When you grow up in a soccer family, you watch a lot of soccer games together. Growing up, many of the games we watched were played by members of our family. But, we would frequently go to see a local college team, professional team, or even the national team.
The month of June brings with it the time to celebrate my dad. His birthday is at the beginning of the month and Father's Day comes soon after. With my mom oversees and the physical distance between our family, my brother mentioned a get-together in D.C. for Father's Day weekend. The United States Men's National Soccer Team was set to play Jamaica at RFK Stadium for the Gold Cup semi-finals. As the date neared, we all made the commitment and made plans for the game.
My dad and I celebrating Father's Day at RFK Stadium watching the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team
In true Clemente fashion, my brother decided it would be a great idea for him and my dad to drive down to Raleigh on Friday to see our new house, and turn around to see the game in D.C. on Sunday! Sounds crazy, but that's how we roll.
Early Friday morning, my dad and brother left the Rhode Island area bound for Raleigh. Getting through NYC was not much of a problem because they missed rush hour, but they were not so fortunate around the DC area. Add traffic to a 12.5 hour drive and you've got a really long day. Needless to say we didn't do much on Friday evening or Saturday morning. So, after a lazy morning, spent hanging out and watching the Bruins parade on TV, we decided to beat the heat at the pool during the afternoon hours. My brother and I considered playing pick-up soccer in the area, but decided instead on the Carolina Railhawks soccer game so we could all share in the fun.
Did I mention the Clemente's are a soccer family? We don't just sit there quietly and watch the game, but instead analyze the players, the referee, and the quality of the game. It's actually quite fun to "speak soccer language" for an evening.
When the final buzzer left the Railhawks with a 3-1 win over FC Tampa Bay, we felt the urge to quench our hunger in downtown Raleigh at one of my favorite eateries,
Busy Bee Cafe. I don't drink much alcohol, but their Carpenter Bee tea-like adult beverage is delicious. Imagine my disappointment to find they no longer offer the drink! I had previously read that they serve "local organic fare," but their website only lists this information in their history and only the chicken is listed as organic on the menu. In addition, their menu doesn't even list their delicious mixed drinks. Busy Bee, if you're reading, you need to revamp your website!
Eating on the back deck had it's pros and cons. It was a lovely night to be sitting outside enjoying a meal. But, at 9pm there were lots of smokers enjoying their food and adult beverages as well. I'll take the smokers to the freezing air conditioning though.
The delicious food left us satisfied after a long stretch between lunch and dinner. I'm sure we all ate too much, too late, since we were just going back to the house for an early night before our trip to DC. People always ask me if it is bad to eat late at night. If you think about food as fuel, what are you fueling for late at night? Personally, when I eat a lot late at night, I don't sleep well. Maybe my body expects me to use the energy I have so recently consumed, or it could just be that I can't sleep while digesting.
Either way, Sunday morning came too soon! At 7am we were all up and preparing for the drive and possible overnight stay in DC. We grabbed some tailgating equipment (camping stove and chairs), knowing we'd stop somewhere along the way to get food to grill. By 8am, we had dropped Darwin off to spend the day with his buddy Phoenix and gotten coffee for the road.
GPS had us arriving at the game with 2 hours of tailgating to spare. Unfortunately, we didn't follow google maps suggestion to avoid the most direct way into DC and got stuck in lots of event traffic. Couple that with a few wrong turns into the stadium and we arrived at the parking lot about 15 minutes before kickoff! So much for fun tailgating!! Instead, we fired up the propane, threw some burgers and sausages on the grill and gulped down our food in those 15 minutes. The far walk to the stadium meant we missed the first 6 minutes of play.
If you've ever been to RFK Stadium, you know how tiny it is. Even the nosebleed seats feel close. So, our "in between the field and nosebleeds" kept us on top of all the action!
Watching the U.S. vs Jamaica at RFK Stadium
The atmosphere was intense. I've never been in a stadium where everyone is chanting and cheering for the same team with such enthusiasm. The United States played Jamaica in the first game of a double header. Panama played El Salvador in the second game. I'm pretty sure there were more people from El Salvador in the stadium than in the country!! Thankfully, they were all cheering for the United States in the first game so when the U.S. scored twice, the stadium erupted in unison. Once again, there was lots of soccer talk among us and I enjoyed the really good wave that made it around the field several times.
After a solid U.S. victory (2-0) over Jamaica, we stayed in the stadium another hour and a half to watch the first 30 minutes of Panama vs. El Salvador.
Thousands of El Salvadorians in the stands before their beloved team takes the field
We had to witness the jubilation in the stadium. It was interesting that Panama did not warm up on the field. Perhaps the coach knew there would be nothing but "boos" from the crowd. When the El Salvador team came out, the stadium went batty, during the national anthem, everyone sang along, and extreme emotions were displayed when a penalty kick was awarded for the El Salvadorians and subsequently saved by Panama. We left the stadium with our hearts still racing from the intensity in the atmosphere.
My dad and brother decided they would try to drive all the way back to RI after the game, so we also left the city. Thankfully, getting out was a breeze and we had smooth riding the 4 hours back to Raleigh. By the time we picked Darwin up and reached the house close to midnight, we were both struggling to keep our eyes open. I'm grateful Colin prefers to drive because I'm not sure I could have gotten us home.
