On Saturday, Sept. 17 the Earthquakes will face the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. PT. The Earthquakes have enjoyed success against the Colorado side, with a winning record both at home (15-8-7) and on the road (13-10-7).
San Jose has not lost on the road against Colorado since Aug. 7, 2010 when they fell 1-0. Current Earthquakes defender Marvell Wynne and forward Quincy Amarikwa both played for the Rapids during that game.
For this weekend’s match, Wynne and Amarikwa will return to the city and the stadium that once served as their home. Wynne played for the Rapids from 2010 through the 2014 season before joining the Earthquakes in 2015 while Amarikwa joined Colorado in April 2010 from the Quakes and stayed with the club until 2012 when he left for Toronto.
Both players enjoyed the success of winning the 2010 MLS Cup while at Colorado, in which Wynne played 120 minutes in the 2-1 victory against FC Dallas, and have memories there both on and off the pitch.
“I liked the city a lot, I loved living there,” Amarikwa said. “There is everything you could want to do: golfing, a really cool aquarium, a zoo, hiking, fishing, a lake, a theme park that I never went to, Broncos stadium, Nuggets games, the Avalanche and the Rockies. The professional sports teams are all in walking distance.”
Wynne and Amarikwa shared their favorite places in Denver with sjearthquakes.com.
Best place to brunch:
There are quite a few brunch places in Denver that Wynne enjoyed, but the breakfast burritos at Snooze A.M. Eatery makes the establishment Wynne’s No. 1 brunch spot.
Best restaurant: This weekend Amarikwa will visit Tag Restaurant, one of his favorite restaurants in Denver. “You can order anything on the menu and it is good,” Amarikwa said. “I do not know what I am eating half the time, I just pick something and it is good.”
Best place for a night on the town: “The city of Denver has so much to do every night of the week, but I’ve heard that Mile High Spirits is a good place to go to,” Wynne said. The distillery offers house cocktails, live music, trivia and food trucks outside.
Best hiking trail: Amarikwa used to make a short trip north to Boulder, known for the flatirons, to hike while in Colorado.
Favorite place to shop: For Wynne, the Cherry Creek Mall was a one-stop shop that had everything he was looking for.
Favorite place in general: For Wynne, his favorite place in Denver was the 16th street mall. Walking down it was one of his favorite things to do.
Best view: Colorado has some of the best scenic landscapes in the United States, and Wynne was fortunate enough to live somewhere he could see it everyday. From his downtown condo he could see the Pepsi center, the mountains and the whole city.
Keep up with the Quakes on their trip to Colorado by following the Quakes on Facebook and Twitter.
