Dynamo-Mite!!
The Los Angeles Galaxy was back in action on Saturday night, as they welcomed the Houston Dynamo. And, of course, we were in attendance. It was a very eventful night, one that didn't entirely have to do with soccer, but more on that later. So, we get to the good ol' HDC (Home Depot Center, to you and me!) at around 6:30pm, an entire hour before the game was supposed to start. So we did a little wandering around the stadium, and I snapped a few pictures of the trophy displays that they set up before the games.
We got our little Family Pack deal, which includes drinks and dogs for all, and had purchased seats on the Stadium Club side of the HDC. (We usually sit on the opposite side, under the lawn). So, already we were living it up. Our assigned seats were pretty close to the tunnel leading into the locker rooms, so we had some good views of the players coming out of and entering the tunnel. We were excited to hear that Donovan and Albright were back in action that night, so I had my camera ready to snap some pics. 
So, I waited...and waited...and waited...Ooooo, there's Albright!...Waited some more...still waiting...Snapped pictures of Cobi and Herculez Gomez...getting tired, but still waiting...and FINALLY, the game begins and no Donovan to be seen. It looks like we had been lead on, and Donovan wasn't going to show.
The game proceeded fairly well. The Galaxy looked to be in top form, and they managed to keep the Dynamo in check. Herculez Gomez had a few close calls, but no luck finding the net. John Wolyniec also had a pretty good game, coming close to the Dynamo net but, again, not being able to connect. During half time we were treated to something rather bizarre. There were two different presentations made by two different teams, both of them had to do with GNC (General Nutrition Centers). The first one had to do with a boxing ring, and how GNC revitalizes you and helps you knock out your problems. The next one was a sort of GNC obsticle course with people dressed up in GNC logos, looking like fools. The highlight was having Cosmo, the Galaxy mascot, chase after these fools with their own props. Anywho, at the end of it all, I told my girlfriend that it reminded me of the stunts they do on The Apprentice, but didn't think much of it.
The second half started, and it was more of the same. A couple of close calls. Herculez Gomez, and Cobi Jones, who had just been put in, mostly moved the ball to the Dynamo net, but try as they might, there was no pay off. Hartman had some pretty spectacular saves as well. (You know, I kept thinking to myself that this MLS stuff is NOOOOOOWHERE near the level of play that I have been seeing for the past month in the World Cup! And the field seems so much smaller!) The clock quickly wound down, and it looked like the Galaxy would at least come out of it with one point.
Near games end, there seemed to come some commotion. As I turned to see what was going on, I saw not one, but two very surprising things. First of all, I looked towards the Stadium Club that was directly above us, and through the windows we could clearly see that Landon Donovan had taken a seat by one of the window tables and was watching the game perched from above. He looked rather pensive and meloncholy, perhaps regretting the fact that he didn't perform as expected in Germany. (Either way, we're still proud of him, and we're sure he's got a least 2 more World Cups in him!) The second very surprising thing that I saw, directly to the left of the Stadium Club from our vantage point, we saw none other than The Donald himself, Mr. Trump, doing a bit of filming and publicity up on the balcony.
So, it turns out that my initial hunch was right. That would explain the helicopters that kept hovering over the HDC, as well as the signs that were posted at every entrance stating that if you didn't want to be on TV, that you shouldn't enter he venue. I didn't give them a second thought, because the games are usually broadcast on TV anyway, so I thought it had to do something with that. I managed to snap that picture of Donovan standing next to Trump. Meanwhile, the game progressed to its inevitable end. Tie score, 0-0. One more point for the Galaxy. (At least it isn't a loss!) All in all, a very unique night at the HDC. Next up, Galaxy travels to Kansas City to meet up with the Wizards on July 1st. A win would be nice, wouldn't it? Come on guys, what do you say? Good Luck!
The Los Angeles Galaxy was back in action on Saturday night, as they welcomed the Houston Dynamo. And, of course, we were in attendance. It was a very eventful night, one that didn't entirely have to do with soccer, but more on that later. So, we get to the good ol' HDC (Home Depot Center, to you and me!) at around 6:30pm, an entire hour before the game was supposed to start. So we did a little wandering around the stadium, and I snapped a few pictures of the trophy displays that they set up before the games.
We got our little Family Pack deal, which includes drinks and dogs for all, and had purchased seats on the Stadium Club side of the HDC. (We usually sit on the opposite side, under the lawn). So, already we were living it up. Our assigned seats were pretty close to the tunnel leading into the locker rooms, so we had some good views of the players coming out of and entering the tunnel. We were excited to hear that Donovan and Albright were back in action that night, so I had my camera ready to snap some pics. 
So, I waited...and waited...and waited...Ooooo, there's Albright!...Waited some more...still waiting...Snapped pictures of Cobi and Herculez Gomez...getting tired, but still waiting...and FINALLY, the game begins and no Donovan to be seen. It looks like we had been lead on, and Donovan wasn't going to show.
The game proceeded fairly well. The Galaxy looked to be in top form, and they managed to keep the Dynamo in check. Herculez Gomez had a few close calls, but no luck finding the net. John Wolyniec also had a pretty good game, coming close to the Dynamo net but, again, not being able to connect. During half time we were treated to something rather bizarre. There were two different presentations made by two different teams, both of them had to do with GNC (General Nutrition Centers). The first one had to do with a boxing ring, and how GNC revitalizes you and helps you knock out your problems. The next one was a sort of GNC obsticle course with people dressed up in GNC logos, looking like fools. The highlight was having Cosmo, the Galaxy mascot, chase after these fools with their own props. Anywho, at the end of it all, I told my girlfriend that it reminded me of the stunts they do on The Apprentice, but didn't think much of it.
The second half started, and it was more of the same. A couple of close calls. Herculez Gomez, and Cobi Jones, who had just been put in, mostly moved the ball to the Dynamo net, but try as they might, there was no pay off. Hartman had some pretty spectacular saves as well. (You know, I kept thinking to myself that this MLS stuff is NOOOOOOWHERE near the level of play that I have been seeing for the past month in the World Cup! And the field seems so much smaller!) The clock quickly wound down, and it looked like the Galaxy would at least come out of it with one point.
Near games end, there seemed to come some commotion. As I turned to see what was going on, I saw not one, but two very surprising things. First of all, I looked towards the Stadium Club that was directly above us, and through the windows we could clearly see that Landon Donovan had taken a seat by one of the window tables and was watching the game perched from above. He looked rather pensive and meloncholy, perhaps regretting the fact that he didn't perform as expected in Germany. (Either way, we're still proud of him, and we're sure he's got a least 2 more World Cups in him!) The second very surprising thing that I saw, directly to the left of the Stadium Club from our vantage point, we saw none other than The Donald himself, Mr. Trump, doing a bit of filming and publicity up on the balcony.
So, it turns out that my initial hunch was right. That would explain the helicopters that kept hovering over the HDC, as well as the signs that were posted at every entrance stating that if you didn't want to be on TV, that you shouldn't enter he venue. I didn't give them a second thought, because the games are usually broadcast on TV anyway, so I thought it had to do something with that. I managed to snap that picture of Donovan standing next to Trump. Meanwhile, the game progressed to its inevitable end. Tie score, 0-0. One more point for the Galaxy. (At least it isn't a loss!) All in all, a very unique night at the HDC. Next up, Galaxy travels to Kansas City to meet up with the Wizards on July 1st. A win would be nice, wouldn't it? Come on guys, what do you say? Good Luck!
1 comment:
sounds like you had such an exciting time. lucky!
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