Men's Pro Soccer is Back in St. Louis!
Mr. & Mrs. Mojo picked me up last night and off we went to Soccer Park to join the sold-out crowd for the inaugural home match of AC St. Louis
The home squad was downed 2-1, but I think the night would have to be called a success.
AC spent the first 20 or so minutes in their own end, the midfield - definitely the weak spot in this squad - unable to transition play to the forwards. It was only a matter of time before the Austin Aztex scored and the inevitable came in the 37th minute as Eddie Johnson redirected a loping Jamie Watson shot into the net.
AC regrouped and linked together about three plays on goal, finally equalizing on an Anthony O'Garro strike from about 12 yards out.
The match went into the half 1-1 and I managed to miss the decisive goal from Leonard Griffin eleven minutes in as I was coming back from concessions (more on that later).
The stars of the match may have been the supporters (ultras? hooligans?), United Knights, keeping up a constant chant and supplying the firecrackers and smoke bombs to celebrate the goal.
The entire atmosphere was terrific despite Soccer United's shortcomings. For those who have not been there (and that included me) the stadium is built up on the west side with concession & restroom facilities. A kid's area with activities is on the north end. The east stands (the cheap seats) partially wrap around and abbreviated concessions, Johnnys-on-the-spot, and a smoking area is available if you don't want to make the short trip to the other side.
The seating is all bleacher, including the premium ($65) dollar seats. The east stand is $15 and, aside from closer proximity to the loo, the only difference is the blinding sunset facing the east stand. Bring a jacket (and, I suspect, bug spray as the summer wears on) as the facility is on the Meramec River and it gets chilly when the sun goes down.
Parking at the facility is very limited, but some industrial lots are available nearby. For how long is another matter. We (Mr. Mojo - thanks again for driving) parked at Champion but were disappointed to see fellow fans leaving their beer bottles in the lot. No long before that gets old for the neighbors. The parking was not presented well on the website, something I brought up on the AC St. Louis Facebook page.
Which brings me to the management:
They seriously need to hire someone who can run a pro sports team if they want a shot at expansion into MLS. Despite anticipating a sell-out, the souvenir stand was woefully understaffed and after waiting in line, sold out of the popular items. Did you think no one was coming? The concessions - also lengthy and sold out of items. C'mon guys - you're turning away money here. This is how I missed the winning goal. In all, the feel was more of a high-school football game than a professional sporting match charging $65 a seat. Not that I didn't have fun & I WILL be back - I just want to see these guys succeed. And then there's Facebook.
In a message I would guess made in part to drum up pre-game revenue, the club cited the lack of parking as a reason to come early. Not having been to Soccer Park, I wrote a post stressing that haphazard parking arrangements and a stressful experience - towing was mentioned - was not the way to get people coming back or to stay in business (I admit I am scarred by my first trip to Riverport - we parked in a muddy cornfield and it took three hours to leave the concert. I did not go back for five years).
I was wrong. We came fairly close to kick-off and parking was not a problem in the aforementioned lot. I would like to apologize to the club for my incorrect assessment of the situation.
I would like to, but I can't.
You see, my original post and another post I made were removed from the club's 'wall'. In addition, I've been barred from making any more posts. There was no profanity, just thin skins on someone's part.
Despite all that, Go! Enjoy yourselves and let's show MLS what St. Louis can do.
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