Most Memorable USMNT matches...that you attended!!

I've only been to two WCQs. While they were good (US 1-0 CR in KC, US over Guatemala in Birmingham), nothing tops the first US game I ever went to: US 4-0 Mexico in the US Cup in RFK back in '95. Second ever appearance of Sam's Army. Probably a grand total of a dozen of us.

 

USA 1, Brazil 0. Los Angeles Coliseum. Was it 1998?

 

Top 10 most memorable US games I attended:

1. 06/17/02 -- US 2, Mexico 0 -- Jeonju, South Korea -- 2002 World Cup Round of 16
No explanation necessary. World Cup knockout rounds against archrival.

2. 06/05/02 -- US 3, Portugal 2 -- Suwon, South Korea -- 2002 World Cup Group D
Shocking result. Still sends shivers down my spine when I think about it.

3. 06/17/06 -- US 1, Italy 1 -- Kaiserslautern, Germany -- 2006 World Cup Group E
The game was a war and the US fans were incredible.

4. 06/24/07 -- US 2, Mexico 1 -- Chicago, IL-- 2007 Gold Cup Final
Mexico was a goal up at the half and their fans thought they had it won. Coming back was beautiful.

5. 06/10/02 -- US 1, South Korea 1 -- Daegu, South Korea -- 2002 World Cup Group D
The atmosphere was nuts and the game was a battle.

6. 02/02/02 -- US 2, Costa Rica 0 -- Pasadena, CA -- 2002 Gold Cup Final
First time I saw the US lift a cup in person. Beauty goal by Goose. Culmination of flying across the country three times to watch four of five US games in that Gold Cup.

7. 09/03/05 -- US 2, Mexico 0 -- Columbus, OH -- 2006 World Cup Qualifying Final Round
Wrapped up qualification in style.

8. 06/13/99 -- US 1, Argentina 0 -- Washington, DC -- Friendly
My first US game. Nice winner by Moore.

9. 10/07/01 -- US 2, Jamaica 1 -- Foxboro, MA -- 2002 World Cup Qualifying Final Round
Joe-Max fires us through to Korea/Japan. Emotional day due to world events.

10. 06/16/01 -- US 0, Jamaica 0 -- Kingston, Jamaica -- 2002 World Cup Qualifying Final Round
0-0 draw at The Office, but it was my first away qualifier. Atmosphere was great.

Honorable mention:

- All road WQ Qualifiers (in addition to Jamaica, I've been to Mexico, Costa Rica, Trinidad, Grenada). I highly recommend going to an away qualifier... anywhere.

- All World Cup (in Korea and Germany) and Confederations Cup (France) games; each are unique and memorable experiences. In fact, the US/Germany game in '02 probably should have been on my list. Maybe I was biased against it because we lost, but it was a great effort.

- 2005 Gold Cup final vs. Panama -- boring game, but I love seeing the Stars and Stripes lift the Gold Cup.

- The '02 qualifiers against Guatemala and Honduras in RFK for great overall atmosphere; the '02 qualifier against Costa Rica in Kansas City and the '06 qualifier against Costa Rica in Salt Lake for the best pro-US atmospheres.

 

I don't have very many caps but two of them will be hard to top as I add to them.

The US vs Italy World Cup '06 in Kaiserslautern. An incredible day. Has to be a favorite of many.

The Gold Cup Final 2007 in Chicago vs mexico. Just an incredible time.

The only qualifier I've been to was US vs Guatemala in Birmingham. A great time but no where near the experience at the other two games.

 

Memorable?

I think I've killed plenty of brain cells since I started following soccer. I'll give it a shot. I won't post friendlies...

*USA-Mexico 2001
USA-Honduras 2001 ()
USA-Jamaica 2001
*USA-Portugal 2002
*USA-South Korea 2002
*USA-Mexico 2002
USA-Panama (GC Final)
*USA-Mexico 2005 home
USA-Mexico 2005 away
USA-Italy 2006
USA-Poland 2007 (U20 WC)
*USA-Brazil 2007 (U20 WC)
*USA-Mexico 2009

*Denotes personal faves!

 

1. April 1997. USA v. Mexico at the old Foxboro Stadium. WCQ. Keller bounces a clearance off of Senor Gol's head and into our goal; I think we tied it up eventually. Big crowd, but USA v. Mexico then was nowhere near as intense as it is now.

2. Summer 1995. USA v. Colombia at Rutgers. I think it was the old U.S. Cup. Memorable only because the traffic was so bad we didn't get to our seats until near the end of the first half. Game was a dull 0-0 tie, but was enough for us to win the "cup".

3. October 1997. USA v. Jamaica at RFK. WCQ. Great crowd. Agoos gifts Jamaica with a goal. Game ends as a tie. Love being able to take the subway to the stadium.

