Ok, so I've posted all the videos I took from The Great Day and now for my final thoughts. Yeah, I know it's Thursday already, but please indulge me:
I still can't believe that the Cathedral of Football is open for business. It was just incredible to finally experience football here, in this country, as it was meant to be experienced. Perfect sightlines, a real grass pitch and a full roof over all seating, which will come in handy on rainy days. And to top it off, this stadium must have the friendliest staff of any stadium anywhere. As the great You Suck Corrales stated, "no one was busting anyone's balls". I was even high-fiving stadium staff after Dane Richard's superb Golazo and they were as excited as I was. That said...
There are several kinks to be worked out, as was to be expected. The Trolleys from Newark were useless. The massive lines to get into the stadium were moving at a snails pace and the lines at concession stands were not much different. There were a bunch of other things that people were none to happy about, like parking and the traffic within Harrison, but...
I really couldn't care about any of that. I'll park in the Ironbound then I'll head off to RBA earlier by walking and I won't stand in line for over-priced concessions. I'd rather not miss any of the game by doing that anyway. I do, however, have one pet peeve...
I don't know if any of you who went to the game realized but there was NOT A SINGLE WATER FOUNTAIN IN THE PLACE. This one is just ridiculous to me, but it's true. I was never one to stand in line for concessions at Giants Stadium but I did have one ritual. At half-time, and when the game ended, I would walk to the nearest men's restroom and drink about a gallon of water at the water fountain located outside. They had one in front of every restroom at Giants Stadium. But whatever! It's a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things and they will allow you to bring water bottles into the place. I'll just have to remember to always bring one, and keep refilling it in the men's restroom sink.
Well, now that I've vented...
A shout-out to those two guys in the above picture. That's Jose on the left and Rafael on the right. I was standing in the massive line waiting to get in and those guys somehow recognized my voice from my stupid videos. So you see: a camera, a youtube account and a dream is all you need. And one more thing...
Take a look at the above post-game comments video. Very early on, the great Mike Petke refers to Red Bull Arena as a Cathedral (as we here on TVN have been doing every chance we get). Coincidence? I think not, since he follows us on twitter. Ha, ha!
As a matter of fact, let me hit you with this "Cathedral" quote from the great You Suck Corrales, which appeared in this NY Daily News article:
"This is the cathedral of football in America. If I get hit by a bus on Saturday night at 9 p.m. I won't care because I would have lived to see this stadium."My feelings exactly! Well, almost... I'd actually like to live as long as I can to witness many, many, many Red Bulls games at the Cathedral of Football.
In conclusion, let me leave you off with this great quote, from this post, by the great Shawn Francis, of The Offside Rules and MLS Insider Blog fame:
"As for the building itself there is nothing I can say that hasn't already been said other than there is no way this building gets built without Red Bull; for all of the stick they have taken over the years for everything from the name to the play on the field to revolving coaches you can't deny that they have done something truly special in building this stadium".Nuff said, thank you!
In other Red Bulls news:
The club officially announced the signing of draft picks Tim Ream, Irving Garcia and Conor Chinn.
There is an English striker by the name of Luke Rodgers, currently playing for Notts County (the team formerly coached by one Hans Backe), who is rumored to be on the verge of signing with RBNY. If he does sign, he'll be coming in the summer.
Former Red Bulls midfielder Dave Van Den Bergh has been waived by FC Dallas. RBNY would have first dibs on DVB, as per the current waiver rules.
Posts
