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The past few weeks I’ve been in soccer heaven. USMNT World Cup qualifying kicked off and Euro 2012 has been a steady IV drip of delicious soccer (did anyone else get a little depressed on the one day break?) Plus, I’ve been reliving the daily 10 year anniversaries of the 2002 World Cup, which was the best World Cup trip ever for me. It’s been an opportunity to reconnect with some of my travel buddies from that trip, both in Tampa and via social media.
Last week, Jimmy LaRoue posted to Facebook that he’d be in Chicago for a conference, and was looking for things to do. I commented asking if the Fire was playing, since we’d been trying to line up a family road trip to some MLS games. As luck would have it, the Fire is in town, and playing our family favorite opponent, the Columbus Crew (aka the Yellow BEEPing Team to my kids, because y’know, you can’t curse if you’re not at a soccer stadium). Sounded like the perfect thing for the boys and I to do while our daughter’s away at camp.
Jimmy, aka Uncle Jimmy, was one of my favorite people that I met in Korea for the simple fact that we met the first day at the US vs Portugal match, and as a virtual stranger, was completely tolerant of my 4.5 month pregnant needs. Going to a World Cup halfway through a pregnancy is no easy task, and after the wonderfully emotional game, I was totally exhausted as we wandered endlessly looking for shuttle buses. When we finally found the line, it was so long, I thought I’d lose my mind. But while Doug and the guys went and held our place on line, Jimmy kept me company and did not flinch when I told him that even though we’d just met, I desperately needed to put my feet up, and if he was sitting next to me, they were going up on him. He was so completely accommodating, we’ve been friends ever since.
Through the magic of Twitter, this road trip has now snowballed to include plans to meetup with Peter Wilt at the tailgate, and I finally get to meet @EvanReam, who’s on the far more epic #MLSRoadTrip, 51 days, 12 cities. Who’s stoked to hear about how he planned that whole thing? This girl. I”ve been trying to figure out how I can get games with about 2-3 day in between at (in order) Kansas City, Colorado, Real Salt Lake, LA, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver. Schedule that for me, will ya, MLS? Still, I remember my pre-kid days when MLS first started and I was going to see every team at home…until Tampa Bay folded before I got to them and I gave it up. Maybe it’s time to start revisiting the #MLSRoadTrip ideas….or it will be, after a good night’s sleep.
Until later today….
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Soccer....Family Style 