4. Summer 2005 (is it that long ago already?). USA v. T&T at Rentchler Field. WCQ. Game was OK, I recall a pretty uneventful US win. Twellman scored, which I guess is remarkable. The pre-match warm-up at some bar in Hartford is what I really remember. Also, that WCX bus, or whatever they call it, was there. Nice stadium, I wish they'd play there again.

5. May 2002. USA v. Holland. Friendly. First game at Gillette. Fun game, and it was pretty cool being the first in a new stadium. Reyna v. Seedorf (or was it Davids?) was fun to watch.

 

6. Summer 2005. USA v. Panama at Giants Stadium. Gold Cup final. Went to PKs, we had Kasey Keller and they didn't. Nice was to spend a summer day.

 

1) Last Wednesday night vs. Mexico. The weather, being on the stage with that amazing supporters group, the result...I didn't think anything would top the #2 on my list, but this one did.

2) La Guerra Fria, 2001. First cap. WCQ. Mexico. Josh Wolff. Wow.

3) Costa Rica @ SLC, 2005. A homecoming for me. Great crowd, Landon, Kasey, and making the local sports report at the pre-game the night before.

4) Costa Rica @ Kansas City, 2001. Why KC hasn't had a qualifier since is beyond me.

5) Panama @ RFK, 2004. The only game I've managerd to bring Mrs. Bluecat along to, and winning 6-0 is always fun.

 

I've been to two. And in order

1. United States vs Argentina - June 8th, 2008 - Giants Stadium
2. United States vs Mexico - February 11th, 2009 - Columbus Crew Stadium

 

Roughly in order:

US-Mexico 2005
US-Jamaica 2001
US-Mexico 2009
US-Argentina 1999 (Keller saves a PK, Berhalter scores on a blast with seconds left for 1-0 win)
US-El Salvador 1997 (my first US game!)
US-Mexico 2000 (3-0 Nike Cup win at Giants Stadium, my first US-Mexico game)
US-Argentina 2008

 

My list:

1) 2006 vs. Italy, Kaiserslautern, Germany (WC)

Best atmosphere I've ever experienced as the US takes a point from the eventual champs.

2) 2001 vs. Jamaica, Foxboro

US qualifies for WC2002 in the first match post-9/11

3) 2005 vs. Mexico, Columbus

US qualifies for WC2006

4) 1997 vs. Mexico, Foxboro

My first cap and introduction to international soccer

5) 2001 vs. Honduras, DC

My first road cap

Honorable Mention - 2006, US vs. Czech Republic (WC)

My first ever WC match

 

Unfortunately, only two for me too (I watch every game I can on TV, but getting to games just has not been possible for me very often).

1. United States vs. Brazil - July 4, 1994 - Stanford Stadium - World Cup Round of 16
2. United States vs. Venezuela - March 29, 2003 - Seahawks Stadium - Friendly

 

USA vs. Italy, Kaiserslautern 2006.

AMAZING!

The only problem was being smashed together with everyone on those trains before and after.

 

MY Top 5:

USA 2-0 Mexico, Columbus, 2005: What a game! And we got in the World Cup too. I was so exhausted from jumping and singing for 90 minutes that I passed out in the hotel room for hours immediately afterwards.

USA 2-0 Mexico, Los Angeles, 2000: A great memory. My fourth cap and my personal revenge for 1998. Great to see Mexican fans start booing Mexico when we owned them by minute 70. Oh yeah, some kid named Landon Donovan got his first cap in that one.

USA 1-0 Costa Rica, Kansas City, 2001: My first World Cup qualifier and what an experience! To this day, I always have fond memories of this game and for spending time with my father. One of the best crowds in US Soccer history.

USA 0-1 Mexico, Los Angeles, 1998: While not so much a great experience, especially getting urine thrown on me, this was my first cap and my first of three Gold Cup finals.

USA 2-1 South Korea, Los Angeles, 2002: The Rose Bowl rocked in this game. Mexico played El Salvador in game one so the crowd was huge, and the Korean ultras really BROUGHT IT. Great to see the US outplayed, score a great goal, get scored on by a fluke goal, and then dominate the last 10 minutes to win on a Beasley goal that was one of the best in US history. First Cap: Danny Califf, even though he sucked in that game.

HONORABLE MENTION
USA 0-1 Morocco, Nashville, 2006: Yes that game sucked, but it was the first game I ever walked to. Oh yeah, some kid named Micheal Bradley got his first cap there...

 

You know, I have often wondered about this, but somebody on another thread told me that Arrowhead in soccer mode is only 69 yards wide, and you need 72 yards to host a qualifier, and I think it took some modification of Arrowhead to host a qualifier, or perhaps a FIFA exemption. When LH was alive this was no problem but I am not sure about now.

I have to admit, the KC game was among my favorite experiences as well.

 

I've had the privilege of attending several dozen USNT matches. Many were noteworthy, but only one had all of the following:

-Last ever USNT match at the old Fort (in my opinion, the greatest home the USNT has ever had).

-The first USNT match after 9/11, and the national mood was raw (I cried during our Anthem).

