- by Aalok Patel, writing from the Bay Area
My parents’ 1st MLS game experience was less than stellar. I took them to the San Jose Earthquakes-Chicago Fire match, which was probably one of the worst home games for the Northern California-based team all season. At the time, the Fire was on a seven game winless streak while the Quakes were an in-form team. A few stupid mistakes here, a few wasted chances there, and before I knew it the final score read 0-3. Needless to say that game gave my parents a very distorted image of how the current MLS season was going: Chicago Fire was on a hot streak and the San Jose Earthquakes literally don’t know where the back of the net is. I assured them the next game I took them to against Chivas USA would be different.
With their playoff spot already secured and another game in 4 days, I already knew the Quakes’ starting 11 would be a mixture of first team and bench players. Regardless, I was still surprised when I found out that their lineup included 8 non-regular starters. Players that I had hyped up to my parents such as Geovanni and Convey weren’t on the field, which was unfortunate but understandable. Not seeing Chris Wondolowski on the field was a bit frustrating, but I could understand from a coaching standpoint why Frank Yallop wanted to rest him and give other players some time on the field. My main goal was to show my parents how lethal the Quakes can be and this season it’s been quite apparent that Wondolowski’s presence on the field is a big determinant of this. Moreover, with 14 goals Wondolowski was closing in on Edson Buddle’s at the time 17 goal league-leading tally for the season. If Wondolowski were to surpass Buddle in goals, he would need as much playing time as possible. Regardless, I was hoping that this extreme change in starters would still result in a dominant and entertaining game for the Quakes, mostly because I wanted to show my parents that the last game was something of a fluke.
The game started out much like the one against Chicago: the Quakes had a decent amount of possession as well as a few good chances on goal, but still for some reason couldn’t finish. Nonetheless, my parents were impressed with the work effort and ability of “that tall guy” on Chivas USA playing up top, also known as Justin Braun. I was delighted to inform them that Braun has been stellar this year (with a team whose season couldn’t have gone much worse) and that he may be suiting up for the national team within the next few months. Around the 40th minute mark Cornell Glen picked up an injury, which ultimately served as a blessing in disguise. He was replaced by Wondolowski, who had an immediate impact on the field. Although the first half ended 0-0, it was clear that it was just a matter of time until the Quakes got on the scoreboard.
With the second half underway, I was eager to see the Quakes step their game up. I wanted my parents and others in attendance in a situation similar to theirs to understand “what all the fuss was about” with these games. The lady behind me would clearly not cease the “well at least the players are hot” comments until she was ready to take the Quakes seriously, and that would only happen after they recorded a goal. Finally, the home team was gifted with a glimmer of hope when Wondolowski was brought down in the Chivas USA box and awarded a penalty. With backup goalkeeper Kevin Guppy between the sticks in his 1st MLS match for Chivas USA, the Quakes had a good chance to score a plethora of goals. Still, the possibility of messing up an opportunity handed to the Quakes on a silver platter lingered in the back of my mind. All we needed was to get this 1st goal out of the way, and then the game would really start. As expected from now MLS MVP candidate Wondolowski, he converted the penalty to put the Quakes up 1-0.
It may have been a fairly easy goal, but it might as well have been a 30-yard screamer: the crowd erupted with joy (even the lady behind me finally started caring about the game). My parents finally saw a Quakes goal! With 15 goals, Wondolowski was only 2 shy of Buddle’s season-leading tally. Having already scored a hat trick a month earlier against Toronto FC, I wishfully hoped out loud he could repeat the same feat in front of a home crowd. Unlike the previous game I took my parents to against Chicago, I was praying my comments would actually hold some truth. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my request would be fulfilled far before the end of the match.
Just 4 minutes later, Wondolowski slotted in a pass from Eduardo that rookie goalkeeper Guppy was unable to parry away. Still spurred on from the momentum of the previous goal, Buck Shaw Stadium was quite lively for a relatively unimportant game on a Wednesday evening. Wondolowski had now surpassed the previous team goal scoring record for a season (Ronald Cerritos, 15 goals in 1999). The only thing left was for Wondolowski to finish off his hat trick with a goal that highlighted his newfound talents this season, such as his superb first touch. In the 72nd minute, he put away his 3rd goal from a well-placed Ryan Johnson cross. With his 17th goal, Wondolowski had caught up with Buddle’s goal count for the season. Amidst all the cheering, I pointed out to my parents that in addition to “that tall guy”, the Quakes hat-trick hero may be getting a call up to national camp in the upcoming months as well and this was why. When I asked them how they were enjoying the game, the looks on their faces said it all: entertained and impressed.
Through these matches, my parents have experienced many of the attractive qualities associated with MLS games. Against Chicago, they were able to be apart of the great atmosphere a live match can provide. Buck Shaw may be a small venue for games, but this ultimately results in more fully packed games and a loud environment (better than what happens more often than not at Pizza Hut Park). In addition, the Quakes played a very fluid game (minus the fact they couldn’t score) which itself was enjoyable. They could see that while the skill level in MLS may not be necessarily be of World Cup caliber, it’s still sufficient to make for an entertaining, competent game at times. On the flip side, they also got a look at how horrible the officiating in the domestic league can be at times. Having lost that game 0-3, there weren’t any other positive takeaways. The feeling of a home team winning by a dominant margin is very unique, and luckily the Chivas USA match filled this void with a reverse score.
So how do my parents ultimately feel about soccer now? While we were leaving Buck Shaw Stadium, they asked me when they could get tickets to the next game. I’d say it’s okay to assume they’ll be a bit more prone to keeping that soccer game on that they come across while TV surfing (not a bad improvement from strictly World Cup watchers). Although they’re not necessarily devoted soccer fanatics yet, it’s a pretty good result from just two games.
