Game #43- New England Revolution

New England Revolution vs. Houston Dynamo
August 17th, 2011
Gillette Stadium

I am on the east coast for the 2011 Age Group Nationals of Triathlon. The race is actually up in Burlington, VT but I figured not only is the flight to Boston much cheaper, but I could get in a game and explore the scenic New England area by car. What's interesting about the stadium is that it is located in the sleepy little town of Foxborough, MA. I went for a run and bike in the area and it kind of reminds me of the houses and small mom and pop stores around the Charlotte area in NC. One of the pleasant surprises (and this only happened one other time in Phoenix for the Coyotes game) is that parking was free! The second thing I loved about the game is that because the stadium is so huge it really didn't matter where you sat. I was supposed to be behind the goal in "The Fort" but I sat dead center, 3rd row and no one bothered me. The game was fairly unexciting. The only two players on the field I knew where both national team members, Benny Feilhaber of the Revs and Brian Ching on the Dynamo. Despite the relatively unknown teams the play on the field was pretty good. There were a ton of great saves by the Revs keeper Matt Reis making several one arm reaction saves and a couple finger tip blocks. The first goal of the game came from the leg of Ryan Cochrane just before halftime and it remained 1-0 until the 90th minute when Reis made an amazing save which led to a fluke open net goal by Bobby Boswell. The scored ended in a 1-1 tie, but the players started a pretty good brawl at the final whistle. This was definitely good times and I know I will really appreciate the fans and the empty stadium compared to when I come back for a Patriots games!

Game #42-Boston Redsox

Boston Redsox vs. Cleveland Indians
August 2nd, 2011
Fenway Park

While on a business trip to Boston I was able to get in a Redsox game. The flight into the city was completely uneventful until the final 10 minutes when I noticed the heavy rainfall and numerous lightning bolts streaming from the skies. Considering my flight was scheduled to get in at 6pm and the game was at 7pm, I thought for sure it would be called due to weather conditions. But what the heck, let's give it the ole college try. If you have never driven in Boston it is nuts. The last time I was in this city the "Big Dig" was in full swing, now I was meandering through the underground highways trying not to get lost and also thankful I had cash for all the tolls. I managed to find parking and made a mad dash for the ballpark to be met by torrential downpours which did in fact delay the game...for 2 hours! But I made the best of it. Luckily I had my umbrella with me so I trolled around historic Fenway getting pics from every available angel (except the Green Monster, I was not allowed up without a ticket). Not only did I take a ton of cool pics, but I also bought a 100th anniversary brick for Fenway (this is my fifth brick and it states "Chris Costales from San Diego, it's wicked hot!"). Once it hit 9pm the rain finally let up and it was game on. I was able to stay for only a couple of innings because I had a client meeting the following morning, but I did manage to see a homer by Cleveland's Jason Kipnis in the first inning and then a couple of Redsox hits to bring in Kevin Youkilis in the second. The game ended in an exciting 9th inning where pinch runner Jarrod Saltalamacchia rounded the bases and managed to slide head first at home to get the 3-2 win. I wish I could have been there for the final play but it was still a good time to get to the oldest ballpark in the nation.

Quote of the day: For the first pitch of the game, randomly a pregnant lady was given the opportunity. But remember, there was a rain delay for two hours and what else is there to do as a fan (especially in Boston) than to drink. So as the super pregnant lady was on the mound a female behind me says in a thick Boston accent "It would be wicked cool if dat ladies watta broke on da mound". Classic...

Game #41-Portland Timbers

Porland Timbers vs New York Redbulls
June 19th, 2011
Jeld-Wen Stadium

This is my second time in Portland, the first was a whirlwind night at a bar but this time more than made up for it. Me and the guys had our yearly dude trip, and the Rose City was this years destination vacation. The funny thing is that we were expecting bar hopping, frisbee golf and food carts...the rain and gay pride week said otherwise. No worries though, we still crushed it. Probably hit up 10 bars over 2 nights and had one of the cheapest (mind you cheapest, not best) steak dinners ever, $3.50 for a 6oz steak and fries! Well at the tail end of the trip I decided to hit up a Portland Timbers game with my college buddy Pete Oskin. I love the sport of soccer and was amped for this match, not only are the fans great but also one of the most famous players in the world was going to be on the pitch for the opposition...Thiery Henry of the New York Redbulls. A couple months back I went to a game in Seattle and was blown away by the fan base, they came in droves and were jumping the entire game. But Portland...wow, this city is soccer crazy! Everyone knew each team song, 20000 fans in unison screaming Rose City or PT SC...PT SC...PT SC. I especially like going to stadiums where fans love the national anthem. They do crazy things like the Chicago Blackhawks screaming the entire time, the Washington Caps screaming at the top of their lungs everytime the word RED is sung, and in Portland they would make the "PSSSHHHH" sound after each line just like a pair of symbols being smashed together while giving jazz hands...awesome.

