& Also w/ Miss Universe. http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/715...4AD9FDB9CF193875DCB1DD8387ABBD3FCD1A18C09C2B1
joejoe and Dr. Know, this is the latest information I received regarding the NYC itinerary, including the Nike event... ----------------------------------------------- New York Thursday, August 10 1:30 PM - News conference @ Hard Rock Café Times Square (+) 3:30 PM - Nike FCB Fan Rally @ Sara B. Roosevelt Park in Lower Manhattan with other athletes/ entertainers to be named (with some player availability) (+) 7:00 PM - Training session (with player media availability) @ Giants Stadium (+) Friday, August 11 7:00 PM - Training session (no player media availability) @ Giants stadium (+) Saturday, August 12 7:30 PM - FCB vs. New York Red Bulls
I saw that but it in the Barca website it says different. In the website it says: Thursday, August 10 16.00, Nike Town Events. Central Park 18.00, Presentation Turisme de Catalunya - FCB 19.00, Training. Giants Stadium. New York 20.30, Gala supper hosted by Major League Soccer (MLS) Friday, August 11 19.00, Training. Giants Stadium. New York Where did you see that info???
well, when i see the players, i will find a way to meet them, i dont know how u do it in LA or how the police are, i will try to meet the players.
Well thats why I said the info wasn't too good. Because in the website it says one thing but here they are posting something different. If the info here is to be believed then it's at Sara D. Roosevelt park which is located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan around East Houston St.
Dr. Know, SUM Communications sent me the information directly so I'm assuming it must be the right schedule of events. It better be as I will be lugging my photo gear and that's no picnic!! As far as the Barcelona website is concerned, last time I checked there, they had the match listed for August 13th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some photos from the training session: Will try to upload a few videos but youtube is giving me hassles.
awesome pics, roksteady! thank you to EVERYBODY who came out to hollywood and highland today - we had a great turnout and a great crowd. a few highlights: - Thousands and thousands of barca fans (filling 3 levels) - Kobe chatting with a bunch of the players in Italian - Barca anthem playing while team walked up the red carpet - ronaldinho + rafa - eto'o giving me a kiss Tomorrow is the big game!!!! 6:30pm.
The nike event in Hollywood was really fun and like Adriana10 said, there was a HUGE turn out. Getting to see the best players in the world, from the best club in the world, was something really special. Kobe briefly spoke about his respect for the game, his admiration for Ronaldinho, and admitted that he's a fan of the U.S. national team. It was almost impossible to meet the players though because of the giant crowds. Unless, of course you were either from the press, the club, Kobe Bryant, or worked for nike. Miss Universe made an appearance as well, which was also very nice, as was this Argentinian girl that was there working for nike. Overall it was a great experience and even though I had to wait outside in the hot sun for hours, it was worth it. I can't wait for the game tomorrow and hopefully they put on a show for the L.A. crowd.
Rundown of L.A. event... Positives: -- Great setups...Barca seal, Nike logo, Mes Que Un Club, everywhere...special futsal floor with Barca seal on it. -- Ms. UNIVERSE! I highly recommend you see her in person...she's very beautiful...she's a huge fan of Rafa Marquez. She was all over him. -- Kobe Bryant...as big a star as he is, he was really excited to hang out with the Barca players, and he hung out all day. -- The entire team! Not just Marquez & Ronaldinho showed up...coaching staff, and the entire team was there. Zambrotta and Thuram, included. --I have to disagree with another poster. The big players DID speak to the crowd...they talked to Rafa, Ronaldinho, and Puyol. It was just hard to hear them due to the poor organization (see below). --Also, I have to disagree with the assessment that they were bored with the "kick around" with the kids. What do you expect them to do?? They're world class players playing against 6-7 year olds. Do you want Champions League intensity? It was fun, it was cool, it was...."cute". --Dos Santos. There was a huge contingent of fans that wanted to see the kid in action. --They handed out cool "postcards" that are good for one free Barcelona gym bag at the L.A. Niketown...I highly suggest you try to get one of these. Negatives: --Long wait!! We waited for 1.5 - 2 hours before anything even got started. --Emcee's SUCKED. They had no idea who the hell they were talking about. The guy emcee kept pronouncing Eto'o's last name as "Etwo". They kept checking their notes everytime they asked. It seemed like they were catering more to the fans that have never heard of Barca, rather than the knowledgeable, hardcore fans that were really there. I cannot understate how much they sucked. --Poor organization...the entire event basically revolved around waiting for the celebrities to arrive. They announced Ms. Universe's arrival and 15 awkward minutes later she got there. Lot's of "dead" air. In the end, it was a great event to see the team up close. If you're on the fence about going to see them in Houston or New York, I would HIGHLY recommend it.
