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 SASC Players Enjoy a Night with
Ronaldo!
Contributed By Alex Weitzel - SASC
United Red - U15 Boys
On August 4th, 2010, soccer clubs Real
Madrid and Club America met each other in an International match at Candlestick
Park in San Francisco. On August 4th, 2010, soccer clubs Real Madrid and Club
America met each other in an International match in the candlestick arena in
San Francisco. Thanks to SASC Coach David Natwick, my team, Sunnyvale Alliance
United Red, and I were selected as ball boys for this historic match.
We had heard of the game weeks before, but never dreamed about being
involved in it in any way. The day of the game nine of us were instructed to
come 3 hours early to practice for our roles. We were excited beyond belief
walking through the hallways with both teams' personnel running around.
We walked out onto the field in awe, taken over by the huge stadium and
perfect grass. We were told what to do and where to stand, then had some time
to kill before the teams started to warm up. We helped ourselves to drinks and
walked around in the stadium taking pictures with our cell phones.
Before the teams came out to warm up, we got into our positions. Our
hearts almost jumped out of our chests as the crowd exploded to welcome
Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the players.
We watched the teams
warm up, occasionally getting a ball or two, looking out for our favorite
players. After about 30 minutes, the teams went back into the locker rooms.
When they came back out to line up we held the flags next to the teams while
the United States national anthem played.
Our goal keper Eric, was
literally 3 steps away from Ronaldo the entire time the anthems were going on.
We felt like such a part of the team at that point. Afterwards, we ran back to
our spots as the captains were called.
When the referees whistle blew
to start the match, the arena went crazy. I was jumping up and down in
excitement. Our angle was incredible! Nothing much happened in the first half
except for a Real Madrid goal that I was at a perfect angle to see.
Throughout the game whenever Christiano Ronaldo would touch the ball,
the crowd would cheer. He was easy to recognize in his orange cleats. The
second half was a lot more interesting, and perfect timing too, considering the
dropping temperature. 4 goals were scored, two for each team, and no matter
what team goal it was, the crowd cheered equally as loud.
I caught a
ball that went out in front of the goal I was standing by. It was so cool
passing the ball to an actual player. There were many good goals, a great
crowd, and a close game with good sportsmanship.
In conclusion, the
perfect definition of a friendly match. It was so awesome to be able to stand
six feet away from the players you thought you would only see on TV and have
them demand the ball from you. All in all it was an experience that brought our
team closer together, and gave us a taste of what being part of a professional
soccer game was like.
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