I Have The Hat...I Must Be A Fan

 I found this hat last year when we passed a sale originating from someone's yard. They had a lot of cool stuff. I ended up buying a hat with the emblem of a local professional sports team in it.

Real Salt Lake.

I have many hats. I wear many hats. The hats advertise a lot of things, but mostly sports teams and the sport team of which I have the most hats are my beloved Utah Utes. I'm a sucker for a good U of U hat. The fact that Utah's colors are crimson and white helps...red is my favorite color.

One of the colors of the Real Salt Lake MLS soccer team is red-ish. Their official colors are Real Gold, Cobalt Blue, and Claret Red. I like the red...it's the color of my car. It's a little darker than I'm used to.

I was once a big sports fan, and not just watching sports on TV (which is pretty much all I do now...), but an actual "go to the game, sit my butt down in a seat" fan. In college I went to a lot of football and basketball games. They were fun, even though the football team isn't what it now is, and the basketball team was much more successful than it now it. I was also fortunate enough to work for the Utah Jazz for a few seasons. I saw a lot of their games, too.

I've been a fan of Real Salt Lake ever since the franchise began in Utah in 2004, but I never owned any Real Salt Lake gear. In fact, the hat was the first piece of Real Salt Lake clothing I've ever owned. I had tons of Utah Utes stuff, even some Utah Jazz, but nothing Real Salt Lake-themed.

Another oddity for a self-proclaimed fan is I've only attended one Real Salt Lake game. It was also the only MLS game I've seen. It was a several years ago and I went because a friend of mine had suite seats and he couldn't go. My son and I had a great time, and Real won, which made it that much better.

Yes, I am a Real Salt Lake fan...

The hat proves it.

Plans For Tonight...Not Watching Real Salt Lake

 Normally, I'd be watching or streaming the Real Salt Lake Soccer game. It started just a few minutes ago. They're playing Austin FC right now as I type. 

I'm missing it.

By choice.

Since change is the only constant, change has come to Major League Soccer, or MLS for short, and MLS has gone through a programming change. It's now no longer free.

MLS is one of the few major sports leagues I still watch. Sure, soccer's not the most exciting of sports, and MLS is not one of the world's premier leagues, but they're local and I like to support them. And by "support" I mean, watch. This year, it's going to cost me...cost everyone. Apple has purchased the broadcast rights to every MLS match, including our local team.

If I were a numbers guy, I'd do the math. For only $80, I can watch every match including playoff games. That's hundred of games, meaning it would cost me literally pennies per game. I most likely would never watch all the games, but I suppose that's not the point. And that's a good price for all that sports entertainment. 

I passed on buying the entire season. We're a couple of weeks in so each week I turn down the offer, the more each game will cost, which will discourage me from pulling the trigger even more. Plus, the money can be used for something else, something we need (like food...), and all that time I'd spend watching the games could be utilized in a more productive fashion. 

I hope the change for MLS is a good one. I hope they make a lot of money and millions sign up. Who knows? I might miss it so much this season that I'll break down and pay for next year's games.

Until then, I guess I'll watch some XFL.

The Agony Of Sports...Oh, I've Been There

 I lifted this picture from the Real Salt Lake Instagram page. Since Sunday night their Instagram page has been flooded with pictures showing athletes clan in cobalt and blue celebrating an incredible win, a win against odds, a win that--on paper and in most people's minds--should not have happened. The soccer team is ecstatic, overjoyed, very very happy.

But, there's something else in this picture...

The fans in blue.

The fans feeling blue.

We see a dozen or so fans and not a single smile on any of their faces. No, for them, the joy of the athletes is in direct contrast to what they are feeling in that moment. For almost an hour, the fans in Kansas City were confident their team would not only keep the lead, but be ahead at the end of the match. After all, Sporting Kansas City is a superior program. They beat this same team years ago to win the MLS championship. They have played better this year and many other years. In all fairness, that 1 - 0 lead they had should stand and the team should move on.

But in sports especially, fairness many times simply doesn't exist. 

Oh, I've been there. I've been one of those fans--almost never wearing blue--but feeling blue after I've watched the teams I've backed fall, sometimes in close games, sometimes in blow-outs. The final score doesn't really matter if your team has fewer points than the other team...a loss is a loss. Of course, the closer the game, the tougher the loss is on the fans. At least, that's how it is for me.

I celebrate Real Salt Lake's past two victories. They went on the road and beat two higher-ranked teams sending fans of both teams home feeling like crap. They have another game where they'll go on the road and face a team they're not supposed to beat. Will the home fans go home happy, or sad? Will I be the one sharing the joy of my team, or will I have the look of those fans in Kansas City, looking blue?

We'll find out next Saturday night.

Go Real!

First Time Watching Real Salt Lake Live...And What A Time We Had!

If you are on Facebook, you've probably seen a post that goes something like this:

"I have two tickets to see _______ and I can't use them. Who wants to go see _______."

For me, because I have so many theater FB friends, they usually have theater tickets, but when I checked FB while on a lunch break last Wednesday, I almost couldn't believe my eyes. My friend Bryce said he had to tickets to watch Real Salt Lake play San Jose that night in Sandy. The first thing I did was see if anyone had responded--nope. Then I saw was how long it had been since Bryce posted his note--not very long. I quickly responded and said I wanted to go.

And the tickets were mine!

Getting free MLS game tickets is great--I was one happy civil servant. But the more I learned about the tickets and the game, the more excited I got. These were not ordinary tickets--no sir-y! These were tickets that also included a pre-game buffet dinner. I've been to sporting events that include a pre-game meal (thanks to my good friend Jeff Lund...), so I thought this would be the same thing.

And it was.

Bryce said that I needed to make sure whomever I invited to go was over 21 since alcohol was served. Fortunately, my son was over 21 and not scheduled to work. We drove into the valley then caught the light-rail train to the stadium. It took a little bit of searching but we finally found the Audi Executive Club and were allowed in.

I've had good seats a few times at sporting events, but I've never had cushioned, leather seats before. Yes, they were nice. We had delicious food, watched Real beat their conference foes, and had a great time doing it. But the most impressive part of the evening was our host, Jeff.

The tickets were a raffle prize donated by a prominent law firm in town. You know how law firms sometimes are named after their a few of their partners, like Dillan, Johnson, and Phelps? Well, our host for the evening was Mr. Johnson of Dillan, Johnson, and Phelps. He was so great. We arrived about an hour before the game started and he stayed with us the whole time. We talked about what he did for work, his family, and such. We then talked about what my son and I did for work, our family, and such. It was fun getting to know him.

Wednesday night's game was the first MLS soccer game I saw in person. If you're going to go to a game, watching from the Audi Executive Club is a great way to start. Of course, this means I can never go to another game in person--kind of like the first time you fly first class. It ruins every non-first class seats from now on.

Real Salt Lake Wins...

I've never watched a Real Salt Lake soccer game in person, but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment I felt as I watched the team advance in the MLS playoffs.

Going into last night's game the local boys needed to win by two goals in order to advance. If the game resulted in a tie, RSL would be done and the Los Angeles Galaxy would move on.

If you watched the game Salt Lake had several opportunities to secure that second goal including two deflections off the bar--so frustrating. And in the last half of the game a RSL goal was waved off.

But in the end, the second goal was made in spectacular fashion and the home team plays another day. Congrats on the win. Hopefully, there will be more coming soon.