Sunday, November 2, 2008

Get on the bus

In terms of weekends, I had a pretty eventful one. I got to watch Chivas USA play Real Salt Lake on the road, in the latest MLS stadium to open its doors, the perhaps-sometime-in-the-future-will-be-famed Rio Tinto Stadium.

And I owe it all to the Union Ultras. The start-up but ever-expanding Chivas USA supporters group allowed me to to join them on their trek to Utah and I must say it was a trip to remember.


We met up Friday night and got on our way around 10 p.m. I hadn't napped during the day so I figured I'd get tired at some point. Also, certain beverages helped make me more tired. And thus, I did what I'd been warned not to. I fell asleep.


Now, on the bus were mostly younger guys, though there were a few children and some ladies. But the latter two were smart and sat near the front. I took a seat toward the back. So when I fell asleep, well...



I looked a little like the Joker from Batman. I had a partial grin on my face, from my lip to my ear. But I got off easy, apparently. Some who'd fallen asleep had war paint on their faces. Others had tattoo sleeves. But it was all in good taste, of course.


We got into Salt Lake early Saturday. I probably slept about three to four hours maybe. On the drive to the stadium, the Ultras were practicing their chants. Once we got to the stadium, we parted ways. They went to their section up top and I went to the press box, which I must say is 100 percent better than Home Depot Center's. It's possibly the greatest drawback to HDC, the useless and cramped press box.


After the match, I did my post-game thing and finished in a little more than an hour. The Ultras waited for me and we got on our way soon enough. I tried not to sleep but I was beat. I fell asleep but when I woke up I hadn't sprouted any black marks on my face or anything. I think at that point most were too tired to do anything but sleep.


We got back to Home Depot Center at around 6 a.m. Sunday morning and by the time the bus pulled into the stadium, I was both tired and rejuvenated - tired because I hadn't slept comfortably and rejuvenated because I was able to get out of the bus, which became more and more uncomfortable as the trip wore on.


But that was because of the seats, not my companions.

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