Now it’s time for me to give you my personal recollections of MLS Cup 2014, which took place less than three weeks ago at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Dec. 7, to be exact. My day began by setting up the Live Blog in the morning: 4 a.m. PT it was scheduled to go. After a few posts and updates, a change of venue with assistance from family.
My mother works as a preschool teacher in Long Beach, which is a 20-30 minute drive away from StubHub Center. She has done this for more than two decades and was more than happy to get me to the venue since public transportation would take me longer. Also, the game kicked off at noon in my time zone, so getting there in the morning was very important.
Before I arrived, I did stop by Carls Jr. for a pregame meal. There was good reason for it: the press box meal was pedestrian and didn’t set well with me. It wasn’t Wolfgang Puck material, comparable to that of the friendly between the Galaxy and Manchester United in the summer. Nonetheless, I took some snaps and soaked it in.
Two days before, I went to the media mixer at the Rockefeller Gastropub in Manhattan Beach. Small venue, but only because the game was not at a predetermined location and a reservation was made on the fly. That, and perhaps some collusion with the hosts, since the pub was a Galaxy pub. The Beach Cities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are Galaxy strongholds because a number of players live there, Omar Gonzalez being an example.
But what I noticed was that the master of MLS gaffers, Bruce Arena, speak of the football gods, was in attendance. As I took a selfie with him, I had to wonder why he was at the mixer. My suspicions was that he was confident that New England, the Buffalo Bills of the league, would fall in predictable fashion and that LA’s success in the MLS Cup final against the Revs…would continue. A gutsy move, and he would be right, but barely.
FanSided
Back to the game. Once I entered the press box, I took stock of the preparations inside the stadium, including tifo, banners on the pitch, a sequence of ads and segments for the big board being distributed, people going in and out to give instructions, a crowd gathering outside and then filing in, and so on and so forth.
One thing I noticed was that there were no scaffold seats. Lalas Hill, the grass berm, would be open and packed, but there was no extra seating. Well, if there is no David Beckham, and it’s Landon Donovan calling it a career, might as well take a chance. This was my second time covering an MLS Cup final live, the last time was in 2011, in the pouring rain.
"The emotions of a cup final are immense. They are rich, they are vivid, and they bring out the best in humanity."
My de facto workstation was actually in a room called the Press Tribune room, which is essentially the same location that I was the last time. I went here because although the skies were clear, my wireless connection would be compromised if I went to the Auxiliary Press Box. Weak connection, no bueno. So ended up watching the action live from the big board, to go with an online feed via delay.
The emotions of a cup final are immense. They are rich, they are vivid, and they bring out the best in humanity. The first goal came in the 52nd minute by Zardes via Ishizaki. As Zardes, the second-year player from Hawthorne, Calif., used his touch and possession to slam one past Shuttleworth, he pointed to the sky, perhaps to Luca DeLaGarza’s unbound spirit, who I argue was behind the controls all this time.
Perhaps his next mission in heaven is to learn the eon-honored art of moving mountains. Who knows. But speaking of mountains, the Revolution had another mountain to climb, and in the 79th minute, Tierney was able to scale it and pull the scores level. I was shocked for a bit that the Galaxy’s backline failed again.
Upon review later in the month, I found out that it was Leonardo’s fault. Leonardo, a center back that has been given a lot of tough stick for his inconsistency and blame for conceding so many key goals against worthy opposition, proved once again that his liability is omnipresent. The match forced extra time, and I was bracing for a possible releasing of penalty shootout results.