The last MLS game at Giants Stadium will be played this weekend. It's time to bid a fond farewell to RFK North. And in that spirit, isn't it wonderful that Dan Ryazansky of Metrofanatic has lovingly memorialized DC United's top 6 Giant Stadium memories? Of course, he didn't characterize them quite that way ...
He left out the April 2006 4-1 result where Esky spat out the Red Bull. How much worse can it get that the other team clowning your owner?
I thought I recalled him doing it when he scored at our home opener. Hmm, the mind is one of the first things to go, I guess... Apologies, Sharkbait..
I remember sitting in the upperdeck and watching him run to the sidelines and going WTF? When we got home I watched it and guffawed
Jeebus, I had some good times in that stadium, despite two friends getting the "lifetime ban." The 4-1 thumping in 2005 was great. I was looking right into Ben's eyes when scored that header. I think I jumped with him! That was the Gomez on the drum game. The Esky spit was class[ic]. Facundo hit a bomb that day. Ahhhh, can we play you every week?
Esky spit and Facundo bomb (as well as another Esky goal from nice short passing; and an absolutely fantastic, and sadly frequently forgotten, goal created by Brian Carroll and finished by Jamil Walker) were in 2006; Gomez drum was in 2005 on the Benny/Agoos, Benny, Benny, Jaime day.
Yeah, I know. I was there for both. I was just rambling over the games and trips to RFK North. I wasn't being any kind of specific with dates and foot notes or anything. Just reelin' in the years.
I mean, they let Facundo Erpen score that game from about 35, right? Even Metro fans are smart enough to erase that one from their memory.
Nobody "let" Facundo score, that was a frickin' bomb. My favorite memory was the 04 playoff game. After we sent them crying into the night the team came over. Jaime threw me his jersey and some chick gave me a hip check that would have made Donald Brashear proud. Snagged the jersey right from my hands. Nelson saw it and walked up and handed me his. Sweet
They left out a few good ones. Sept. 25, 2003: DC 2-Metro 0--This was a Thursday night ESPN game, and I think the Screaming Eagles(?) did a free bus-trip, so a large away group got to see us beat Metro 2-0. Ben put in an early header after Petke hit the bar, and then Earnie made a massive run in the 2nd half and squared it for Cerritos to finish. Somewhere in there, Guevarra dove to earn a penalty and then from the spot, Fat Clint Mathis sent a 3 mph roller on goal that Nick stopped. Nick did the throat-slash, and Mathis’ Metro career was effectively over. Oct. 21, 2006: DC 1-Metro 0. In this decade, weve won as many playoff games at the Meadowlands (2-0-0) as at RFK. Christian and Jaime combine on a sweet 1-2 near the end to piss off the 50 Red Bull fans that showed up to get a Marcus Schopp bobblehead. Oct. 2, 2004: DC 1-Metro 0--prelude to our Cup win. The three games that concluded our ’04 season regular season (@NY, vs. NY, vs. NE) perfectly mirrored the three playoff games before the Cup final. With three games left in the season, we were 8 or 9 points behind Metro for 2nd place, and we went to the swamp without Nelsen, Jaime or Esky. Freddy got a deflected goal in the 1st half, he and Mike Magee got into a decent fight five minutes later, and Earnie hip-checked every Metro at least three times as we finished the game out and made our successful push for home field advantage. Also, in Freddy’s marquee season, he scored his first and last goals at the Swamp. May 30, 1996: DC 2-NY 1--of course, our first-ever road win came in Jersey. A.J. Wood tied it for Metros in the 1st half, but Sanneh gets the winner and… hey, we kind of like playing up here. And a couple of memories from the games Ryazansky mentioned: • 7) October 23, 2004: MetroStars 0, DC United 2 There have been home playoff losses, but none as deflating as this one, as the Scum's Earnie Stewart scored the match's first goal after CLEARLY receiving the ball in the offside position. The referee's flag stayed down, the goal counted, and Metro crashed out of the playoffs once again. Five years later, I’m still waiting for video or photo evidence that Earnie was offside. Love how Dan R. says after "receiving” the ball in an offside position. And weren't the Metros still doing the Metro Playoff Fever camapign with the derby hats? • 8) October 1, 2005: MetroStars 1, DC United 4 The game was much closer than the final result, and Metro actually scored first. But an own goal by Jeff Agoos started the bleeding, and two late goals by the Scum set the final margin. Alexi Lalas, itching to fire Bob Bradley ever since he took the GM job, did so three days after the team's first home loss in five months. Michael Bradley actually cried on the field when it was over—he knew papa was about to be fired. Also, Ben got a brace—he always played well in Jersey. Another Atlantic Cup (yawn).
My fondest memories also include the supporter's buses meeting up with the team's at the Delaware rest stop. Along with Giant Stadium, it has been torn down. But watching the team wolf down Roy Rodgers chicken with us always brings a smile.
It was after one of those games where the wife and I ran into Jaime and two of his buds at a Burger King on one of the rest stops headed home on the Turnpike... He was ahead of us in line, ordering, and we were a few back, decked out in our United regalia...My wife whispers to me "I think that's Jaime!" I say "noooo, it can't be Jaime, wouldn't he be on the team bus?" While we're whispering, one of the guys with Jaime turns to look at us, gets a big grin, and nudges Jaime, who turns, and I blurt out "Holy s#!t, it IS Jaime..." Pleasantries were exchanged, grins all about, and we left them to their meal...Sadly, though, NEITHER of our cell phones had cameras at the time, because of where we work, so no photographic evidence. Grumble. After seeing Jaime tear through two whoppers, though, Jaime will forever remain THE Burger KING.
I remember Branden Prideaux, I think after the 4-1 game in 2005, eating the hell out of some fired chicken at the old choke n' puke.
Delaware rest area has been torn down.... Worst memory, BB losing to bunch of 10 year old girls - but I primarily blame Pints!
I forgot the playoff game where my son (then about 13 or 14) was caught live on ESPN2 on the return from half time giving a two handed single digit salute to Johnny Walker.