Christmas Card insert 2007...

I have come to the age where many of my friends are married with kids and send out Christmas Cards with an insert updating everybody on what they are up to...Well seeing as how I'm not married and don't have any kids, my Christmas card insert would be centered entirely on me and my dog Rocky...I'm not sure if everybody would find the humor in me sending this out in an actual Christmas card so I will just blog about it here.


Dearest Family and Friends,

2007 was an exciting year for Rocky and I. We spent a lot of time out and about and as usual we both went the entire year without girlfriends. 2007 could very well go down as the Year of Travel as an unprecedented amount of new cities and new stadiums/arenas were crossed off of my “To Visit” List.

My journey began and ended with Georgetown wins at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ and at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, VA respectively. Both venues were firsts for me. Sandwiched in between those Georgetown victories I took in games for the first time at the following venues (in chronological order): The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, The Comcast Center in College Park, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC, The Georgia Dome in Atlanta, The Pepsi Center in Denver, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver, BMO Field in Toronto, PGE Park in Portland, Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC, and Toyota Park in Chicago.

I continue to play competitive sports even though my days may be numbered. The Donkies won two championships in Montgomery County while FC Dynamite just missed out on winning the League in Fairfax County. The KG Vets made the final four in the Vienna Men’s Basketball League only to lose once again to One on One Basketball. Next year we will beat them I swear.

For the first time since I was in school I took a vacation that lasted longer than a 4 day weekend. Brendan and I went on a cross country trip that saw us drive back home from Portland, Oregon with numerous stops in the middle. Our biggest achievement might be the fact that we are still great friends after so much “quality time” together.

Each and every year the Barra Brava experience in Lot 8 gets better and better and 2007 was no exception. I was able to get more friends than ever before to actually become official members. The tailgates continue to be my selling point – but hopefully I have converted some of them into actual DC United fans by accident. I even got some press in the Washington Post in their article covering the best supporters group in MLS.

As of this writing I plan on attending two more Georgetown games and one more Redskins game. Those three games will push my final yearly total of games attended up to an even 60! The scary part is that it could have easily been more.

Rocky made some great strides by the time of his last checkup earlier in the month. He lost over 20 pounds throughout the year with the help of a new diet and more activity thanks to his roommates. He also had his teeth cleaned. If he doesn’t meet a nice Chocolate Lab in 2008 he can’t use the tired old excuse about stained teeth. He’s ready to knock them off their paws!

I hope everybody has as much to be thankful for in 2007 as Rocky and I do. We want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a great start to 2008.

Lucky #14

As we head into final stretch of 2007, it looks as though I have gone on my last sports related roadtrip. (Anybody interested in going to Memphis on Saturday? Just say the words and I'll gas up the truck!) A few weeks ago I headed down to Norfolk to watch Georgetown take on ODU. This trip was planned the minute I walked out of Georgetown's on campus, high school sized gym completely dumbfounded by their upset loss last season (Nov 19, 2006...not like I remember or anything). Not wanting my career record against the Monarchs to stand at 0-1 for who knows how long, I natrually had to see the Hoyas avenge the loss in person.


Luckily all is right with the world as the Hoyas rewarded my three and a half hour trip with an easy victory over their CAA foe. Lady Luck showed her face again seeing as how I had a friend to go to the game with. I won't even point out the fact that she was rooting for ODU...hey beggars can't be choosers right? Way too many Georgetown road games turn into solo missions! It turns out that ODU has a really nice arena but very little parking options for sold out events. Seriously though I imagine it is a tough place for conference foes to come in and take home a win.

So here is a list of all of the games that I saw outside of the Metro DC Area in '07:

Jan 19 - Georgetown @ Seton Hall - Hoya Hoop Club Bus Trip

Feb 17 - Georgetown @ Villanova - Hoya Hoop Club Bus Trip

March 15 - Georgetown vs. Belmont - NCAA Tournament

March 23 - Georgetown vs. Vanderbilt - NCAA Tournament

March 31 - Georgetown vs. Ohio State - Final Four

April 6 - Dallas Mavericks @ Denver Nuggets - AI with the Nuggets!

