By Eric Wheatley, Baltimore Brigade
Two buses, two cities, two teams, and two days to recover.
Two years ago the Baltimore Brigade started when three guys wanted to watch USA matches together. We all have friends that like sports, but none that really liked soccer. So our journey began as many do, seeking like minded individuals to drink beer with and watch soccer. Those three were John Knapp, Stephen Dietrich and I. Sadly, Stephen didn't make the trip. He chose to be the best man at a wedding instead of going to this match. So to think that the Baltimore Brigade started as three, but most recently took over 100 people to a US Soccer match is pretty impressive.
On Saturday May 29th, the Baltimore Brigade packed two charter buses with soccer fans and headed to Philadelphia.
It was the first major road trip of our young supporters group, and turned out to be a huge success. We teamed up with Sláinte Irish Pub (our home bar) and began this journey from historic Fells Point. In full Free Beer Movement fashion, we invited everyone to attend. Die hard soccer fans, rookies and even....British Royal Navy sailors. That's right, British Navy Sailors. The HMS Sutherland is a Type 23 frigate that has been in port, directly across from our home bar for the past week. They purchased the remaining tickets for the match, and 21 sailors joined us on our maiden voyage. The sailors were awesome to hang out with, and loved the American tailgating experience. They have nothing like it in England because of the violence and fighting that is often associated with football matches. The British Navy consisted of sailors from all over Britain. The English guys, of course, believed that we will be destroyed in two weeks and the Welsh and Scots hope we kick England's ass.
We arrived at the Linc around 11am, parked in lot M, set up the cornhole boards and got busy. The American tailgate truly is a fantastic experience. Nowhere else in the world do sports fans congregate in such a way; friend and foe together, drinking, eating & playing games together. For three hours we hung out mingling with fans from across the country and foes from across the ocean in an amazing celebration of beer and football. I refer to the English as foes, only on the pitch. The United States has no greater friend in the world then England, and we are lucky to have them.Remember that on June 12th.
After an hour or two, I departed the Baltimore tailgate and wandered around. I ventured over the Lot N, and ran into a a few good friends. The first one I saw, was Alex Singer. He's a Baltimore Guy, but was in Philly for a bachelor party, so he didn't ride the bus up with us. Alex greeted me with a boiling hot Smirnoff Ice Raspberry Burst that he has had in his pocket for a couple of hours awaiting my arrival. He told me of Bros icing Bros at the Czech match on Tuesday, so I knew that I had to take a knee and chug. And trust me, chugging the HOT Ice, on one knee in a parking lot is no easy chore. Also in the same lot, right next to where Alex was set up, was another good friend, Eric Shertz, from SOB. He offered me a hot dog and beer, we chatted about the match, coaching his son's team, the World Cup, Cornhole, Bro's Icing Bros and everything else in the merry world of a US Soccer tailgate. Oh yeah, about this time, Alex's friend approached me to ask where we were sitting. I pulled out my ticket to show him mine, he pulled out...another ice! Crap! Third time being iced today. I really hope this is a passing fad...
I knew that my time was up in lot N, so I headed back to the Baltimore Brigade tailgate to begin our march into the stadium.
We packed up the cornhole, put away the beer and marched into section 130, right behind the goal with the rest of the American Outlaws fans from across the country. The atmosphere at this game was one of the best that I have ever attended. Smoke bombs went off pretty often, scarves were on full display, we sang the entire match, and I saw very few people sitting. Plenty of other sites have covered the match, so I won't bore you with those details. This site is about beer and the American soccer experience, and if you missed this one, you missed a doozey. The send off match is the pinnacle of matches to attend (well, on home soil at least.) After 4 years of qualifying matches in brutal environments, to give one last hoo-rah to the boys, to say thank you, and good luck, then this match, this venue, this crowd and this result could not have been any better. We won the game, and I hung out longer than I should have to see the boys off.
So after the match TRULY ended, I headed back to my bus. I rounded the corner of lot N, and walked towards lot M. I saw Justin Coughlin of American Outlaws DC Chapter, so I stopped and said Hi. We spoke for maybe 30 seconds, before I noticed that my bus was pulling out of the lot! What??
I know that we said, "We will not wait for anyone, but COME ON!" It is 4:35, and I am literally five minutes late. Apparently, everyone else on the bus thinks that the match is over when the final whistle blows. I feel that the match isn't over until the team walks over to the supporters section. This is why I was late. I stayed to sing a few more songs, they left after the final whistle, which is fine, I just prefer to stay a little longer. So there I was sprinting across lot M to catch my bus, which planned on leaving me.
They stop, the door opens, and our resident Frenchy, Willy scolds me with his thick French Accent. "What are you doing! You're Late!" (Willy is from France, and was wearing his Les Bleus jersey during the match.) Luckily I made it and the bus trip home went by pretty fast. Everybody had a good buzz and had a wonderful time. Jon provided comic relief via the buses PA System to the delight of most. We collected a couple of hundred bucks for a great charity, the Craig Willinger Fund, and pulled into Fells Point by 7pm and shared our stories with all who would listen.
Poor bloke (British Navy sailor) couldn't handle his liquor.Overall the experience could not have been any better. The fans were great, the bus drivers were great, the British Navy were great, and the t-shirts from Matt of Objectivo.com were fantastic. I would like to thank Slainte Irish Pub for helping us put this bus trip together, and especially Willy Dely for his continued support and promotion of the Brigade.
If you are in Baltimore, stop by and hang with us! We are at SlaintePub for all USMNT matches.
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