The Red Bulls home opener had all the makings of a disaster: torrential rain, heavy winds, 4 cases of beer, 8 soccer starved fanatics and 1 vertically challenged alcoholic who couldn't resist an afternoon of drinking regardless of how wet or miserable he might get. However, as I expect from the season ticket holders for every less than perfect day this season, we made the best of it.
The new canopy was put to the test early this season. After realizing that we would be running all over the parking lot trying to stay under the tent as the wind had its way, we wised up as a group and tied the tent down to our vehicles, which amazingly were heavy enough to withstand what must have been tropical storm-force wind gusts at the least. Once we had the tent stabilized, it managed to actually keep us rather dry. Unfortunately, no one was smart enough to put a poncho on before attempting to erect the tent, so although we were out of the rain for most of the tailgate, we were all soaked through and numb by the time we put the ponchos on and went into the game.
The soccer circle was a dismal failure. It became quite evident after the first
attempt that there would be a lot of misses and a lot of stray balls. The close quarters of the 10x10 tent along with
everyone's desire to stay under the tent rather than chase a soccer ball in the pouring rain ended the juggling attempt almost before it began. Since grilling in a monsoon was just not an option, that just left some good
ol' fashion rainy day drinking. Three or four shotguns and several cases later it was time to head in.
There were very few fans as brave as us. With full run of the front row and no children in sight, we quickly began a tirade of taunts and jeers that were sure to have Carlos Ruiz, Kenny Cooper, Arturo Alvarez and the entire Dallas bench crying by the time they got back to the locker room. The Red Bulls played a great match as Clint Mathis made his triumphant return to Giant's Stadium. Mathis controlled the game perfectly, making a great assist on the first goal of the game, a header by Josmer Altidore. Mathis beat Dallas keeper Shaka Hislop from 8 yards out for the second goal of the game, continuing his career long domination of the Dallas squad. Dave van den Bergh added a humiliating third goal in second half stoppage time to complete the 3-0 victory.
With numb feet and beer filled stomachs, we made our way back to the cars and left the Meadowlands, quite content with an opening day win and a Monday morning hangover.
Man of the Match: The chick from the only other group in the parking lot. She ran clear across the parking lot to a lone port a john rather than use the one 30 feet away, and right next to us. Feeling the need to whether that storm for her own privacy, she must have done nothing short of dominate that toilet with what one can only imagine was one of the most foul and rancid acts any of us would have ever seen peformed by a female.
Next Match: Saturday, April 21st at 7:30 pm vs. Columbus Crew
Tailgating will start no later than 3pm.
