I don't like the LA Coliseum. If an earthquake hit L.A. and the Coliseum collapsed into a pile of unrecognizable stone blocks, I'd be happy (so long as nobody was in the stadium, of course).
That being said, it's mostly because of what goes on outside the stadium than inside of it. The parking is an absolute Disaster, yes a Disaster with a capital D. If you don't get there four hours before the start of the game, forget about getting in your seats by kickoff. And the neighborhoods around there are kinda shady. Don't really want to be parking just anywhere out there. And the press box, though far more roomier at the Coliseum than at HDC, is miles away from the tunnel and mixed zone and all that good stuff.
However, those are just obstacles we all face when trying to go out and watch soccer. We're all in the same boat. We don't arrive by bus like the players do. I have to maneuver through the traffic like everyone else, and it's a pain in the ass sometimes. I like HDC because I am familiar with ways to get in and places to avoid but the Coliseum... not so much.
I guess that's the price we all have to pay to watch the Galaxy and Chivas play a SuperLiga match. It seems like a long ways away, more than just the two months it will be from now til then. But that game will probably be David Beckham's third match with the Galaxy. Maybe by then someone else besides Landon Donovan will be contributing to the offense. Chivas will be in its preseason and trying to prepare for yet another important season. They'll also be preparing for Copa Sudamericana as well as the Apertura 2007 season. We don't know all the details about the television schedule and all that.
I suppose in some ways I'm trying to get over this letdown of having to endure the factors surrounding the Coliseum and not letting that get in the way of my anticipation and eagerness for the match. Hopefully, the traffic problems will be minimal, the crowd will be lively and energetic but not rowdy and there will be a near-capacity crowd at hand to watch Becks' third game in L.A.
Let's just hope, though, that they keep these Coliseum dates to one a year.
2 comments:
Luis,
I work in the vicinity of the Coliseum and I can tell you where the good parking is in non-shady areas near either freeway access or a good way out of the aread by surface streets. You'll have to walk probably 10 minutes or so, but that's actually really close.
You still have to get there early, just not 4 hours early.
But I'm not going to just post it here for every to take all the good spots and leave me with bubkus.
So if you want some good intel, you can reach me at nathanhj AT gmail DOT com.
I'm willing to part with these secrets because I am a futbol fan (MLS fan, then US MNT) and I really get a lot out of your writing (and your co-blogger's as well).
But if you choose not to hit me up for advice, I'm cool with that. More parking opportunities for me.
I am really not sure what all this yak is about the Coliseum. The neighborhood is only shady if you don't really know what a shady neighborhood is. Granted, it is not in the suburbs of Carson and due to the sheer size of it, traffic is more of an issue but all this hyperbole about the how terrible the coliseum is strikes me as complaints of a bunch Los Angeles sports neophytes. If you don't like the city, I suggest you support the bland shopping mall culture that the Ducks and the Angels of Anaheim represent. I am disappointed that this game will not be a home game for the Galaxy but that seems to be par for course now a days. AEG is far more interested in making money off the Galaxy than winning apparently. My questions is, what are they going to do next year when the novelty of Beckham has worn thin, the Galaxy are not playing in any big name tournaments because they failed to even qualify for the play offs and they can't do anything to improve the team because the salary cap is used up? Just banking on a non-winning side with Beckham on board ain't gonna work. This is Los Angeles after all.
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