April 7 - DC United @ Colorado Rapids - United Season Opener

May 19 - DC United @ Toronto FC - United first trip to Canada

Aug 11 - Vancouver WhiteCaps @ Portland Timbers - Cross Country Trip

Aug 13 - Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers - Cross Country Trip

Aug 16 - Miami Dolphins @ Kansas City Chiefs - Cross Country Trip

Aug 18 - Louisville Indians @ Durham Bulls - Cross Country Tip

Oct 25 - DC United @ Chicago Fire - Playoff Game #1

Nov 28 - Georgetown @ Old Dominion - Too close to pass up

let's not do that again...

You know how sometimes, even when you know something probably won't be that great, you still have this curiosity inside of you that makes you show up and experience it first hand? Well that was me last Sunday.

The pros and cons of the situation weighed heavily in the favor of not showing up. I mean just check out the negatives.

United wasn't playing.

None of my friends were going with me - and when I say friends I mean friends that I didn't meet through DC United/Barra Brava.

I couldn't drink because I had a game at 2:30pm. This would mark only the second time I have been to United game and stayed off the sauce. The last time was in 2004 and the home opener fell during Lent. I gave up alcohol that year for Lent. Lost about 8 pounds in 40 days. Weird.

The game was at noon so the tailgate was super early - think 8am.

The positives were that I could see some of the guys I won't be seeing until March and support Duff's Breast Cancer Raffle. The bed of my truck turned out to serve as the stage for this event.

So I get to Safeway at about 7:30am and I'm out of there in a flash. It was great. I spent about, oh, I don't know, $80 less than I usually do for a tailgate - now that's something I could get used to!

Roll into Lot 8 at about 8:30 and I'm the second truck in the Barra section. The other truck is some guy I don't know so I grab my iPod and go for a little walk. I mean it's not like I had anything to set up. All I had on me was doughnuts, Gatorade, and some tortillas.

So I'm walking along the Anacostia listening to the playlist I talked about in my last blog and just checking out what some of the real early tailgaters are up to. I was also thinking about how my friends and I used to hang out in those spots years ago. I get to the end and I'm going to make my way towards the Eagles/Supporters tailgate and head up towards the stadium when I first get that feeling. That feeling of bitterness/jealousy reared its ugly head. A huge bus of Houston fans rolled in and began to unload all of their stuff and I got salty.

Making matters worse, they had dudes wearing "the uniform". Guys around the ages of me and my friends with their jerseys and camo shorts. I mean c'mon. Is nothing sacred anymore??? That is the official uniform of the KP/LB chapter of La Barra Brava. That was a real shot to the ol' solar plexus. No respect at all. Just showing up in our house like that. At that very moment I was seriously surprised not to see a bunch of my old girlfriends with them playing a rousing game of "How hard can you kick Rocky".

I quickly sent a text to Mike Terry telling him that he had better get there soon because I already hated it.

Mike got there and we made our world famous breakfast burritos. Everybody had the same sort of look to them. The "Hey what's up man, nice to see you, this is weird, what are we really doing here" look was all over the place. Usually you associate that particular spot with all kinds of craziness. Not so much this time. Just some moderate drinking, a few random grills going, and zero excitement for the game. The raffled raised a bunch of money for a great cause - of course I didn't win anything.

I actually had two game tickets from a girl at work that I was going to try and sell for her since I wasn't going to the game. I tried for about 20 minutes but as I expected, it was a major buyers market. Tons of United fans were stuck with tickets so it wasn't that great. I seriously couldn't give them away for free.

I'm glad that is all behind us. Its a short offseason for United so no need to worry.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I hope everybody has a wonderful holiday. Please don't worry about going back for seconds or thirds - especially when it comes to PUMPKIN PIE. How good is that dessert? Just typing that makes me hungry.

Should be a great weekend followed closely by a mid week trip down to Norfolk. I have some unfinished business with ODU I need to get out of my system. More on that next time...

lateR brah

galvanize almost got us to the promised land...

It's hard to believe that it is finally here. Yeah I know they had a game last weekend against (looks like) William & (plays like) Mary, but for me, Tonight is opening night baby!

Hoyas vs Michigan. 2007 - 2008 is here my friends.

It's a long winding road to San Antonio but this team should have a very good shot at getting there. As most of you know last season's campaign went quite well, resulting in a Final Four appearance in Atlanta. Talk about a long drive when you are going Han style. Luckily D'Arcy and Holston live in the ATL so I had friends in the area. The ride down was awesome. The ride back - not so much.

