The Red and the Black (The blog post in which La Nouvelle Observatrice lets on to the whole wide world just how soccer-ignorant she is)

Ok, maybe soccer-ignorant isn't the word, but soccer-shallow (sadly) for sure. Tonight I went with M to the DC United vs LA Galaxy match over at RFK Stadium. The stadium is just a few minutes walk from my house, about 5 blocks, and yet in my eight years living here, I've never, ever been to a game. Tonight, I finally made it, and I'm sure it will not be another 8 before the next time. We had a blast. Still, my commentary is limited. Here are some of my observations:

RFK is a dump. Seriously, it is a shabby, dilapidated building, with weird stains and strange molds hanging from the structure. There is broken concrete and open, messy wiring. Seats are not well-marked. No one gives a damn. Maybe one day, they'll get a dedicated soccer stadium - too bad the whole country is broke.

The vending in our section sucked. No real fridges, just coolers full of ice and blue Gatorade with the labels slipping off.  It was cash-only, which always pisses me off. M and I got beer - lukewarm and pissy.

The hooligans...er...supporters' clubs... are pretty cool.  Barra Brava is hardcore. Their huge red and black flags, chants and drums are larger than life, and thumpin'. That, my dears, is fandom. They roar and jump and their whole section bounces. The whole stadium vibrates, in fact. A little scary. Is this place structurally sound? Anyway, they're fun to watch, but I'm too old for that.

The regular old fans are an interesting mix. The suburban families, the college (once-college) players, the Euro-urban sports fan elite, the entire Central American population of the greater DC Metro area. The guys in our section were pretty much from the latter group. If I heard "mierda...puta" one more time...

David Beckham (LA Galaxy), like me, is also getting old, but he was there and he played well. At one point there was a big smash-up where two players seemed to smack right into each others' faces. I remember thinking 'Ouch!'.... That, and that would never happen to Beckham. He's a good, hard player and all, but can't really afford to mess up his handsome, chiseled face. Landon Donavan (also LA Galaxy) didn't play. Apparently, he's busy, tired and his knee hurts, and he didn't travel out with the team. I don't recall the name of a single DCUnited player.

Oh yes, I do...Charlie Davies, who scored DCUnited's only goal with a penalty kick which tied the game's final score  of 1-1. That was good. M told me he was in some horrific car accident sometime last year, and is just playing again now.

I bought a DC United fan scarf. It's red and black with DC United and  Addidas logos knitted in.  It's reversible - black side with red or red side with black. I've always wanted one of those scarves.

Really, I should do this sports reporting more often...