American Pride: Don't Tread

Before I begin this entry, let me first give a shout out to Matt McGowan. The MD (or "The Guy in the Corner Office") at my office, Matt is the brainchild of the title of this blog as well as its #hashtag - #tbsoc. The title was uttered during a tie down meeting for one of our conferences and from that point on, I knew I had to find a use for it somewhere... and this it where it went. Thanks Matt!

Onward...

On Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure of watching the US national men's soccer team play against the German national team down in Washington, D.C. My day started out normal enough... or as normal as one's Sunday can start when one is out of bed at 5:30am. I drove to PA to get my friend and by 7:30am we were off to DC. The drive itself was mostly uneventful, with the exception of me taking the wrong exit off the PA Turnpike and ended up somewhere I probably shouldn't.

When we arrived in the D.C. area a mere three hours later, I was excited to 1) finally try Nando's (a dining establishment apparently super popular in the UK serving amazing peri-peri chicken) and 2) see the US national team play. I always try to catch at least one international match a year during the summer. It's always a fun experience and the US supporter groups are quite an interesting bunch. I can tell you this, lunch was great and the match was better.

Our train ride to the stadium was one of the most entertaining train rides I've ever taken -- and I work in NYC. The car we were in was absolutely packed to the brim. People were on top of each other and passengers tried to squeeze their way onto the train. Our conductor, who should probably use his vocal talents on a stage than a train, was not having any of the bulls**t that day. At that point, regardless of the result of the match, I knew this was going to be the highlight of my day.

When we arrived at the stadium, I was not so shocked to find that, once again, the US supporters were outnumbered by the German ones. It didn't take very long to realize with the German flags being draped around the stadium. But the one thing about the US supporters, what we lack in number we made up in sheer passion and patriotism.

Most of us went in hoping that the US would score at least one goal. While the Germans were fielding their second string, you can't deny the talent that these guys have. Their second string makes several first string teams look like a little league team. So when the first goal from the US came, there was pure pandemonium in the stadium. That was when I discovered the joy of having beer thrown all over me. People were cheering, screaming, jumping up and down, hugging each other, and throwing cups of $10 beer all over the place.

Repeat that 3 more times and you'd get the full experience I had during the match. I took it in stride knowing how the supporters can get. It's not every day that the US wins against a European team. And it's even more rare for them to put 4 in the net. It was worth having beer thrown around me to see the joy in the faces of the players and the fans who have come out from all corners of the world to come and watch the team they love play. The match was clean and friendly. No cards were given and no punches thrown. It was a great showcase of the growing following of the sport in this country.

The US won 4-3. I left Washington, D.C. satisfied with the result and smelling like a frat house party gone wrong. As they say, "USA ain't nothing to f**k with."

Here's a Vine I took after the US scored their 3rd goal by none other than their skipper Clint Dempsey/Deuce. https://vine.co/v/b3OdAVPF2B2

All the best - Ploy