-Emotion was further attenuated as word spread through the crowd that bombs were falling in Afghanistan.

-Only those in the stadium saw the game because breaking news of the war pre-empted the broadcast.

-The banner "America, You'll Never Walk Alone" stretching from corner to corner.

-Singing "America the Beautiful" 9:11 into the match.

-The kinship I felt with my countrymen.

-A Joe-Max Moore PK in the last 10 minutes to end our miserable streak of three losses.

-The goodwill of the Jamaican fans that celebrated with us after they lost.

-Learning of the other CONCACAF results and the surprising public announcement after the final whistle that we had just clinched a World Cup berth.

Footnote: flying United Airlines between Los Angeles and Boston was a somewhat surreal experience so soon after 9/11. Airport security was intense, and the mood on the aircraft was somber. Flight attendants were deadly serious, and passengers were palpably on edge looking for the next threat. I'd never been on such quiet flights. On the flight home, the woman in the window seat next to me was so frightened before take off I had to hold her hand to calm her down. Crazy times…but that trip was good medicine.

 

4, 6, and 10 are the only ones you listed that I missed (you suck, btw).

I'd say the best WCQ was the 9/1/01 game at RFK against Honduras.

I'm surprised you left out the 02/28/01 Mexico game in Columbus. Additionally, I'll always have a place in my heart for the 7/1/01 game in Mexico - my first away WCQ. 100k+ is quite an experience.

Arguably the best atmosphere I've experienced was the 1997 WCQ vs Jamaica at RFK Stadium. It was easily the loudest soccer game I've ever been to.

You mention it in passing, but with all the crap folks are foisting on Nashville, they forget the months of crap Kansas City got here on BigSoccer in the winter of 2001 up until 37k showed up for that Costa Rica game on 4/25/01 - with roughly 30k being pro-US. At the time the 37k was the largest midweek USMNT game.

I'll definitely second the motion regarding away qualifiers (and even friendlies). Outside of World Cups, I've now seen the MNT in Mexico (twice), Trinidad, Ireland, Panama, Guatemala, England, Grenada, and Cuba (legally!). I'm hoping to hit Mexico and Honduras later this year.

 

Most Memorable for the right reasons
1. 02 WC vs Korea
2. 02 WC vs Mexico
3. 02 WC vs Portgual
4. 06 WC vs Italy
5. 01 WCQ vs Jamaica
6. 05 WCQ vs Mexico
7. 00 WCQ vs Guatemala
8. 08 WCQ vs Cuba
9. 09 WCQ vs Mexico
10. 96 WCQ vs T&T (my first cap)


Most Memorable for the wrong reasons
1. 06 WC vs Ghana
2. 98 WC vs Iran
3. 01 WCQ vs Honduras
4. 97 WCQ vs Jamaica
5. 06 WC vs Czech Republic

 

1. Italy - 2006 FIFA WC in Kaiserslautern
2. Mexico - 2006 FIFA WCQ in Columbus, OH

 

1994. vs Switzerland in Pontiac, MI. I was 9 years old at the time, and my family bought a row of tickets about 30 rows up on the center line (If the WC were held in the US today, there is no possible way tickets would be so easy to get). It was the first soccer match for everyone involved (there were about 8 of us). I became the only soccer convert after the game. we were walking up the asile to get concessions when Wynalda hit his free kick. I remember thinking "wow, people came all the way from Switzerland for this?"

2005. Mexico. Drove 5 hours each way, and my first experience in Sam's Army. It was also probably my first time in a group of knowlegeable soccer fans outside of the internet. Made the 5 hour trip back home just in time to catch the 3am replay of the game on espn2.

2007. Mexico (GC final). Drove to catch a train into chicago in Michigan City, IN where the first hour waiting at the stop it was just me, in a USA jersey and scarf, 2 guys in Chivas jerseys giving me dirty looks, and 2 nuns. The train was absolutely packed the whole way in from the soccer game, the Cubs/Sox game, and a random gay pride rally. All the USA fans packed into one car, and the mex fans into another. In the match, after Guardado scored, our small pocket of USA fans were pretty much stunned. Mexico had their first goal in seven years on US soil and no team had ever come back in a US/Mex match for as long as any of us could remember... the rest was history. After the match, there was a huge parade out of the stadium thru grant park with the various fans chanting back and forth: "USA!" "Mexico!" I even had a random mex fan ask to change jerseys.

2008. Argentina. I just recently re-watched this match. It's amazing how close both teams came to cracking one in. Argentina deserved an penalty on Howard, but Argentina were also a few lucky deflections away from giving up a second half goal. I was right above the tunnel for the match, and I've never been so happy to be rained upon.

there have been a few others against lesser opponents, but those are my top 4.

 

Giants Stadium 1989 US VS Peru. We won 3-0. It was just a friendly and it did not have the importance of a WCQ or WCG, but we won and the team played well. It was not only the first time I was in Giants stadium but the first US national team game I attended. The Giants had to share my life long loyalty after that game.