I cannot emphasize how proud I was of how our team responded to adversity this weekend in the Big Apple against the Energy Drinkers at Red Bull Arena. Not only did we face two deficits in the first half - equalized by Rafael Baca and, of course, Wondo - but we also coped with some critical losses due to injury. That being said, I’m sure everybody in Quakes Country will join me in wishing Shea Salinas and Victor Bernardez a speedy recovery. Furthermore, I would like to give kudos to the boys and our technical staff for responding to adversity and picking up a hard-fought draw.
Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the boys went out in the second half and, led by a valiant effort from substitute Simon Dawkins, thoroughly dominated the run of play. Even despite the injuries, we had several great opportunities to get that third goal and earned the praise of New York’s Thierry Henry for controlling the second half. In the end, we got a satisfying result in a 2-2 draw on the road in a much-hyped match. Afterwards, outside the locker room and in the halls of Red Bull Arena, it felt like the home team had lost after squandering two leads. For the Quakes, the strong 2012 season rolls onward into an epic battle for first place in the Western Conference this weekend against Real Salt Lake at the friendly confines of Buck Shaw Stadium.
On the stadium front, we spent this past week working on the layout of the Epicenter Fan Zone as well as finalizing the design of the Patio Club. Look forward to a more formal announcement as well as priority seating instructions on signing up for season tickets in the Patio Club shortly. As always, existing season ticket holders in order of seniority will be offered an opportunity to buy season tickets in the club before the general public. This is a huge benefit of being a season ticket holder and we are proud to reward our most loyal fans with the best seats in the new venue.
One question that I wanted to pose to fans is whether they would like us to continue offering Gourmet Food Trucks at the new venue and more specifically what trucks they would like featured. This year we have upped the number of trucks from five to ten with much positive fanfare. Please let me know your thoughts with a tweet to @QuakesPrez or an email to President@sjearthquakes.com.
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing everybody at Buck Shaw Stadium this weekend for the big clash against Real Salt Lake. It’s not every day you get the chance to take over sole possession of first place in front of your home fans. The boys certainly have their work cut out for them against a crafty and well-organized RSL squad. The match is another huge early-season test to show what we’re made of. I’m really hoping we can announce our club-record ninth-consecutive sellout at the match. We’re about 1,000 tickets away from accomplishing that goal so encourage your friends and colleagues to snap up those remaining seats to watch what will be the most intriguing match-up in MLS this weekend and possibly a preview of the Western Conference championship game.
