If I was watching the game back then I think I could have been able to build a nice retaining wall with the bricks I would have excreted.
My wife and I attended the 2003 Final, but 17 years later I find that I forgot about Razov's PK failure and other muffed chances. I also forgot what the actual score turned out to be, how quickly Ekelund scored, and one of Donovan's goals, so watching the game again on TV did provide me with a few surprises. Merryl also reminded me how pessimistic I was before that game. I thought Chicago was very strong, and though the Quakes won their playoff games, they weren't dominant throughout. And seeing the game on TV reminded me what a beast Zach Thornton was. Nobody was going to win a physical battle with him. Finally, that was, I think, the 8th MLS Cup, and the EQ had won 2 of them (25%). That was pretty good. Now it is 2020. We have still won twice, but now that is down to just under 7%. (Of course, if we were to add two MLS Cups won in Houston, we would double that figure!).
My eldest daughter and I (she was 12 at the time - had coached her youth team for years) made the trek and stayed in a hotel the night before (she liked that better than the game, I think!). The morning of the game, we took the hotel elevator down and it was full of Chicago fans. We had our Quakes gear on and they just glared and made some comments. During the game, our seats were right next to the Chicago contingent, who would, every time Onstad would take a goal kick yell, "F$#K YOU, A$$HOLE!". Winning that one was extra sweet. My daughter will be 29 this coming weekend and we still talk about that game...
That was before I knew you personally; but now, on the TV rebroadcast, I'm pretty sure I saw you (and many other people I've met since that time, such as John Jussen) in the Quakes-fans section at that game..
Cool! Wow, sometimes I'm so tech challenged, you'd think I was an Old Guy! Dang! Thanks hugely!! Go Quakesfans!! Go Renofans!! - Mark
just enjoyed watching the Seattle game at Buck Shaw.....crowd was rocking that night.....at times I miss Buck Shaw...
Yeah - at first while I was watching it, I was confused, because the crowd was so loud I figured it MUST be at Stanford!
Currently watching the 2001 final on ESPN 2. Tommy Smithy doing the color commentating with JP Dellacamera the play by play guy for playoff the 2001 final. Diggin' the white Quakes kits.... Was also watching the first mls cup final between LA and DC...one of the announcers was Phil Schoen. I think he's the guy currently doing the english broadcast of the Spanish League league games on BIEN Sports Network. I think he's a good play by play guy and too bad he doesn't do MLS games for ESPN or Fox......I'm assuming the Spanish League pays better.... Hope everyone is healthy and sage....
I watched the 2001 Final last night with my oldest son (who was 8 at the time). From my memory, the game was close and LA was better or at least as good. However, re-watching, the Quakes were the better team and deserved the win. Some general comments: The stadium was only half full. The attendance was in the 21k range with a capacity around 22k. There is no way the stadium was close to capacity. More like 15k range. Even though the level of play is not the same as today (thankfully), the 2001 Quakes were much better than 2020 Quakes in central midfield, central defense, GK and forward. Hmm....the spine of the team... Ian Russel had a far better game than I remembered. He, along with Richard Mulroney were the keys to the game. Forgot that Mannie didn't play due to injuries. Miss Joe Cannon... It was great to see two way midfielders in Richard and Ronnie. Richard was such a good crosser and Ronnie long passes were amazing and his tackling was underrated. Interest to see Zac Ibsen come off the bench for the Quakes and Brian Mullens for LA. Worst to first. It can happen, but not with our current team. Sigh. Memories...
That's Brian Mullan for LA (along with DeRo) in this City of Champions exhibit poster for History San Jose, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Quakes' and CyberRays' 2001 titles. (Painting by San Jose artist Mark Gray; original artwork in the museum collection.)
Here is an excerpt from a Soccer America article of Eric Wynalda's inaugural season and scoring the first MLS goal during in the inaugural game between the San Jose Clash and DC United on April 6th, 1996. He is talking about how he use to go to my family's restaurant in San Jose in 1996.
Tony and Alba's were great back in the Spartan Days. They used to also provide pizza for us game-day staff. I will have to get a pizza from them to pick up later this week. That's a bit of a challenge to me, because I'll have to dishonor my current low-carb lifestyle, but I am prepared to make that sacrifice!
Update - not sure how I've done it, but apparently stress-eating isn't something I do. I'm down eight or ten pounds since this whole SIP thing started (37.5 pounds since my blimpacidal period, when we started on this diet), so I guess a little pizza won't kill me! ...they say that last 40 pounds are the hardest to lose!
just watched the rebroadcast of the 2013 SJ vs LA game at Stanford....Shea and Gordon with stoppage time goals....what an amazing comeback. Always nice to see the LA fans exit the stadium in shock..... Robbie Keane probably one of the best DP's the league has ever seen.....but I forgot how much he complained/whined each match.....was nice to see him throw his arms up in the air in disgust after the winning goal....