A beautiful fall weekend, the likes of which we rarely see in November, meant a lot of time outside for the kids and a lot of leaves being bagged by the grown-ups. There was also time for football, soccer, partying, and even some basketball. But mostly it was the leaves. With three big old trees in the yard, you just take it in stride…
53 Bags
Illinois’ offense looked competent and borderline good for the second straight week, scoring 35 points against the Gophers. We’ve said all along the O&B would need 30+ points a game to win; too bad they waited until the season was halfway over to wake up. Of course the competition has been less stringent after that brutal September, but how much do we attribute to more manageable foes, how much to the Offensive Coordinator finally getting it together, and how much to having a quarterback who can actually pick up blitzers and hit open receivers? And we note that Minnesota made adjustments at halftime (and the Zooker did not) and nearly caught up after that terrible blocked punt, but Charest hit McGee on a crucial third down and Illinois got that final touchdown. To their credit, the Illini never gave up on the season and still have the Illinois rivarly with Northwestern and a winnable home game against Fresno State. Win those two and we’ll forgive some of the earlier crap… Read the rest of this entry ?
It was one of those days, as a co-worker of mine would say, with the fun-meter pegged. Start with the last soccer game of the year for the Sidekicks, which comes as something of a relief with the weather turning worse and several of my players losing interest. The two little Beems had fun though, and that’s what matters.
Then we were off to Champaign for our only family football game against Michigan. And what do you know – the Zooker’s boys showed up to play. A great hustle play by Terry Hawthorne led to an old-style four-down goal-line stand, after which the Illini went on to dominate the third quarter and pull away from the Wolverines. We could scarcely believe it. The Orange and Blue looked like the team we thought they could be, at least for one day.
Had to miss the 4th Quarter (which was painful) to get the kiddos back to their Uncle’s house in time for Trick-or-Treating. We let the kids choose their outfits this year, and in a decision that warmed my heart they both decided to be super-heroes. After that, the Missuz and me donned our costumes and hung with my sis and pals in downtown C-U. Dubstep on the prairie - who knew? This year our ensemble was Mermaid-and-Shark, the beats were massive, and the beer was plenty cold. The best costume seen at Cowboy Monkey, and the winner of their impromptu contest: some dude dressed as the Monarch of Venture Brothers fame.
Check out the brief photo-album (follow link and click on ’slideshow’), and drop us a line with your own Halloween news and stories.
The annual Findlay Walleye Festival took place last weekend, and we have a few photos from the parade. Sometimes it seems like the small towns in Illinois just keep getting smaller, but most of them have some kind of festival weekend – usually involving sweet corn – to get folks back and reacquainted. And gatherings like the Walleye Festival have a timeless quality you can enjoy on all kinds of levels.
Saturday was an official soccer day in Beemsville, starting with last-minute preparations for our trip north to Chicago for the World Cup Qualifier. But before that, my daughter’s team had one last youth soccer game.
The Bandits have made some progress over the last few months, notably in advanced tactics such turning and going the right direction and actually passing it to someone open. Yeah, someone should give that coach a raise…
After that it was northward to Chi-town. The typical road construction, multiple stops, and general procrastination meant we were way behind in our pre-game plans. Didn’t make the pre-pub and march to the stadium or the tailgate, which sucked. I never fail to underestimate our ability to get around in a city like Chicago. Of course we were heavily outnumbered at the game. Hondurans made up, I would guess, about 70% of the crowd. I read that a lot of folks planned or incorporated family reunions with this game; that’s how important it was to them.
If you’re ever in Albuquerque, the right turn would be a trip up the Sandia Tram to Sandia Peak. It’s a 4,000 climb by tram, which means a temperature drop of 10-15 degrees. At the top you’ll find a restaurant, and a number of trails leading to the crest of the peak (which also includes a gift and snack shop). Yeah, yeah, the phone pics don’t do it justice. And it’s not the absolute back-to-nature experience, but the 1.5 mile hike through woods and along the cliffs has some awesome views of the Rio Grande basin, and Manzano mountains. You also get a decent little cardio workout at 10,000 feet. The tram runs until sundown. At the base of the mountain you can grab some good southwestern grub at Sandiago’s…
World Cup qualifying gets is nearly upon us again, with the USA taking on Costa Rica on the road on June 3, and then a home match against Honduras on Saturday, June 6 in Chicago. What’s at stake? The chance to take a commanding lead in the final round of qualifiers and sew up that bid for South Africa 2010.
Unfortunately, a co-worker and his wife who were set to accompany us have had to back out do to an unforeseen work conflict, and I bought one extra because my sister said she might go. What’s it all mean? If you want to come hang out with us in Chicago and go to the game, drop me a line! I have three extra tickets. Even if you’ve never been to a soccer match before, I virtually guarantee a good time. We are staying up there Saturday night and there are still good deals to be had on priceline for hotels. Give me a shout.
