Royalty witnesses our first ever outdoor soccer game at Red Bull Arena!

Prince Outside Red Bull Arena

Back in the early 1980's, I went to the Nassau Coliseum a number of times to see indoor soccer when there was a team called the Arrows in the Major Indoor Soccer League aka MISL. In addition, I also saw an indoor soccer game at Madison Square Garden when the Cosmos played there.

However I never got to see an outdoor soccer game live until this Saturday afternoon at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ which is the home of the New York Red Bulls of the MLS aka Major League Soccer. They were playing their home opener against the DC United.

As for the King, this was his very first live soccer game of any kind he's ever seen. It should be noted he's seen around 13,000 live sporting events in his life.

Over the years the schedule never worked out that we've been able to go to a game.

This time the timing was perfect. The only concern we had was the weather. They play regardless but we were reluctant to brave the elements. We dressed appropriately and we decided to go for it.

We wound up taking the Path train there. When we got out there, we met up with our pals Frank Anichiarico and Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike who's a huge soccer fan. We wound up getting $20 tickets outside.
It turned out to be a very worthwhile experience. We got to see snow fall during the game which added to the excitement of being there.

As for the game we saw, the Red Bulls dominated the game from start to finish. They out shot the United, 24-4 in total shots. They also out shot them 7-2 in shots on goal. Unfortunately neither team scored. The Red Bulls did hit the cross bar. The game wound up being a draw. Both teams got a point for the 0-0 tie.
Despite the lack of scoring it was fun watching these guys use their feet and their heads to move the ball since it's against the rules to use your hands unless your the goal keeper.

Supporters behind the Goal

It should be noted that the three sections which are located behind the goal are the supporters sections. These people stand up the whole game and they cheer on their Red Bulls. If you don't mind standing the whole game, you should watch the game with them to get the true soccer experience.

Our view of the game

We wound sitting in the second level close to mid field which gave us a nice perspective of the action.

I hope we can go to another game in the future. The schedule doesn't look promising but you never know.

If you haven't seen a live soccer game, I strongly suggest you do. After all, it's the most popular sport in the world.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman