On a hot Pasadena evening, I caught a football match. You know, real football. Not that American kind. I'm talkin' FOOTBALL. Where guys don't touch the ball with their hands and dive on the field without anyone touching them.
Chelsea played Inter Milan, as part of the World Football Challenge. Also part of the challenge, but playing elsewhere in the States, are AC Milan and Club America. These matches are friendlies played in round-robin style. This is hardly Champions League levels of prestige, but hey, you can spend part of your summer in sunny Southern California.
I went to the match with my friends Nate, Giulia and Ken. We arrived at the Rose Bowl 30 minutes late. It happens. This is LA.
Our seats were close to the pitch (Ooh look at me with my football terminology). Having never been to a match before, I had no idea that the majority of the time is spent standing up. I was exhausted from the drive in, so I chose to sit. This hampered my view a little.
This is Inter making a run...
...and this is Chelsea about to take a corner kick. I was rooting for Chelsea because part of my tour of London included a visit to Stamford Bridge, which remains a highlight of my time there.
While missing the first 20 minutes of the game (oops, sorry, MATCH), we saw the halftime entertainment in its entirety. According to Nate, the singer's name was Andy. Andy from Aremenia. I looked up at the Jumbotron and saw this. She wasn't so bad...
...until I realized Andy was the dude with the tight black jeans and yellow shirt. He wasn't so bad either. There were also belly dancers on stage, but I was too stunned to take any pictures. Sorry.
The second half proved uneventful, except for a lone Chelsea goal on a penalty kick. The rest of the match was spent taking in all the sights (such as the two Inter guys in the picture above doing ab workouts throughout the half) and listening to Nate and Ken talk football formations and English Premier League news. Now I know how my friends feel when I talk about UCLA basketball. They're probably thinking, "What is this guy talking about? He's speaking but I can't understand a WORD he's saying!" Yeah, that's how I felt. Sorry guys.
The match ended at 10. We didn't get out of the Rose Bowl until 11:15. That's actually pretty good. The night was capped with a jaunt to the Red Lion Inn in Silverlake. Bratwurst never tasted so good.
Did I mention this was on a work night? I didn't get home until 1:45 AM. I don't do that often, but the following day as I sit at work in a daze wondering what the hell just happened, I question my choice to stay up late. And then I plan for the next outing.
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