My favorite Landon moment is an off-the-pitch moment (sorry!). This past summer I went out to SJ for my (22nd) birthday. I went to check out the scene, since I am hoping to move there after I finish school next summer. But more importantly, I went out there to watch the Quakes (read: Landon) play. Unfortuantely, as I was on the train going to breakfast (at IHOP. YUM!) I opened the paper to find a bit of information that had escaped the Columbus media- Landon had been suspended for the game! The entire week beforehand I had been praying (praying!!lol) that I would get to meet Landon. So I got to the game late and they were already playing the anthem as I walked through the gate. I thought "Screw being patriotic, I am going to be in my seat for kickoff." I'm walking to my seat, and who do I see being patriotic but Landon. He apparently had just gotten done at the concession stand when they started playing the anthem he stopped in his tracks like the good American that I am not. So I immediately wheel around to pretend to be paying attention to the anthem but make sure that I can still see him (read: check him out) out of the corner of my eye. The anthem ends and all kinds of little kids come running up to get autographs so he signs the posters that were handed out for all these kids. (He was so nice to the little kids!) And as he was walking up to his suite he bumped into me and he turned around to say he was sorry. All I could squeak out was "uh yeah". I was so shocked and stunned. I was just staring at him, mouth agape, trying to make my mouth form words. He just kind of gave me a funny look like "OK you are how old? What is wrong with you?" Then he turned around and I haven't been that close to him since. Not my finest moment, but definitely my most entertaining vacation memory if you ask any of my friends. And definitely my favorite memory of Landon. Sorry that was so long winded, but the details make the story better, according to those that have heard it.
LD,the Quakes, and Club Quake made themselves readily available for the Make-A-Wish foundation and the young girl who was able to get out on the field and spend time with the players...
... with Wee "Crazy" Man running through the tunnel towards the field for the celebration! That's seared into our memories forever. I remember Landon's first End of the Year Party too -- how this 18-yr-old kid, too young to (legally) have a cocktail, was such a great ambassador for the team, the league, the sport.
I've only been to San Jose once. I live in Mexico city, but i've been a quakes fan for quite a while now. Last July I went to San Jose when the quakes played New England revolution. Around the 89th minute, i remember i was sitting there (sad, cause i've come from so far to see my quakes play and i was going to see them lose) then a man with his son left and as he was leaving he smiled at me and he said "i can't take this anymore" i laughed and kept watching the game, until the 90 something minute when Landon scored and made it a 2-1 , it was awesome!! I knew i wouldn't leave the Spartan without seeing some action from my quakes!!! Also in February 2004, the olympic's qualifier was held in Guadalajara (which is 3 hour drive from where i live) and i begged my parents to take me. I went to see the U.S match against Honduras. I was hoping I could meet Landon, but as the game ended, the U.S team went to their hotel and so did I, and didn't get the chance to meet him then. So i got into a cab, got to my hotel and while my dad was talking to the hotel's manager, i noticed a bus stopped infront of the hotel's entrance, when i looked, i saw Bobby Convey and Logan Pause entering the hotel, and then i saw Landon. I was shocked cause he was actually staying at the same hotel. I asked for pen and paper to the front desk lady, and asked Landon for his autograph. I was wearing a quakes jersey and he said "i like your shirt" and i laughed and then my dad took a picture with me and Landon. He was awesome, he even spoke to my dad in spanish, i'll remember that moment forever, it was great, and he's a very humble person, and a very nice guy. Goodbye and Good luck Landon!! Go quakes!!
another one of my favorite moments was when LD scored 4 goals against Cuba in the Gold Cup last year. that moment sticks out because that was the first time i participated in Sam's Army, and have been here in New England ever since that day.
This has come up time and again (the word 'humble'), and it's one of the reasons I'm so sad to see him go, yet happy for him to have this opportunity on the world stage.
So many... -a blistering run without the ball against Wales that left the crowd in awe of his speed -a soft trap of a keepr's 60 yard clearnce kick, it was as if he caught it with a glove. -turning a bad pass from a teammate into a useful play I was at a Quakes practice during the 2003 playoffs. They were scrimmaging. LD was at the top of the box as the ball was being brought towards him. He took about three steps away from the goal. Just before the through pass was made, he spun around and accelerated past two defenders and toe poked the ball past Onstad. Dwight Chapin, the writer from the Chronicle, was sitting in front of me and turned to me and just shook his head. Everytime I watched him, I had the feeling that I was going to see something really special. How do we get German soccer on TV?
