I got busted at the MLS Cup final. If you listen to the Public Address announcements you hear that smoking is permitted on the outside concourses. But not weed. I saw someone cited for just that. Fool. Of course that was not why I was in trouble. I was thrown out of Qwest Field (or The T as I call it) for carrying a sign with "hateful" language.
Despite my brush with the law, I thought the final was a good time. The game started out as a bore but livened up when RSL equalized. From there it picked up nicely, though unfortunatley took was too long to end. Overtime is not my first choice on a school night. Poor Debbie could live without the PKs anytime. Her anxiety aside, I thought it made for a thrilling finish.
Jon and I rolled into town plenty early to cruise through the tent-city that made for a festival-like atmosphere. While a band played, we swam through the crowd to see what was happening beneath the awnings. It wasn't bad. There was a video-game contest of some sort, give-aways, lines galore and some big-name players signing things. We saw Stuart Holden, but didn't get in line for an autograph. I always thought he looked young, but up close he looks even younger - about 14. Dwayne De Rosario was there, again we skipped. Same for Feddy Montero (too long a line) and a couple of people we didn't recognize. We did line up for Pete Vagenas.
His line was very, very short. Plus he's a Sounder, and we recognized him. And he was great. We didn't spend a lot of time chatting, but he agreed to take a prop-filled photo with us a my hateful sign, he even autographed it and gave us a description of playing against Portland. "It was crazy down there, with the chainsaw." Or something similar to that.
The first booth we stopped at let you paint a sign and advertise for Home Depot. I remembered Marty's idea from the opening match - a sign that said "I ALREADY HATE PORTLAND." Mort couldn't make the game so I made the sign in his honor. Carrying around wet paint you have to be pretty careful so I ended up holding it out in front of me. That also allowed people to read it. They loved it. I heard all kinds of laughs, was given a few high-fives, was snarled at by a couple of Portland backers and had my picture taken by quite a few. Including a TV camera. I did not expect so much recognition, but I should have known Portland-hatred runs deep.
It's not so popular with the security crew though. Just inside the stadium we were walking along the inside concourse receiving laughs and good-natured comments until a security gal walked toward us. She cocked her head obviously trying to read my poor penmanship (brushwork?) then told me I couldn't keep the sign because it contained "hateful language." Obviously. I didn't agree with her though, thanks to my problem with authority no-doubt. I think I countered her with the salient point of "You gotta be kidding?" This, surprisingly, didn't sway her.
We briefly debated semantics and she told me I had to throw it away or leave the building. Obviously she was on a power-trip. I wasn't about to toss it, just obstinate, so she escorted me to the door. On the way an RSL fan stopped us to take my photo - I just love that. While stopped she said something about how this shows what a problem the sign could cause. I countered with "Because people like it?" Again, she was unwilling to admit her defeat and we continued to the exit.
As I left the LA fans were marching by so I jumped in line and held the sign over my head. Again, people instantly loved it and many photos were taken. I really don't think the Timbers are going to be very popular in this league. The Galaxy fans entered The T en masse and I found myself alone. I was going back in, there was no doubt, but I had to crack security. I figured the gal would wait for me and jump me again. She had nothing better to do, I knew she was lurking. I saw a couple of options - go in a different door and hope not to run into her again, or go make another sign and hide the hateful one behind it. Then I realised the paint was still wet and it would get ruined if stacked. I didn't want to go back to the car because it was far away so I thought I was going to have to lose my now-beloved sign. Then providence stepped in, in the form of a Whitecaps fan. I ran into a friend and told him of my conundrum. He loved the sign and was parked nearby so we stashed it in his car. Ha!
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