As for the game, it started off pretty slow. Poor passing, missteps, blown opportunities, but once the first goal went in it was full speed ahead the rest of the match. The Redbulls tallied the first goal by some spectacular moves and a pass from Henry to Austin Da Luz. After that it was all Portland for the next 35 minutes scoring three goals sending the stadium in a frenzy. What I love about this team is the mascot, Portland Jack. He roams the stadium with a chainsaw and after each goal he makes a 3 inch cut off of a log laying in the home field endzone. But in the 73rd minute Henry put away a goal to cut the lead to 3-2 and the Redbulls tied the game in extra minutes on a penalty kick.

Overall it was a very exciting game. A total of six goals and two penalty kicks...can't get much better than that. I was just hoping for a home win as I wanted to see what the fans would do. Oh well, again great fans, great stadium, great time!

Game#26B-Carolina Hurricanes

I know, I know...I went to a Carolina Hurricanes game already but that hardly counted. When you only see the final few rounds of a OT shootout it shouldn't go toward my goal, but I was not sure if I was going to get back to Raleigh. Well I had my opportunity to make up for the "non-game" by hitting up a Canes vs. Detroit Redwings game. I usually don't have a lot at stake as a Kings fan when I see these games but I hate the Wings. There is nothing better than seeing them lose, well except when the Ducks drop one. Now to the game. First off, I had no clue there are that many Detroit fans in NC. I would say it was about 70% for the away team, but because everyone was wearing red it was hard to tell who was chearing for who until the "Let's go Wings!" chant started. But the Canes had there revenge, Cam Ward was a wall, Jeff Skinner and Derek Joslin scored in the second period and Erik Cole added a goal in the third for the Hurricanes, who beat the Red Wings for the first time since 2006. It felt good to actually cheer on the home team as they took home a 3-0 W. Nothing really exciting tonight, I guess I was a bit annoyed by the people I met at the game. There were about 10 Duke lab rats around me that were not paying attention at all to what was happening on the ice. How to people spend that much money to just talk about work???

Game #40-Charlotte Bobcats

Charlotte Bobcats vs Atlanta Hawks
April 3, 2011
Time Warner Cable Arena

I had to head out to Durham NC for a work trip, so no better way to start the week then with a trip to Charlotte for a basketball game. The city of Charlotte was not too exciting, but I have a feeling it was because I am in the Bible belt and I was going to a Sunday game. Prior to hitting up the arena I did a bit of site seeing checking out the huge plantation houses in the surrounding neighborhoods, and I even ventured to the NASCAR hall of fame for a couple of hours. While there I even bought a fan appreciation brick which states "My NASCAR is a Cervelo P3, Chris Costales". Most people won't get that inside joke but my triathlon bike is a Cervelo P3. This is now my 4th brick which includes Petco Park in San Diego, Staples Center in LA, and the University of MN arberitum. Now unto the game. The Bobcats are fighting for a final spot in the playoffs and were playing the Washington Wizards. This should be an evenly matched game by two struggling teams, but that was hardly the case. Andray Blatche had 25 points and 17 rebounds, Jordan Crawford added 23 points, and rookie John Wall had 18 points to run over the Cats in a lopsided 97-91 defeat of the home team. The Cats were without leading scorer Stephen Jackson and therefore tried to rely on crappy center Kwame Brown and overrated Boris Diaw, which blew up in there face. Unfortunately there are no funny stories at this game, in fact even though both teams nearly hit 100 points it was one of the most boring games I have been to. The fans were barely present, cheerleaders were un-inspirational, and again the players just didn't seem to have any heart. Maybe people were gearing up for a case of the Mondays. The one good thing is that the Time Warner Cable Arena is beautiful. Not a bad seat in the house and is extremely clean. I bet this place was rocking for the NCAA March Madness sweet sixteen games.