Now that is HD: So I was at the Verizon Center the other night to check out AI and the Nuggets and I was very impressed with the new scoreboard and jumbotron. It is incredible. Huge upgrade from the previous one.

Is it wrong?: So what I do with my tickets is basically just open them up for all friend requests. I have 2 really good seats and I try and mix it up with who goes to the games with me. 16 home games means I get in everybody who wants to go at least once and some might go more than that. The system isn't exactly scientific but it has worked fairly well for the past four years.

So sometimes I make the invite and sometimes I get requests.

Now lets just say hypothetically that i could remember who was at what game and if that game was a win. Would it be wrong for me to factor that into if i wanted them to go with me or not the next year? I mean obviously i couldn't possibly remember something like that. No chance I remember that Adam was with me at the Villanova loss last year. It's not like I would hold that against him this year. That would be crazy right? Or that Baker was in attendance as Georgetown lost their first game on campus in 20 something years. Certainly I would invite him back for this years game on campus....OR WOULD I?

Intro music: I was trying to think of the best intro songs they have used since I have been going and I came up with this list:

Best: Here Comes the Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze 1995 -96
Worst: Fantasy (the ODB version) - Mariah Carey 1996 - 97

Top 4: Here Comes the Hotstepper, Galvanize - Chemical Brothers 2006 - 07, #1 - Nelly 2001 - 02, & Down Bottom - Ruff Ryders 2005 - 06

I'm going to try and guess this year's song....I hope it is I Get Money - 50 Cent. I hope they don't go with Crank dat Soulja Boy even though I thought it was cool for Midnight Madness. That song is going to be lame in about 10 minutes. 50+Justin's Ayo Technology Instrumental version wouldn't be too bad for layup lines.

Well whatever it is...I'll be finding out in a few hours.

Remember...it's not where you start...it's where you finish.

worst tailgate ever??? mix tape edition

Really?: So yeah there is this some soccer game at RFK this weekend. This usually means great things. It means I will be getting together with lots of friends and heading out early to take full advantage of one of the better tailgating scenes around. Inside the stadium you get to experience the Barra and some pretty good socer.

The twist this weekend? United is on vacation and so is most of the Barra. No chance I get there super early (if at all - we will get to that later) to make breakfast burritos for the masses. No this will be a really werid situation. Ticket prices will keep all of my closer friends away. The game starting at noon will also be a major factor into the no-shows. Basically I wouldn't even ask people to go. That's how bad this could end up being.

So if my team loses a playoff game on Saturday morning - a win means we play during MLS Cup 2007 - I will roll into Lot 8 about 2 hours before kickoff to support Duffman's Breast Cancer Raffle, see some of the Barra members who got stuck with MLS Cup tickets, and try and scalp a ticket for myself well under face value ($40!). I might drink a few Coronas along the way but I'm not rolling in with all of my usual stuff. If you don't know what I mean that you should seriously consider rolling to a game next year before everything changes.

Last time: I think the last time I was at RFK for a soccer match that didn't include United or the US national team it was 1999. That game featured Brazil vs Ecuador. It was in the fall on a weeknight and I drove back home after classes just to see the Samba Boys. I went back to Harrisonburg after the match. From what I can remember I was sorta tired the next day. Weird. Sorta shocking that the ol' Dodge Aires could handle so many miles in just one day.

I have come up with a list of sad/depressing songs and/or song titles that I will blast out of my iPod should this nightmare tailgate actually happen. Here we go:

Can't Believe United Blew it Side
Say It Ain't So - Weezer
Brick - Ben Folds Five
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John & Mary J. Blige
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
Yesterday - The Beatles
Cry In The Sun - Better Than Ezra
November Rain - Guns N' Roses
I Miss You - Blink 182
Straightjacket Feeling - All American Rejects
A Long December - Counting Crows
I Can't Be With You - The Cranberries
Hurt - Johnny Cash
Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
As I Choke - Ross Copperman

Why Does The Game Start at Noon? Side
Pain - Jimmy Eat World
For Reasons Unknown - The Killers
Disappointment - The Cranberries
Everybody Hurts - R.E.M
Stab My Back - All American Rejects
Trouble No More - The Allman Brothers Band
Broken Hearts Parade - Good Charlotte
Times Like These - Foo Fighters
Land of Confusion - Genesis
Cry Me a River - Justin Timberlake
Disarray - Lifehouse
Loser - Beck
Here Without You - 3 Doors Down
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

All She Wrote....

