US Soccer Road Trip

I thought about buying tickets to the United States World Cup qualifying game against Mexico in Columbus, OH, but I was reluctantly deterred by the distance of the drive, the cost of traveling, and the lack of any decent place to sleep. But when Kelly overheard Joel, a friend from church, mention on Sunday that he was going, it was soon disclosed that he had an extra ticket.

And when opportunity knocks twice, you don't bolt the door.

Instead, I hopped in a car at 9:30 on Wednesday morning and Joel and I endured the worst rainstorm either of us had ever driven through. But, bolstered by our love for soccer, the prospect of 3rd row seats, and a couple of Wendy's burgers, we pressed on through the gale until we reached the stadium an hour before kick-off.



In the middle of pre-game warmups, the skies broke open and drenched everything in sight. A loose poncho got caught in the fierce wind and sailed across the field, soaring over the stadium and out of view.

The slick field and harsh winds made for an unpredictable game. Each team had several chances before the US team scored from a corner kick right before half time. Even though there was a large majority of Mexicans in our section, the cheer of USA! USA! filled the air, and I smiled.

The US team held on until, with one minute to play, Michael Bradley scored his second goal to clinch the victory. After scoring, he rushed straight to the corner where we were waving our flag, and the whole team piled on in celebration! In the excitement, I dropped my camera, but I was able to grab it in time to catch the players walking back on the field.

After staying in Cincinnati at Joel's sister's place, we woke up at 5:00AM and headed back to St. Louis so I could make it to class on time.

PS: Since our camera broke, I could only take stills from our handy Flip! camcorder. Here is one from after the game.