Sorry, but I have to say that I am pretty disappointed that there will be no tailgate. We are bringing up two full bus loads (110 people) from Baltimore to Philly, and will not arrive until around 11. By that time I would fully expect that the bar will be full. How many tickets were sold to this event? Over 30,000? And you only want to allow 1800 people to the AO event? The premiere supporters club for the USMNT in the final send off match before the World Cup, and you guys thought that it would be a good idea to make the tail gate "exclusive" and separate from the rest of the fans? I don't get it.
AO tailgates are always "separate" from other tailgates, as far as I know. In fact, this one will be a lot less "exclusive," since AFAIK you won't have to buy a ticket in advance and non-AO members are welcome to come hang out and eat and drink (but won't get the specials AO members do). And has there ever been an AO tailgate ever that has fed as many as 1,800 people? There will be problems with any way a tailgate this size is run. The last time I showed up at an AO tailgate a few hours before the game, I ended up paying the tailgate price for a scoop of black beans and one beer I stood in a separate 45-minute line for. This way at least we know we aren't going to run out of food or beer and can keep a lot more people dry if it rains.
You have a point, though the AO tailgates are also all mixed in with other tail gates, and you can also drink your own beer and eat your own food. How long do you think you will have to wait for a drink and food in a bar with 1800 people?
We did the same for the Union vs DC United match and there was a ton of bartenders. 2 Big bars and plenty of sattalite bars all over the place.
I was there for the tailgate at the first Union game. It was about 5 minutes for a beer and 20-30 minutes for food. This is a bar that's used to serving 30,000 Phillies fans and 60,000 Eagles fans; they know what they're doing. For that matter, how long is the line at the average AO tailgate an hour or so before game time? More than half an hour in my experience.
Any thoughts on how early we should show up to make sure we get in? Ewheatley - 100 people? Sounds like enought to have your own tailgate in the lot if need be.
Yeah I know, but we don't want our own tailgate. We want to hang with fans from across the country in the City of Brotherly Love, not to mention figuring the logistics of bringing everything up on a bus. (Kegs, food, cooking tools, tables etc.) I guess we will shoot for making it to the bar in time.
If it matters to anybody, I'll be in the parking lot before the game with a few other guys who aren't quite able to get into a bar yet, and I know a bunch of other people will be tailgating in the parking lot as well. I consider a good parking lot pre-game tailgate to be an essential part of the experience I'd love to meet up with you fellas before the match for some beers!
I'm with you guys. I was disappointed by a lack of tailgate although I understand why someone wouldn't want to deal with the logistics of such an event. BYOB and BYOGrill/Food works for us in New England because EVERYONE drives to the match. It wouldn't work with the majority of the fans taking trains and coming from far away to watch this match. You can't get a gas grill on a subway train and dragging a cooler through a train station also sucks. With that said, there is something intrinsically American about tailgating. I'm going to miss the opportunity but as long as I get into the bar I probably won't care. Is there anywhere within walking distance of the field to purchase beer if someone happens to not make it into the bar?
Hi, it is still possible to get tickets in the AO section? I won't be able to confirm until about the 22nd, depending on a couple of other factors. Thanks!
For the Union home opener we were told no flag poles longer than 2 ft. Did not look like they enforced that policy though--the SoB section had plenty of flags on poles.
The SoB section had at least 2 - but no more than 3 - large flags on poles. And I believe they had to be approved of and taken in ahead of time due to the heightened security thanks to Biden's participation in the pre-game ceremonies.
Anyone planning to make a day out of it by getting together for the MLS matches that evening? I'm thinking tailgate prior to US game, leave the stadium around 4:30, head back downtown, walk around a bit, get some great food for dinner (and no, I don't mean 'cheeze' steaks). If we had a big crowd together I'd love to meet up to watch the MLS games after dinner. Otherwise I'd just eat and head home to watch. All of the games are late (to avoid overlap w/ nats). I'm mostly interested in the Union@Dynamo game, but it would be nice if we could get someplace with DirectKick to play matches on several screens, maybe with just the sound from the Philly game. 7:30pm: Galaxy @ Columbus and Chivas @ DC 8:00pm: New York @ New England 8:30pm: Philly @ Houston (on Fox Soccer Channel) 9:00pm: Seattle @ Colorado and KC @ RSL 10:00pm: TFC @ San Jose
We should really make an effort to get McFaddens to play some of the other matches as well. I think that would be a great atmosphere... the togetherness of USMNT support + the good natured shit talking of MLS Rivalries. I certainly won't be able to go directly from the game to McFaddens, however because of course I'm 130 lbs and Irish. That amount of time around beer could be 'problematic'. And no offense to McFaddens... but their food is about like you'd expect from a bar or a generic Applebees/Fridays type of chain type restaurant. So I'll be taking the subway back downtown to eat... probably hit Sansom Street Kabob house. Sansom Street between 15th and 16th in Center City. It's not fancy, but I highly recommend it if visitors are looking for a place to eat while in town. Easy walking distance to everything downtown. There is also an Oyster House in the same block that looks good. If you go to the Kabob House try the Qablee Palaw (tender pieces of lamb under a mound of brown rice topped with carrot strips, raisins, and almonds served). By the time I walk around a bit, eat, and ride the train back to the stadium I should be good to go for another round of drinking
Confirmed....McFaddens will have Direct Kick so you can watch the Revs that evening. Just know that the Union will be on the big screen with the sound on.
I brought one into the Union v Dallas game last weekend at Lincoln Financial field w/ no problems. They searched it obviously, but didn't give me any trouble.