from US soccer, but luckily I sent an email and the ticket guy (Garrett) was able to leave the ticket at the front desk of the Intercontinental Hotel. I wasn't too worried, since there were scalpers selling tickets everywhere along La Reforma Avenue. Though I did later hear from some other Americans at my hostel that the scalpers were asking for 2-3x face value, since the game was sold out. They opted to watch the match with some locals at McDonald's and then a dive bar in Zona 1. I stopped in a Rattle & Hum briefly for the pregame. Some friendly Guatemalan guys offered to call and order a taxi for me, which I took, though I had no qualms about grabbing one on the street. The taxi took me within about 200 yards of where the road was blocked off underneath a bridge. I walked the rest of the way by myself past the various jersey, flag, and beer vendors and took a few pictures with Guatemalan fans while downing a beer. There were three security checkpoints and pat-downs on the way into the stadium. At the last one just before entering the seats, I was forced to leave my pack of gum and (oddly) my sunglasses. We all know how the game went, which led to a pretty raucous Guatemalan crowd. A lot of smoke bombs, flares, synchronous jumping, the wave, Guatemala chants, and that thing where you put your hands on the person in front of you and everyone rocks front-to-back (is there a name for this??). The visiting section was separated from the rest of the stadium by chain link fences on each side and a rope with the some security people in the front. After both goals, at the end of the game, and at various other points, some young Guatemalans climbed up on and shook the fence (nowhere near getting to the top though). At halftime, I posed for some selfies with a few of these guys and took some of my own. All good fun. After the game, the American section cleared out very quickly. Since I took some extra time to snap a few more pictures and videos, I made the walk out of the stadium by myself. Nothing overly hostile from the Guatemalans, just some good natured ribbing ("Hey America, what happened in there, man??"). I must've taken a dozen pictures with at least five dozen people on my walk back up the hill and into the city. I never really felt in any danger at all. In fact, (based on personal experience) I'd rather walk through a crowd of Guatemalans or even Mexicans wearing a USA jersey than walk through the arena parking lots in Philadelphia or New York wearing my Sidney Crosby Penguins jersey. On the road heading out of the stadium, I stopped at a taco cart that was doing good business with the postgame crowd. While eating, some Guatemalans invited me to come drink with them around the corner where someone had parked a truck and set up some beer coolers and a mini DJ booth. After hanging out with them for a while, the Guatemalan and then the US team buses came whizzing by a few minutes apart, each with heavy police escorts. Some celebratory beers were thrown at the Guatemalan bus but nothing at the US buses other than a few insults and jeering. I spent a couple hours there, discussing the game and of course Donald Trump with the Guatemalans (spoiler alert: they're not huge fans). Eventually, some of them were headed off to what they said was one of the few bars open on Good Friday, so I went with them. We spent an hour or so there, and then I got a ride with them back to where I was staying in Zona 1. I saw some smoke and noise coming from up the hill and so (naturally) I went to see what was going on. It turns out it was the very tail end of one of the midnight holy week processions. Very cool. I then spent another day in Guatemala City (including a ridiculous Saturday night that's another complete story) and then went to Tikal followed by a few days in Belize. It was a good experience all around, and I highly recommend Guatemala. Everyone I spoke with wanted to know what I thought of Guatemala and how Guatemala is perceived in the US (in addition to wanting to talk about Donald Trump of course). I've been to qualifiers now in Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Trinidad, and Guatemala. I'd say Guatemala ranks as highly as any of them. I'm sure my postgame experience would've beeen a little different if the US had won. But I can't say for sure because the US has lost or tied every away qualifier I've been to thus far. Go figure.
Having watched a guy punch and dude and spit on his girlfriend wearing Crosby jerseys at a Devils game. I concur with your assessment.