Because we can, and because it was in many ways an epic roadtrip, we bring you some excellent video clips from the World Cup Qualifier in Columbus and the 2-0 U.S. victory. Note: these aren’t our clips; we’re just linking to them for the benefit of all.
But, of course, that’s only part of the story. For those of us diehard U.S. Soccer fans, it’s an almost poetic scoreline. The 2-0 victory for the red, white, and blue has been almost guaranteed in nearly every significant game against our arch-rivals south of the border. In the last ten matches on U.S. soil, we are 9 wins, 0 losses, and 1 tie. Of course we still haven’t won in Mexico City, but that’s for later. In the last three home World Cup Qualifiers, 2-0. In the epic World Cup Match in South Korea 2002, 2-0. It’s oh, so satisfying.
We arrived in Columbus around 2:00 local and proceeded straight away to Ruby Tuesday Pub (not the chain restaurant), which is this reconverted house in the middle of an otherwise residential neighborhood on the far north end of OSU campustown. This was the scene:
You had U.S. Supporters from all over. You had the brass band with Rocky Balboa on trumpet and Captain America on Tuba (see slideshow below). You had PBR tallboys and discount pitchers. Free Pizza courtesy of the American Outlaws U.S. Supporters Group (of which we’re now proud members). In short, you had one hell of a pregame party… Read the rest of this entry ?
It’s less than a week until the monumental World Cup Qualifier between the USA and Mexico in Columbus, OH. We have our tickets and all the pre-game plans are flying around the interwebs. This is a big deal in Beemsville.
Coach Bob Bradley hasn’t released his roster for the match yet, with most of the European-based players expected to arrive after this weekend’s club schedule. Don’t expect any surprises with the selections, or for many of the younger talented offensive players to see the starting line-up. Will that come back to haunt us? Mexico is hurting – a run of shaky games, injuries, and key players suspended – but they also have a coach in Sven who won’t fall vicitm to the typical Mexican mental trap of this match (we are superior, therefore the game is ours). There’s been markedly less yapping from the Mexican players this time around.
Right now the forecast in Columbus is mid-40s with rain. We are hoping it either gets cold enough for snow or the precipitation will pass. And we’re trying to figure out how to wear red over our winter coats. For now, here’s some official propaganda, youtube style:
One of the bigger sporting events for us this year is the World Cup Qualifier between the USA and Mexico on Feb 11 in Columbus. It’s Rivalry writ large. This match traditionally helps decide the leader of the North-Central-Caribbean region, and it’s also the first of the Hexagonal — a home-and-away series between the final six regional teams trying to qualify for next summer in South Africa.
Columbus was the first town to build a soccer-specific stadium for its MLS team, the Crew. As such, and with the US Soccer Federation able to better control tickets sales in a smaller Midwestern venue (22,000 seat), thus ensuring a pro-USA crowd, Crew Stadium has been the site of choice for this clash the past two World Cup cycles. In 2000 you had Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff coming off the bench to bury El Tri. In 2004 you had Oguchi Onyewu dominating the back line and clutch play by DaMarcus Beasley. Both were 2-0 wins for the good guys.
The last Beemsville cap was in Chicago against Trinidad & Tobago last September. Definitely a tanktop and fake-tat kind of day. Next month will be more of the longjohn and stocking cap variety. The wife definitely prefers the former, but we will be in full voice regardless.
Advanced tickets acquired through the American Outlaws, one of US Soccer’s official supporters’ clubs. If you want to purchase through them, you have until tomorrow night. Otherwise tickets go on sale to the public Jan 28. They will sell out in a day or two, so if you’ve ever considered checking out a World Cup Qualifier, get yourself together.
Yeah, yeah, the phone pics don’t do it justice. And it’s not the absolute back-to-nature experience, but the 1.5 mile hike through woods and along the cliffs has some awesome views of the Rio Grande basin, and Manzano mountains. You also get a decent little cardio workout at 10,000 feet. The tram runs until sundown. At the base of the mountain you can grab some good southwestern grub at Sandiago’s…
It’s less than a week until the monumental World Cup Qualifier between the USA and Mexico in Columbus, OH. We have our tickets and all the pre-game plans are flying around the interwebs. This is a big deal in Beemsville.
The last Beemsville cap was in Chicago against Trinidad & Tobago last September. Definitely a tanktop and fake-tat kind of day. Next month will be more of the longjohn and stocking cap variety. The wife definitely prefers the former, but we will be in full voice regardless.
