It was SOOOOO cold for that game. My wife was just diagnosed with walking pneumonia, so even though we had three tickets (one for her, one for me, one for her brother) she couldn't go. So I gave her ticket to our Salvadoran next door neighbor. Our tickets were in section 230 something, behind Barra Brava and the Screaming Eagles. It was an AMAZING atmosphere. I'll never forget that game.
Of all the great sports memories that I have from playing to being a fan, that game, that crowd, the whole atmosphere of that glorius day is my greatest memoir. I have told the story countless numbers of times to friends and coworkers and all ask the same question "Why" and my reply is always the same, "It's DC United". I hope that this Saturday night creates another positive lasting memory in my head, because I can only guarantee one thing... There is no place else on Earth I would rather be than RFK Stadium this Saturday night!! WE BELIEVE!
although i dont expect this to be more than 25k for this game depending on saturday morning press, i hope this game will be the beginning of something i can tell my friends and children about years from now. I pray to god to let DC into the playoffs, and then i wait for the magic night when DC has their first playoff game in 4 years.... this time on a warm, clear night in the fall of 2003. vamos united!
by the way, can anyone make me a copy of the 1997 tape? i'll pick it up from you saturday night. cheers, scott
Beautiful stuff everyone. I picked this game to talk about because the anniversary is coming up plus this showed how a ton of fans can get behind a team and rally it to victory. That's what tradition is all about and it's time to restore the tradition. All of us fans have not experienced the playoffs in four years. We want it, Ray wants it and the players want it. I believe this will be one of the best evenings in this club's history Saturday night. Doesn't matter if you are in California or Canada and can't make it. If you are tied up with work or family and can't make it, it's ok just wherever you are, root like hell for them and just believe! They can and will do it. Maybe I'm going a bit nuts here but I'm trying to forget all the bad stuff that has happened this season and looking ahead. No Mercy. No Surrender. Restore the Tradition. Vamos United! That is all. Bill
"Rally Together, gather around. The scent of a battle is neeeeear!!! The canon sounds, the new year begins. FEAR NOTHING NOW, THE GANGS ALL HERE!!!!"-Dropkick Murphys This line just screams United. Come on DC!!!!!
Don't apologize for coming to the party late. It's really easy to be a fan of a winning team. It's much harder to warm up to the sort of suckiness we've seen this year.
I remember the game very well. I had my usual seat behond the goal. First off the day started out bad when my truck died just outside RFK. My Dad, borthers and I had to push it into the parking lot. My girlfriend had to bring a battery down to the lot after the game in order for me to get outta there, 7 hours later. As for the game I remember Moreno's goal clear as day. I was yelling at Diaz Arce for passing up the shot but when Moreno cut back I could see the hole he was going to shoot through. I tell you it was louder in there than any other game I have been to at RFK. World Cup, WC Qualifier or Olympics. I can't wait for United to return to that level again!!!!!
Could be worse... I had tickets... My boss schedules me on a business trip that week... We have to be at the client's on Monday... The client was in Europe... Had to leave at 5:45pm on SUNDAY from NATIONAL! I at least got to drive past RFK on my way to the airport... Fricken' 2 hour before a flight bull crap! At least, I got to watch it in the airport lounge...
I also took my (then) new girlfriend with me to that game. We even tried to tailgate beforehand amidst the wind and rain. We too are now married and have a baby. We live in TX so I won't be able to attend Saturday's game, but we'll have it on MLS Shootout. Go DC!
I am sad to say I was not a soccer fan in '97. I knew of DC United and pulled for them because they were the local team but apart from that knew pretty much nothing about them. I wish I could've been a part of it all. Sounds awesome. Check out some of the names on those squads. Hahnemann was the Rapids keeper. (Probably hadn't played in a match that big since the Div. 1 playoff in England this past spring), Balboa, Pope, Agoos, Sanneh, Harkes, Etcheverry, Moreno! Must've been an awesome event!! 57,000+. Beautiful.
One of the great things about that game was that because of the rain my son and I were decked out in ponchos and therefore didn't mind the beer showers that were coming from behind and above...
Last night wasn't as crowded, but the atmosphere in the the stadium was almost as exciting as MLS Cup '97.
I wasn't there last night, but the best two matches I ever attended at RFK, atmosphere-wise, were MLS Cup 97 and USA-Portugal in the '96 Olympics. That's pretty high praise. I wish my job didn't require me to work Saturday nights. I miss my season tickets.