The Other Opening Day

Last night was the opening game for the Cardinals. We would have loved to go, but it was 7 p.m. on a school night, so... we'll probably wait for a while. On another note, Sophia's chorus sings the national anthem (or America the Beautiful) before a Cardinal game in May! And a friend of ours is throwing out the first pitch next Sunday for Autism Awareness Month!

Anyway, this isn't about Cardinals games. This year, we decided to fully support the home soccer team (USL) and we bought season tickets. Mostly because Erick has always wanted season tickets to something, and these were very reasonable. We do love the team. I'm just pointing out the obvious.

It was a really great game! Maybe the most impressive we've seen from them so far. We ended up winning with 3 goals to 2, though we did not see the last goal as some college kids stood on the benches in front of us out of excitement.

I enjoy the atmosphere at this little park quite a bit. There is always something fun for the kids to do. Our seats this year are close to the bathroom. I find that a significant bonus. It did end up being quite a bit colder than we thought. We didn't bring mittens, so Sophia improvised.

Sophia got her goalie gloves signed by the STLFC goalie, and she was so inspired that she wanted to practice yesterday. Pretty good form, I'd say. Biased, I know.

St. Louis Soccer

Last weekend was the home opening match of the St. Louis Football Club. The stadium is way out in Fenton, which is about 30 minutes away (25 minutes farther than we drive for entertainment typically). It was not the last time we'll be making the drive.

Before the match started, there were lots of fun things for kids to do. Hoops contest, kicking contest, the Bubble Bus!! And, of course, the Team Store...

The match was sold out, which meant 5,500 or so? That's not a ton of people really, but the atmosphere was so much fun! Lots of energy and excitement.

Sophia got into it much more than I thought she would. In case you were wondering, she's the kind of kid who yells out "RED CARD!" any time one of our players is fouled by the other team. She's also the kind of kid who goes crazy when the team scores.

As she learned from her time at Quakes matches with our family in California, Sophia will not leave a soccer match without obtaining signatures and pictures. Here she is getting a signature from the goal scorer, St. Louis native and former Quake, Brandon Barklage.

Like I said, that was not our last time out there, and hopefully in the years to come we can get season tickets if it's going to result in this response...