As a non Quake supporter, all I have to say is Donovan is class. The one game at the dreaded Southlake, LD had two nice goals(one I got a picture of right as the ball left his foot). My roommate at the time and I had decided it would be worth a shot to try to get out FIFA 2003 covers signed by him after the game. We waited as there was a line for the players to come out. Most player were on the bus, but when Donovan came out, everyone seemed to be pressing hard to get him to sign something. Lucky for me and my roommate, we were able to get the cover signed. When I was leaving I yelled hey Landon and to my suprise, he looked up. Good game. Thanks. Granted this is the day and age when players in different sports put on their head phones to their cd players as they walk by the crowd or say they will only sign two more autographs when there are just four people around. This is one area where MLS has those other leagues beat. There are some things money can't buy: class acts.
Can't speak for you guys back home, but I might be able to get live games on the TG1 pr Deutzewelt (sp?) channels over here, on my Foxtel satellite TV service. But I'll have to look into it. As for the memories-- too many to count. I'll have to check back in later tonight to brainstorm them.
I'm not even reading anybody else's posts before typing: World Cup 2002, Mexico, goal off the defender's face followed by smile and shoulder shrug.
Portugal, not Mexico.... the Mexico goal was his 55 yard run down the middle of the field to get on the end of an Eddie Lewis cross.... just another world class LD moment...
My favorite Landon moment was the brilliant 30-yard pass, right to Adu's feet for the winning goal of the World Cup 2006. Oh wait, you mean in the past? Aside from all his great moments on the field, I'd have to say it was the marathon Shake with the Quakes session where he was only "supposed" to be there for a short time but instead stayed all day.
Wow, I'm reading these and getting all emotional. Being in Texas, I never thought I'd ever meet him. But when I won that trip to MLS Cup 2002, I met him and some of the other Quakes and it was the best weekend of my life. He was so polite and nice to everyone vying for his time, and it made me really happy that in this day a sports star would go and talk to his fans and not make it seem like a big waste of time. My favorite moment was the first MLS game I ever went to, back in 2002 in Dallas. Landon came out of the locker room after halftime and nailed a shot from I think Ian Russell, not 10 seconds into the second half. I had literally just gotten back into the stands with my drink when I saw that goal, and almost spilled it all over the place jumping up and down. What a wonderful first game for me. Also, the US vs Mexico game last April. He totally dominated the field the whole time and nailed an awesome shot off the crossbar that I thought for sure was a goal. Like everyone else here said, I'm just happy that such a humble player graced us with his talent these last 4 years. I know every time they have played in Dallas, we stay and wait outside the bus and he is always so nice to the people standing around there. Pure class.
Oh, I could have sworn it was Mexico. Either way, it was a player from a team that thought we would not win and that player's indignation symbolized it all.
I was at the USA v. Panama game last month and when he came sprinting back into defense to get the ball away from the attacker and then Bocanegra sent it out off him that solidified how great of a player he was. He sets such an example. Hatrick in KC OT Goal against KC in the playoffs in 2003 Any goal/assist/damage done on the Galaxy and his assist on the Faria golden goal in playoffs 2003 gosh i miss him already
and one more.. this one is definitely one of the more memorable but least flattering moments... who can forget the game against NE this year when he completely when balistic on the refs and assistants and the the Quakes ended up scoring 2 goals in OT with a man down to tie it. the last 15 minutes of that game were great.
One of my favorites is the MLS All Star game when Landon pulled off his jersey after scoring to reveal a black sports bra (which he had grabbed from the previous goal scorer). It was too hilarious. Another favorite is a game I watched on TV last year (2003) when I saw Landon sprint diagonally up the field to get under a 30-yard chip coming from behind his right shoulder, with a defender close on his left. He was on a dead run, but just as the ball came down, with his left foot he stepped just inside where it was going to land, then still in mid-stride, he swung his right foot around and back-heeled a perfect pass to the teammate following up behind him, who then took a shot. About 20 minutes later, he repeated the feat. I couldn't believe he did that once, much less twice in a game. Since he had his back to the ball, I figured he was using bat radar to sense where it was landing.
Far too many to mention here, and what everyone else said. 2001 ASG, 2001 and 2003 MLS Cups, hat trick, home and home series against LA, the game winning goal against KC to get into 2003 MLS Cup, etc. The one that gets a laffer here is after this year's Shake with the Quakes, when I had him sign one of his bobbleheads--the one that was for sale before the SGA in September. He noted that he didn't have any of that version at home, when I would have thought that he could have received a case for him to give to his family and buddies. Anything mentioned on the pitch between 2000 and now would obviously be noted, but this was too amusing. Or, chatting with him in the elevator in Columbus during the 2001 MLS Cup weekend. I'm not into the fame bit, and they're just regular folk to me, but just the goings on makes things interesting especially since in Europe, every move would have been on the tabs. As the cliche goes, good luck to him.