Philadelphia Union/Manchester United - GOOD TIMES

"Yeah baby! Yeah!"






I totally couldn't help but say that. Dead serious.
Anyway, Keith and I went to Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia last night to see Philadelphia Union take on Manchester United in their 2010 North American Tour (sounds like a concert series, doesn't it?) and believe me, it was one of the coolest experiences ever. Even though we were in Philadelphia, there were loads and loads of Manchester United shirts (even the cheap $10 ones that aren't legit shirts). Anyway, the atmosphere was great, and there were a lot of people ready to watch the game.





I managed to sneak a photo of the Red Devil mascot before the game started.



Some funny tidbits:
-- Everybody booed when it was announced that alcohol would not be served after the 60th minute. That was rather funny.
-- Not just that, everybody booed Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter during the "ceremonial first kick."
-- There were a lot of "sticking to the Union" chants, but no "glory glory Man United." Bandwagoners, I suppose?

Anyway, the tour really doesn't show all of the Man U stars such as Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic, but we still got a brief taste of what the Barclays Premier League was like playing a lowly MLS team. Here's the thing though--the Union starting eleven actually looked decent even though they were basically playing some Manchester United scrubs and popular B-list starters. A lot of shot opportunities came off in the first half, but the score was 0-0 after 45 minutes.

Photos? YOU BET!!
(Click photos to enlarge)

During the second half, a lot of the Union scrubs were put in, but the amazing part is that only one goal was allowed by the Union. Interesting, eh?
Sir Alex Ferguson, the head coach of Manchester United, thought the Union played exceptionally well and had a lot of compliments (which is unlike him, to say the least). He also had a lot to say about Andrew Jacobsen, one of the Union midfielders. As long as he didn't say anything about wanting Mwanga or Le Toux, I'm happy about that. :-)

All in all, this was an awesome experience, and it's definitely something that I'll be telling my kids about one day--that is...if I ever have them, heh heh. If you're a futbol fan, seeing this was probably one of the best Christmas in July presents ever offered to you. It was for me, that's for sure.

--AZ

(Final Note: More photos will be uploaded and placed in another section. Stay tuned.)