yeah everything sucked but the fan reception was incredible...security, as always, a pain. I have some short clips of Ronaldino's entrance that i'll post later.
As it looked from a previous posters pics, it seems nike choose MAX BRETOS to MC the event. What a mistake I can only imagine that was. He may be the most nauseating person covering soccer in America. He thinks he has an edge to his on air personality but manages to make people like Carson Daily and Seacrest seem very tolerable. MAX BRETOS = Douchebag
i got there at 2:30pm and waited until 5pm, when i had to leave to go to a gallery opening. not only did the team not show up before i left, but there was no indication from anyone when they would get there. if they were going to be two hours late, then fine- it sucks but these things happen. however, just let the fans know. i could have tried to make plans to stay if i had known when they were going to get there.
I agree with everything you said especially the part about the MC's. It was Max Bretos, whom I can't stand, and some chick from Mex to the Max. She's the one that got to me the most. As a woman, I honestly think that having a girl as an MC just to be politically correct is crap and shouldn't be done unless they really know what they are talking about and this girl knew nothing. I was standing on the third level of the center and got a pretty good view of everything. Best part of the evening was when i ran down to the bus after the show and got to see all of the players board on. I was standing right next to the bus door, got to say "hi" to almost all of the player and messi even shook my hand.
Adriana 10. I appreciate your efforts in putting this together but unfortunately I have to agree that this event was really not meant to be held in Hollywood. The hollywood and highland managements sucked!!!! Security sucked!!!! Too many damn tourists who were not Barca fans!!!! which made it even more difficult to see the players. Management threatened myself and my father (who was in his handicap chair). They said they would kick out off the property if we asked for an autograph. We were there since 2:30 pm. I really would of preferred a sit down meet and greet authograph session. Please relay this to Nike management. Thank you. P.S. I was able to get Messi, Marquez and Puyol to sign my Nike ball over @ the Ritz Carlton. Messi is COOOOOOL!!! PUYOL IS COOOOOOL!!! Marguez seemed tired so he was not talking but none the less he signed my ball so therefore he's cool.
Thanks to everyone who has posted their stories and pictures. Please keep posting them as the tour continues in L.A., Houston, and NY of course. I hope to have a good story and good pictures of the NY practice and the game. Chingadera - I am glad to hear you did get some autographs from Messi, Marquez, and Puyol. Visca el Barca!
Just got back from the L.A. game. It was fun...but I wish there were more goals! The crowd was in favor of the Chivas, wayyy more Chivas fans. But Barcelona fans definitely represented. 1st half was a SNOOZE fest, with neither side really looking like they wanted to play. Valdez made some really amazing saves, 2 or 3 were goal saving...he did all with the setting sun in his face. It was obvious from the get go that 92,000 fans were there to see one person. His name starts with an "R" and ends with an "onaldinho". The place went nuts when he came out before the game. Ronaldinho was saved for the second half. That's when things heated up. Gudjonssen relieved Eto'o and Dos Santos made an entrance as well. The fans cheered for Ronaldinho, Marquez, and Dos Santos the most, in that order. The kid didn't do much though and seemed tentative. The crowd cheered and flashbulbs went off everytime Ronaldinho touched the ball. Ok, here's the bad part...Eidur had so many chances to score goals, so did Iniesta. Not until #7 had an easy make deflect off the bar and back into his feet was there a goal scored. He also had an amazing chance right before the game to win it. I hope he's better at "finishing" because he wasn't tonight. I know it's just an exhibition game, but yikes! Finish Man! Overall, it was a great experience. What did the rest of you think?
anyone know if barcelona are gonna be training in NY prior to the 12th? I leave Friday afternoon and would love to see them.