so it was a *big* time saturday night. it was amazing to see all the different beckham jerseys walking around the stadium (la galaxy, real madrid, england national, manchester u) before the game. everyone was milling around getting shirts, food or beer. fans checking out each other's shirts/jerseys. music rockin' on the stadium's loudspeakers...the anticipation in the air was very electric. here's one of the songs they played that just took me back & got me groovin (click the triangle to listen):
when the players came out onto the field i could hardly believe that i was seeing them in person, so *up close*. i mean, i've been watching them on tv, discovered their personalities, learned tidbits about them and now we were all there. in the same space. the la galaxy and me. oh, and 20,000 other fans. :) the guys looked good:
(now assistant coach),
(who looked WAY taller in person than on tv),
(called the best US-born player),
(the veteran player),
(the
-go beavs!),
(had an amazing
in superliga last season),
(the sleeper-he sleeps all the time & anywhere),
(was backup gk and is now the starter),
(a rookie last season & victim of a hilarious hotel prank last year) and of course,
. i was kinda bummed that
not with the team anymore, he was one of my faves. he and
both crack me up. (btw, ante was back in la with an injury.)
also moved on...went with
to san jose. :( so, i got a glimpse of the "new" galaxy-part of last year's team with the new people and the rooks.
watching david beckham & his "david beckham-esque" mannerisms live and being with other enthusiasts was unforgettable. the game was very exciting, especially for my section in the 2nd half since galaxy almost scored a goal right in front of us (landon got tangled up & fell on the ball).
can't wait to go again in may and yet again in july!!!
pizza hut park-frisco, texas
my bank!!! apparently they're a full service institution. not only do they serve my financial needs, they also help bring soccer to me :)
yup, the galaxy in the lone star state.
beckham's in town: very news reporter worthy!
mere and me before the game
what do you do when you're @ pizza hut park? eat pizza, of course!!! although i must admit that i barely ate my $7 personal pan pizza. i was way too excited!!!
alan gordon running out for warm ups...where's the osu fight song when you need it?!?!?!
the new coach, ruud gullit-i read he's hardcore.
former player/now asst coach, cobi jones
during warm ups. when i saw the boys bending over i suddenly felt envious and the need to say "boy, those people over there sure are lucky..." here's what a fan sitting in that section had to say on a blog:
"It was a fun time. Beckham got lightly booed at his introduction; Donovan got heavily booed on his; the rest of the team was ignored. During warmups, when Becks bent over to stretch, there were catcalls and whistles. Beckham and Donovan warmed up side-by-side, much to the delight of my picture-taking daughter.
During warmups, Beckham got serenaded by some guys singing "God Save the Queen" and he took much delight in that. Then they were chanting "David Beckham for England" and he turned around and gave them a thumbs up and a smile. His interaction with the crowd was great. At the end of the game, he walked to the center (after having a good apologetic laugh with the ref) and clapped to the crowd...acknowledging our section first (yea!) and the crowd responded appropriately." 
i don't know who those men are, but they sure looked important up in the boxes. :) mere laughed at me when i took this. speaking of important people, england's national coach sent his #2 to assess beckham's fitness to decide if he should be included in the squad later this month. if so, he could have a chance at his 100th cap! (playing for the national team 100 times-only a handful of players have done this)
walking out and focusing on the kid. :) aww, love it.
after the national anthem
quick huddle before the game starts
fc dallas sets up for a free kick. i love david's body language here. it's like when tay goes, "come on, let's get the show on the road..."
landon working it with his yellow boots
abel rocks. i love him (and his hair). {throwing up the "rockstar" hand gesture}
you know what i noticed throughout the game? david directed a lot of the ball's traffic and passing with hand signals to his teammates.
i love pete too. he was on the sideline in front of us for like 30 minutes in the 2nd half. at first he was warming up and then he just started watching the game. i gave him a shout out when he was signaling for the ball that was kicked up in the stands above us. he smiled. i love pete and all, but somebody needs to seriously tell him that tucking his warm up jacket into his pants is not a good look for anyone. seriously.
and as i said before, david's notorious for clapping for the crowd at the end of the match in his david beckham way. even just the way this man claps makes me go W-O-W.
and as if the clapping wasn't enough, click on this picture for a larger version. just past the fence you'll see he is 1/2 naked, after giving his jersey to a designated little girl. {gasps} oh my.
aaaaaaaaaaaaand....
