I had the opportunity to travel with family and friends to Washington DC to see DC United play against English Premier League side Everton FC for a mid-season/preseason friendly. The match turned out to be a great one despite DC’s 3-1 loss, and I felt lucky to be able to see players like Phil Neville and Tim Cahill play. Neville was part of Manchester United’s “Golden Generation,” and Cahill is arguably the best footballer in Australia at the moment. It was an exciting chance, and I had to jump on it.
Coming into RFK, I could definitely tell that everything people say about the stadium is completely true. It is run down, dirty, old, and is not fit for MLS soccer. In fact, I don’t think its really fit for much of anything anymore. We estimate that the seats have been around since the 1970’s, and the press box at the top of the stadium has paint chipping off and old wires hanging loosely without a purpose. I always knew that RFK was in bad shape, but I was a little embarrassed by what I saw and I’m pretty sure the upper bowl is unsafe for people. Putting appearances aside, it gets the job done. The best feature the stadium has to offer are the springs below the stadium that allow it to bounce up and down. I had seen it on TV many times, but feeling it literally go up and down was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever felt in sports.
Our seats were about 30 feet back from the field on the side where supporters like La Norte and Barra Brava sit. For the entire match, everyone stood and was shouting/chanting/singing for either DC or Everton. There were a good bit of Everton fans there, including a nice sized group that sat behind us, and I would have to speculate that the ratio of DC fans to Everton fans was about 50/50. In all, there were a little over 12,000 people at the game, and I swear it was twice as loud as the New York Mets game that I attended a few days before with over double the attendance.
The game started pretty bad for DC unfortunately. Everton’s Victor Anichebe scored in the 4th minute to give the away side the 1-0 lead, and just twelve minutes later, it was doubled by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, as Everton took the 2-0 lead into halftime. During halftime I stepped out to buy a bottle of water (since it was hot and very humid outside) and saw the Barra Brava under the stadium chanting, jumping, and waving flags, despite being down 2-0. Everton fans were looking on in wonder as the DC fans were making a racket. (A New York Red Bull fan tweeted later that night that DC United has the worst fans…I beg to differ.)
The second half started out with a bang as Chris Pontius collected a long ball from Dwayne De Rosario and finished to make it 2-1. It was like an explosion on our side of the stadium as confetti, beer, and hands were all shot up in the air and voices shouted in celebration of Pontius’ goal. Overall, DC played extremely well after going down 2-0. The second half was mainly DC’s half with the home side getting more chances and better possession. The last few minutes of the game, after Magaye Gueye scored to make it 3-1, saw DC have multiple chances with shots on frame, but they were all saved by Everton keeper Jan Mucha.
Thus, the match ended with Everton winning 3-1 and the fans dressed in blue and white went home happy with their team’s preseason win. Both teams won in my opinion, since no major injuries occured. Almost everyone got some playing time, and a good match of soccer was played. Even though DC lost, I still had a great time, and I hope I can make it to at least one match per year at RFK in the future.
(image courtesy of Ben Keller/dcunited.com)
