Soccer Saturday Night

I was looking through the entertainment section of the newspaper on Saturday looking for something to do that night. Pat and I don't really go out that much other than to go out to eat and I was really ready to find a movie or new club to go to. I was flipping though the Sun-Sentinel when all of a sudden there it was. A story about the Miami Football Club playing their season opening game at Lockhart Stadium and I knew what I wanted to do.

Yep, I love soccer. I have been a soccer freak ever since Kerry started playing on her under 11 rec team. Yeah, that's a long time ago. I went to every game she ever played and even became team mom for her under 15 through under 18 years. I lived for those soccer games and I know that she played the last few years for me. She knew how much I loved going to the games and practices and being the thoughtful kid she was she played even though she would have quit if she had her own way.

When the MLS teams were assigned and the Miami Fusion started playing at Lockhart I was thrilled. Pat and I started to go and quickly got addicted to those games. I was about to buy season tickets when the news came that the team was folding. I was totally bummed about it. It never made any sense to me that places like Columbus, Ohio and Salt Lake City had soccer teams and Miami with our large hispanic population couldn't keep the Fusion going. I continued to follow MLS on TV but quietly missed the Fusion.

I was so happy to see that the Miami Football Club is now up and running and playing half of their games in Broward County at Lockhart Stadium. It was one of the very first stadiums built just for soccer. It's always been a great venue to see a game. As soon as I saw that ad I turned to Pat and said "We are going to a soccer game tonight". There was nothing to talk about. We were going.

We got to the stadium and there was a total party atmosphere going. There were only about 2000 people there but they were partying for sure. Once you paid and walked in you were handed these noise making things to show your team spirit with. It was mostly the hispanic community as they are huge soccer fans. They were drinking beer, making noise, waving flags and just having a great time. I had so much team spirit that I broke my noisemakers.

Diego Serna playing for the Miami Fusion

We found great seats in the stands and out came the players. It was such a great game. We won 3-1 and our biggest star, Diego Serna, had a great night with one goal and two assists. I yelled and screamed so much my throat was sore when I woke up Sunday morning. It was a wonderful time and I will definitely be going again. Yeah, I love soccer.

We Are The Champions

Whenever I go to the track to walk I always bring my Ipod. I have a thousands of songs on it along with three Beatles movies to help pass the time when I am waiting in a doctor's office or traveling on a airplane. Being the creature of habit that I am I usually listen the the same few playlists which consist of Beatles or solo Paul music. You know, A Hard Day's Night, The White Album, McCartney, Band On the run, Chaos And Creation In The Backyard or Flaming Pie.

When I first got my Ipod Kerry said "You know Mom, you really should put it on shuffle. That way you don't know what song is coming next and you also get to hear stuff that you forgot about." This morning I decided to take her advice. Sometimes the kid is smart.

When I got to the track I put the Ipod setting on shuffle and started on my way. Of course, the first few songs were The Beatles and Paul as most of my music is. I have hours and hours of live performances, outtakes and of course the generally released music. I was happily walking as fast as I could while singing as loud as I could. Yeah, the people who go there are used to this activity.

All of a sudden I heard the three drum noises that start off Queen's We Will Rock You. I haven't listened to Queen in a very long time and We Will Rock You is one of my favorites. It got me walking really fast and as I rounded the track another Queen song started playing. It was We Are The Champions. This song brought back a very special memory for me.

When Kerry was playing soccer she tried out for the under 13 girls travel soccer team. I was all for it considering the fact that I had already turned into a total soccer mom monster. This team was very talented and made it into the regional playoffs. This was a really big accomplishment as they had to play and beat the best teams from all over the state of Florida to get that far. It was a very exciting time for the team and they played really well. Well enough to made it into the finals.

The final game was a squeaker. Our team won by one goal and when the whistle blew to end the game the girls and the parents went wild. After the celebration was over Kerry and I decided to put her stuff in the car so we started walking back to the parking lot. We had to pass by all the players and parents of the team that had just been beaten. They were very sad and many of the kids were crying. Yeah, we felt bad for them but we were on cloud nine. After all, we were the champions.

All of a sudden we heard Freddie Mercury's voice singing We Are The Champions. It was coming from the losing team's boom box. I guess it was an attempt to make the losing kids feel better. Oh wow, did Kerry and I laugh. We kept saying to each other "They're not the champions, we are." As you can imagine, this memory stuck with us and to this day every time either one of us hears this song we think of that wonderful day when Kerry and her team won the Regionals. It was truly one of the best memories of my life. Oh how I miss those heady days of girls soccer but what a fantastic memory that is.

I'm glad that I finally listened to the kid and put my Ipod on shuffle. I wonder what other great memories are on there.......