The Year In Sports #2
Yeah, so this one is a couple of weeks late...
I went to see a football match at the Oakland Coliseum (or whatever its official name is these days) on March 2. The game was between the under-23 sides from Mexico and Australia. Basically this was a tune-up for the Olympic qualifying matches coming soon. Apparently FIFA and the IOC agreed that only under-23s would be eligible for the Olympics so that fewer conflicts would come up between club matches and international matches.
The entire venue was filled with painted, costumed and generally rabid Mexico fans. i spotted 3 Australian flags and perhaps a half-dozen genuine Aussie fans. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. If only we American "soccer" fans could be so obsessed with our teams... Ah well, that's kind of a pipe dream isn't it?
Lots of fun, despite the fact that Mexico couldn't put a ball in the goal. Their goal came from an own goal from one of the Aussie defenders. And it almost stood as the game-winner. But then in the 87th minute Australia equalized. I couldn't help but celebrate just a little bit... =)
This was a great experience, and I look forward to the next match at the Coliseum. That will be the San Jose Earthquakes v. Chicago Fire on April 12.
I went to see a football match at the Oakland Coliseum (or whatever its official name is these days) on March 2. The game was between the under-23 sides from Mexico and Australia. Basically this was a tune-up for the Olympic qualifying matches coming soon. Apparently FIFA and the IOC agreed that only under-23s would be eligible for the Olympics so that fewer conflicts would come up between club matches and international matches.
The entire venue was filled with painted, costumed and generally rabid Mexico fans. i spotted 3 Australian flags and perhaps a half-dozen genuine Aussie fans. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. If only we American "soccer" fans could be so obsessed with our teams... Ah well, that's kind of a pipe dream isn't it?
Lots of fun, despite the fact that Mexico couldn't put a ball in the goal. Their goal came from an own goal from one of the Aussie defenders. And it almost stood as the game-winner. But then in the 87th minute Australia equalized. I couldn't help but celebrate just a little bit... =)
This was a great experience, and I look forward to the next match at the Coliseum. That will be the San Jose Earthquakes v. Chicago Fire on April 12.
posted by Mike Deitchman at
10:10 PM
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