Well in the past 7 days at least 3 things very near and dear to me have gone away for, at the very least, the foreseeable future. So here we go in no particular order of importance:

1. Pumpkin Delights - Man I really do love those 100 calorie a pop, smiling as I eat them, pumpkin treats. I can't exactly be surprised since they get me every fall only to leave until next year - but I must say it doesn't get any easier. It's pure snack food bliss for a good six weeks. Luckily for me real pumpkin pies are still in mid season form until the end of the year. You know one of these years I will probably find somebody else that likes them, but until then, its all me baby!

2. Fever Pitch - After reading the first chapter of a book there are exactly 2 reasons to flip to the back and check out the tiny number on the last page. You either can't wait to get there or hope to put it off for as long as possible. Well if I had my say in the matter this book would be longer than War & Peace. I really delayed the inevitable as long as humanly possible but eventually it had to come to an end. The movie, while documenting a fan of a sport that doesn't really get me going at all, is pretty damn funny. Luckily the book follows a supporter of a team that I actually follow - Arsenal. For as many laughs you get with the big screen version, you get just as many in the book as well as some actual serious issues. I'd really like to read something similar written by a fan following Georgetown Basketball but it's probably up to me to put the pen to paper. No need to check your local Barnes & Noble anytime soon.

3. United - Complaining about anything in this third section would be a complete waste of time. Every season is different and always ends well. (reader note: If I had been asked to write this last Thursday Night when I first got home it might look a little different!)

Actually I lied...I'm not going to touch on all 3 subjects today. I need to get out of here and I need to dedicate an entire blog to all things related to United. Look for it tomorrow...

Until then....

packed saturday...i know

I'm not sure what makes me a bigger loser...posting a blog on a Friday Night at 7pm-ish or what I am about to admit to my dedicated readers.

I have nothing to do tomorrow. Just for reference - tomorrow is a Saturday. Typically a day full of stuff.

It seems like the last month or so has seen me with a schedule sorta like this:

Friday

5pm: Go spend way more than I anticipate for the tailgate. Free advice: Don't shop for a tailgate on an empty stomach. Bad idea.

7:30pm: Soccer game.

10pm: A few beers with the team. Hopefully the destination is Red Robin so I can get a banana milkshake on the way out.

Saturday

6am: Get up to watch the Arsenal game.

9am: Drive to Germantown for my game. Nothing like hitting 270 spur traffic on a Saturday morning.

12pm: Get back and pack up the truck. By the way, big brick to shower after my game because after packing up the truck I am soaked.

1:00pm: Leave for the tailgate - unless Adam is taking forever to find my house.

3:30pm: Try and watch some of the latest Notre Dame ass kicking while making a chicken for Will Chang.

4:15pm: Listening to Baker taunt his beer pong opponents. This is usually coupled with some sort of dance and song with Bui.

5:30pm: Change the channel to CBS for good after stating that I am no longer a fan of Notre Dame.

5:34pm: Switching back to NBC just to make sure the Irish didn't errupt for 3 points.

6:00pm: Bitter that all of the limes are gone for the beer.

7:15pm: Bragging about how great the spot I picked out for the TV is because you can't see a glare.

7:30pm: Packing up and finishing my last beer of the day. I mean somebody has to drive.

11:00pm: Pass out.

This week you ask? No game tonight, Saturday morning game is going to be non existent thanks to the rain, United was last night, Arsenal plays Sunday morning, and Notre Dame is idle.

What I should do is meet up with Danny and some of my other JMU friends for homecoming because this is about the first year that I have been able to attend for various reasons. Most of them rhyme with "delighted". This is an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. I mean even if its not that much fun, I know eating at D-Hall would be worth the drive. I think the football game might be sold out, but let's be honest here...I went to less than 5 games in 4 fall semesters in Harrisonburg so that's not really a problem.

Alright I'm going to go figure all this out while I'm running at Gold's.

Real quick (for games that matter):

Redskins 27 - Patriots 19
Arsenal 2 - Liverpool 1
Oregon 34 - USC 31
Penn State 17 - OSU 15
Idle 8 - Notre Dame 6 (Irish cover at home!)
Arizona State 42 - Cal 27


This now concludes my relationship with the interent until Monday morning at work.

lateR