Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

[Blogger's note: my reports on the MLS Cup are also posted at How Flair is Punished! complete with replies of a sort from HooverDam.]

Woke up later than I would have liked on Saturday, although it was a bit after five MST (God's own time zone). I packed the backpack I got for free when I worked for the Tucson Amigos, the one with the special compartments for shin guards and boots. It makes me feel as if I am a for-real footy player.

Went down to RFK where, if my addled memory served me, the fan cup was supposed to have been played on a nearby field. I wandered around for a bit. I saw a group of thirty and fourty somethings playing short-sided soccer. Seeing the paunches and male pattern baldness, I figured that was my crowd. I went over there.

"I hope I am not late," I told the woman who was staffing a table at the entrance.

"Not at all. Here is a jersey, you are on the dark blue team." I was a bit taken aback. A Screaming Eagles muckety-muck I spoke to the night before told me that they were providing pinneys, but didn't say anything about jerseys. Cool though, I got me a free jersey.


I went over to where the dark blue team was playing (Los Azules Oscures? Les Bleus Foncés?) I waited for a bit while they were getting hammered by a team wearing maroon (Colorado? Sparta Praha?). I opened my bag to find that I had not packed shorts. It was sub-50 degrees out anyway (if that warm) and two of my teammates were wearing street pants. One was wearing green pants. I asked a woman that was waiting to go in, "Hey, is that Greg Lalas?"

"Yes."

Halftime.

"Hi, I'm Greg."

"I'm Ted."

"I'm Brad," it was Brad Feldman. Somehow, the Revolution's broadcast team was playing on my fan squad.

I got called into the second half. I sucked...but so did everyone except Greg. I was very, very stiff. I was still on Mountain time which left me playing the game at somewhere around seven in the morning.

They put me in goal for a little bit. An attendant ran over to me and handed me a green goalkeeper jersey. I made a few saves. Greg even turned to me and said, "Nice save 'keep." Fanboy moment: people that would have heard that previously would have been Scott Garlick and Walter Zenga. Cool.

At the end of the game, I talked to Brad and that is when I found out that I had ventured onto the wrong field. This was the Media Cup, not the fan four on four tourney. He told me, "If someone shows up and needs a spot, you'll probably have to give the jersey back, but don't worry about it."

Media Cup. That would explain why the other team featured Fernando Fiore, Presidente de la Republica Deportiva.

It's okay, I'm media, right? Heck, the Arizona Republic called me a "must-read."

Second game, I ended up messing up my knee while trying to get a ball Brad sent me. At the end of that game, the record of Ciemny-granatowy was now at 0-2. This concerned Brad and Greg, as their squad was runner up last year. They figured if we could beat this last team, they could escape with pride intact and possibly make it into the next round.

I talked to Greg after the game. I tried not to be the overeager fan boy. I remember something that John Convertino of Calexico told me once at a Sleater-Kinney show about talking gear. So, we talked about guitars.

I played 'keeper in the second half of the last game. Here is something for y'all to know: when playing any sort of pick-up game like this, always shoot low. Why? Poorly maintained ground causes weird bounces and the 'keepers suck. I know I did. None of us know how to go down (insert joke here) for the ball. This happens most when I play indoor over at Bladeworld, where even the good 'keepers develop an aversion to diving for a ball when it means going face first into "Sport Court."

These guys were actually quite predictable. I was able to block their few low shots with my feet. They ran up on me a few times from the right. I would look to the left to see if there was a runner that was unmarked. Each time, no runner. This made it easy to just stand there and let them take shots right at me. I only let one by.

We won 4-2 against a that team, a light blue clad one that included Will Kuhns.

At the end of the game, it was announced that due to time constraints, only the top two teams overall would be in the final. Someone (I will not say who...) groused, "Changing the rules in the middle? Just like MLS..."

Greg and a couple of others organized their own game on a free field. I thanked Brad the opporitunity to play. As I left, he called me over and gave me his jersey. "Wow, just like Mean Joe Green!"

I met HooverDam and crew over at a restaurant in Crystal City where they had just gotten done watching the US against South Africa. I showed Evan "Magpie" Whitney the Revs practice jersey that Brad gave me.

"Game worn Feldman, very rare," he said.

Well, checking out the picture of the team (which also included Frank Dell'apa), it actually wasn't "game worn," but why ruin the moment?

NB - Jack Bell has an account of the Media Cup over at his New York Times blog.


Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.