Figured, in addition to most memorable moments, shall we continue the walk down Memory Lane? Mine was 1999: USA-ARG in RFK. First time I saw us beat a really decent team. To think who played for Argentina that day and where some of those players are now, is kinda amazing...
USA 4, El Salvador 2, WCQ at Foxboro, November 1997 Doesn't get any better than playing a Latin American team in sub-freezing temperatures, especially the day after a blizzard. John Harkes' last really good performance for the US. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see a lot of the US' top players, as we'd already clinched WC qualification (Martin Vasquez was among the luminaries on display that day), but still a great time.
US-Ireland at RFK in 1992. Fantastic day. It was pouring down rain. A young Roy Keane played for Ireland and Mick McCarthy scored for them. But, we scored 3 times. I believe it was also the first cap for Thomas Dooley and Roy Wegerle--though that may be wrong. The atmosphere was fantastic. Really clued me into international football. Such a great time. Also, for one of the very first times, showed we could hold our own with some of the better teams.
Mine was 1996, US vs T&T WCQ in Richmond, VA......... I remember it, but the game wasn't all that memorable for my first cap. I do remember chanting 1989 and Caliguri alot though...
I'll add something since my computer crashed and I can't edit. That was the only time I would see Wynalda and Moore score for the nats in person. I miss all the matches we used to get out here in California.
US vs. Mexico in US Cup 2000. Mexican fans through some sort of children's undies towards me and it missed.
June 1, 1991. USA 1 - Ireland 1. Wynalda for us, no idea who for Ireland. Set an attendance record for the Nats on US soil at the time (I think they announced that at the match, I could be wrong on that though).
Thanks to the USSF's unwillingness to spread the wealth, my first cap was April 28th US vs. Mexico. Fortunately, I'll never forget it. What an experience...my wife and I are hooked.
My first U.S match was August 2, 1991 versus Sheffield Wednesday (with John Harkes) at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia. I still have the ticket stub and I also think I have the game program. The U.S. won 2-0. Since this wasn't against a national team, I don't think players got capped for this one, so . . . My first international U.S. match was June 6, 1993 against Brazil at the Yale Bowl, New Haven, Conn. It was part of the second ever U.S. Cup and as a prelude to the 1994 World Cup it included a strong line-up of Brazil, Germany and England. The U.S. lost to Brazil 2-0, but three days later recorded an incredible 2-0 victory over England at Foxboro Stadium with Alexi Lalas scoring a momentous header. Unfortunately I wasn't at that game.
Sunday, June 10, 1990, Stadio Communale, Florence, Italy Czechoslovakia 5 - USA 1 I was in Germany at the time. I drove down with a friend for the weekend and we bought tickets on the steet from an interesting character for 100,000 lira (about $80). I remember thinking that the tickets must be counterfeit, but we got in. The stadium wasn't anywhere close to being sold out anyway. As for the match, not much to say. The Czechs dominated. Waldo was sent off. But Caligiuri scored on a nice counter-attack.
You guys are making me feel old! July 29, 1984. The 1984 Olympics, first round, in Palo Alto, Caliifornia: United States 3, Costa Rica 0. Ricky Davis, recently of the New York Cosmos, scored two goals. Attendance, 78,000, but it was like going to see a baseball game: no atmosphere, really, and people didn't go nuts when the US scored. I got the feeling the crowd was mostly your international soccer types, meaning Europeans and South Americans. Polite clapping, mostly. First full international: May 13, 1989. United States 1, Trinidad & Tobago 1, at El Camino College stadium in Torrance, California. According to site below, there were about 10,000 people there, which seems about right. I'd say 3,000 or so were Trinidandians: and they definitely made more noise than the Americans. My Argentine friend who went to the game with me cheered openly for the Trinidadians and was surprised when I was seriously bummed by the Trinidadian equalizer... For a list of internationals to jar your memory: http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres.html I have to say I never really felt a real pro US soccer atmosphere until I attended the 1996 Olympics US-Portugal match at RFK ...
Thanks to NASL Fan....and the link he posted I know it was June 18, 1994. Sweltering hot from what I remember. I was a college student at the University of Rio Grande in SE Ohio (Bob Evans Farm Territory). I was bussing tables at a restuarant that summer. A few days before this match one of my fraternity brothers (on a haitus from school) called me up and I'll never forget what he said... "Hey.. you wanna go to the World Cup". I about crapped myself right there. Supposedly my buddy had a van in Columbus that we were going to take up to Pontiac Michigan for the US/Switzerland game of WC '94. I was estatic... and a poor college student with a donut back right tire on my 86 Renault Fuego (to make matters worse... the heat constantly ran in that old ride). I figured I could at LEAST make it to Columbus, where my buddy would have the van. We had to pick up a few other guys on the Way up at Bowling Green State U. SO I get to Columbus,,,, and no van. I was like "screw it.. lets take my ride". As it turned out 5 of us crammed into my "donut tired", heat cranking, RENAULT.. and made it to the SIlverdome for the game. I'll never forget the atmosphere. Colors EVERYWHERE... there were a few guys there dressed in the TICO colors of Costa Rica (who had missed out on the Cup in 1994), with a banner that read "Bora's Costa Rican Fan Club".... outstanding!!! Across from the Silverdome Parking lot were TWO HUGE construction cranes with a HUMONGOUS Red and White SWISS flag draped across the sky. I couldn;'t believe my eyes. On the way into the stadium, I saw a group of Argentinian Long Haired youth singing "Ole Ole Ole" in unison. What an unbelievable experience. As I stolled thorugh the corridor decks of the Silverdome before the stadium filled, I spotted a public payphone attatched to the wall. I told my friends I needed to make a phone call. I dialed home and my mom answered the phone. I'll never forget the emotion that came over me at that moment..... tears welled in my eyes as I said.. "Hey Mom.. I'm at the World Cup!" IT was just AMAZING. Supporting the US in our home country in the World Cup Opener for the US. We had seats in almost the last row of the first deck, directly BEHIND THE GOAL WYNALDA SCORED ON! If I remember correctly the beautiful goal he put in was not too far from half time. The crowd erupted when it struck the underside of the cross bar and hit the net!! Unbelievable...... way to experience your first National Team game. I'll never forget it. Oh .. on the way home, the notoriously crappy roads in southern Michigan totally flattened my donut tire. Luckily... we were around a soccer field's length away from a garage/tire store when it blew.
La Guerra Fria... Drove 15 hours the day before from Minneapolis - where the thermometer read a balmy -14...so Cbus seemed warm during Wednesday...getting to Crew Stadium amid rumors that there were 10,000 Mexican fans (there were about half that) and once we got to the stadium, we never sat down for the entire match... Most of that was atmosphere, but a bit of it was probably sub-conscious self defense...metal benches are very, very cold when the air temp is 20 degrees...
I was on the extra wooden bleachers for that game. I will always remember how all the American fans stood throughout the game.
Mine also was a US/Argentina game. It was the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics. 84,000+ at Legion Field in Birmingham.
June 1995, Foxboro, USA 3-2 Nigeria. Most consider this to be the debut of Sam's Army. Also Balboa's 100th cap.
So you were at that game too, huh?? Yeah, I popped my cherry at that game as well. Me and a friend got some seats in the "nosebleed section", only to realize once we got inside that the sightlines were incredible in RFK from up there. We were in the midst of a bunch of Argentina supporters who were banging on drums and having a good time. It was a great game to watch, and if i remember correctly, we scored in the latter part of the game and held on for a 1-0 win. Me and my Jamaican friend left very happy campers that day.