USMNT vs. Norway at HDC on Jan 29, 2006

[SoccerPrime]

I think Arena has Pope down in ink on the 2006 roster for Germany. I do believe, like many, that Pope is past his prime, but he is still a star-class defender for the US.
No way he rides the bench the whole time in Germany.

As for the announcers comments on Klein, they mainly made reference to the trade, how it would be difficult for the Kleins to move after 8 years in KC. But they also made a point that Klein would be good for RSL and RSL would be a good fit for him.

[prk166]

Originally Posted by Deuce

Has there been anymore on the rumoured USA v Japan Friendly in San Francisco in February?

I would rather go to that one and i can't go to both...

Any updates would be appreciated?

That would be a nice one to go to. Catch the game and the go suck down some old vine Zin in Lodi the next day. :wine:

[StarsOnSunday]

StarsOnSunday's match report.

Scooter Von Bundesliga, The Missus, and I left Las Vegas at about 8 am. The drive into LA was fairly uneventful with the exceptions of a few jokes about "The World's Tallest Thermometer" in Baker, CA and some cold-in-the-center taquitos at Barstow's Chevron station.

We rolled into Carson at about 12:15 and proceeded to Victoria Park for the pregame festivities. It was very disapointing. There were a handfull of red-clad fans with their grills, but there was no one gathering place. We just drove on by. We found a dive at which we could eat. $2.99 pancake special, mmm road trip food. We left the car there and walked to the HDC. They wanted $15 to park at the HDC.

The grounds themselves are awesome. Plenty of well-manicured practice facilities surround the stadium. Inside the stadium is equally stunning. Highlights include: all bench seating, with backs. There were no clumbsy chairs with folding seats and arm rests. Also, the seats surround the pitch. There are no empty corners or a stage at one end. The fans literally surround the entire pitch, except for a small exit/entry at one end. I also really like the second tier on one side. This made the stadium feel much bigger than it actually is.

I'm sure most of you saw the game. There's not much to mention form my prespectiev that hasn't been mentioned elsewhere. 5-0 is a whoopin' no matter how you put it. TT, Pope (Habemus Papam), Dempsy, and Frankie all impressed. I figure if Dempsy's shot had snuck under the crossbar and the ref had called the handball in the box, the game could have easily ended 7-0.

The crowd was just ok. The didn't open all the sections for seating. Sam's Army was divided and weak. I guess there was some confusion about where the Army was going to sit, so there were some here and some there. We had fun chanting Ger-man-y, Ger-man-y over and over at the Norse keeper.

[Jose Luis Luviano]

Originally Posted by StarsOnSunday

We rolled into Carson at about 12:15 and proceeded to Victoria Park for the pregame festivities. It was very disapointing. There were a handfull of red-clad fans with their grills, but there was no one gathering place.

Victoria Street had to agree not to allow tailgating to placate the NIMBY neighbors.

Yeah, it's nice but I still have my doubts about no tailgating and $8 beers.

[StarsOnSunday]

Scooter Von Bundesliga outside the HDC.



Scooter Von Bundesliga inside HDC. Final score in background.



StarsOnSunday and the missus representing RSL in LA!

[StarsOnSunday]

At the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor.



Boo-Yeah!

[Deuce]

Great pics guys.
What about a report?

[StarsOnSunday]

Originally Posted by Deuce

Great pics guys.
What about a report?

It's posted above. It starts with "StarsOnSunday's Match Report".