Testosterone-laden day
Saturday was surely a happy day for Stvn as there were 2 soccer matches and one of them was between Barcelona versus Chivas. In the morning we caught G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra which I wasn't too keen on but since i lost a bet i had to comply. To my surprise it was pretty good and I'm kinda hooked! I can't wait for the sequel.
The match was held at Candlestick Park. I kept thinking that we were going towards the south and I brought along a thin jacket. When we arrived, we noticed people carrying blankets with them. It didn't take us too long to discover how windy it was there. Poor Stvn forgot his jacket and he ended up buying a Barca scarf to keep himself warm. As he put it, our tolerance level for cold temperature reached a new height after that evening. We arrived early and caught the earlier game between Columbus vs Earthquakes. Poor guys! Majority of the people weren't there to watch them play so there were non-stop streams of people walking in and out while the game was going on.
When the Night of the Champions started, the atmosphere switched drastically. It was super charged as everyone was in high energy! Once again we were thoroughly impressed with the fans from the Mexican club, Chivas. They are undeniably passionate. Barca's fans weren't too shabby either. The game itself was pretty awesome. It's such a great opportunity to see one of the best soccer clubs played live. Amazing skills and great teamwork. Messi or No 10 was unstoppable. He was such a joy to watch as he tried to score several times. I have to say that the opposing goalkeeper did a fabulous job in blocking him. The funniest experience of the night was when Messi was chasing after the ball, everyone would start to stand in anticipation of a goal. It was almost automatic and we spontaneously stood up numerous times! Sadly he was substituted in the second half. The game continued to be exciting as Chivas seemed to get their act together and they scored the first goal. The whole stadium broke into huge cries and cheers while the Chivas fans once again released the smoke bombs. Amazing fans, they were! In the end, Barca didn't disappoint their fans by equalizing. We were hoping for more goals but no such luck.
At the end of the game, everyone was still in high spirit. We survived the cold wind! The next challenge was to find our car in the large car park and trying to get out. It took us close to 20 minutes to search for the car and another hour waiting to get out of the car park. When we got home, it was past midnight! Still, we are not complaining as it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see them perform. Now, on to pictures!
A staunch and cheerful fan
We were surprised to find that people actually do BBQ at games like this. They come early to set up and hang out with friends. That way, you avoid the crowd and get strategic place (where you can BBQ happily). We agreed that it's a neat idea as they are assured of food while they wait to get out of the car park after the match, which usually takes forever.
The queue started forming long before the gates opened.
Enthusiastic fan!
It was a humongous stadium and it was almost full!
Warming up
No 10 was doing his magic. There was a fan with banner that said, "Messi is Harry Potter!"
4 versus 1!
Hit the post
Chivas scored the first goal.
They finally scored. Hurray!
Excellent game. It was great fun!
The match was held at Candlestick Park. I kept thinking that we were going towards the south and I brought along a thin jacket. When we arrived, we noticed people carrying blankets with them. It didn't take us too long to discover how windy it was there. Poor Stvn forgot his jacket and he ended up buying a Barca scarf to keep himself warm. As he put it, our tolerance level for cold temperature reached a new height after that evening. We arrived early and caught the earlier game between Columbus vs Earthquakes. Poor guys! Majority of the people weren't there to watch them play so there were non-stop streams of people walking in and out while the game was going on.
When the Night of the Champions started, the atmosphere switched drastically. It was super charged as everyone was in high energy! Once again we were thoroughly impressed with the fans from the Mexican club, Chivas. They are undeniably passionate. Barca's fans weren't too shabby either. The game itself was pretty awesome. It's such a great opportunity to see one of the best soccer clubs played live. Amazing skills and great teamwork. Messi or No 10 was unstoppable. He was such a joy to watch as he tried to score several times. I have to say that the opposing goalkeeper did a fabulous job in blocking him. The funniest experience of the night was when Messi was chasing after the ball, everyone would start to stand in anticipation of a goal. It was almost automatic and we spontaneously stood up numerous times! Sadly he was substituted in the second half. The game continued to be exciting as Chivas seemed to get their act together and they scored the first goal. The whole stadium broke into huge cries and cheers while the Chivas fans once again released the smoke bombs. Amazing fans, they were! In the end, Barca didn't disappoint their fans by equalizing. We were hoping for more goals but no such luck.
At the end of the game, everyone was still in high spirit. We survived the cold wind! The next challenge was to find our car in the large car park and trying to get out. It took us close to 20 minutes to search for the car and another hour waiting to get out of the car park. When we got home, it was past midnight! Still, we are not complaining as it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see them perform. Now, on to pictures!
A staunch and cheerful fan
We were surprised to find that people actually do BBQ at games like this. They come early to set up and hang out with friends. That way, you avoid the crowd and get strategic place (where you can BBQ happily). We agreed that it's a neat idea as they are assured of food while they wait to get out of the car park after the match, which usually takes forever.
The queue started forming long before the gates opened.
Enthusiastic fan!
It was a humongous stadium and it was almost full!
Warming up
No 10 was doing his magic. There was a fan with banner that said, "Messi is Harry Potter!"
4 versus 1!
Hit the post
Chivas scored the first goal.
They finally scored. Hurray!
Excellent game. It was great fun!