6:15 am

I wake up and lie in bed like Cameron from "Ferris Bueller", staring at the ceiling. Thank you MLS, for a noon kick off.

7:00 am

I get in my van and head to the donut shop. While I still hate the hour, there’s basically no traffic. Silver lining? Maybe. Whatever, this still sucks. I get to the donut shop and go a little crazy, buying tamales and a bunch (or so) of donuts. On to the game!

8:00 am

Ah, the Stub! There are already quite a few people here, a mix of ACB and random supporters. I find a little corner of the parking lot figuring the party will work its way down to my van. I hit the phone, let people know where I am, with the typical Stub directions ("So, yeah. Look for the Stubhub Center sign. No, we’re not behind that ‘cause it’s full of sponsors. We’re on the grass. No, not that grass, down by Avalon. No, by Victoria, in the corner. By the sign. No, the CSDH sign. Right, the one with the penguins on it. Ok, I’m looking at you. I’m waving. Ok, turn around. Cool, see you in a bit.")

8:30 am

I pour my first drink of the day and choke on a pickle in my bloody mary. I wish I was joking about this, but seriously, it was just a really spicy pickle. It’s 8:30 am and my voice is already shot from choking on a pickle. There’s a joke in there somewhere. Or maybe it just speaks for itself. I don’t know, it’s still too damn early. Still, there’s something right about a bloody mary and tamales for breakfast.

9:30 am

People are really starting to show up. It’s actually pretty damn festive for being so damn early. The bloody marys have turned into beer, and the "picnic" has turning into real tailgate. I’m still fairly cognizant, because I remember wandering around talking to people. A large part of the ACB is missing, toiling away in the stadium setting everything up for the game. Here’s a fun fact: Those good ACB folks spent a large part of the night before setting up their tifo. What you see for 20 seconds or so takes hours to make.

10:30 am

Time to get in the stadium! I have the honor of pushing a wheelchair up the hill to the gate. Dude, lose some weight.

11:00 am

We setup in the wheelchair area on top of section 120. Not a bad view, and we’re sandwiched between ACB and the Revolution supporters. Should be good.

11:30 am

The Rev supporters march in, and there are actually a good number of them. Pretty impressive for having to travel 3,000 miles.

12:00 am

Here we go! The planes flying over during the anthem were cool, better than the usual flyovers. ACB puts their tifo up, and I have no idea what it looks like. When you’re in GA you never do, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ACB tifo live. We’re staring at some shiny pieces of foil, but most people seem to be doing it right. Lots of fireworks! ‘Merica! OK, let’s kick off!

12 something

Beer has turned back into some vodka concoction. Kickoff! And, blah. I was, maybe naively, expecting a back and forth shootout. Instead we get a midfield battle, oh boy. New England plays a high line and Jermaine Jones almost plays as an extra center back at times. That will be the extent of my tactical analysis. Wait a second, did someone hire a plane towing a pro-rel banner? I literally laugh out loud and roll on the floor, which has nothing to do with that plane.

A little later.

ACB, and GA in general, is doing a really good job making noise. This is fun. We can even hear the Riot Squad fairly clearly. We tend to judge ourselves against Portland and Seattle when it comes to support, but let me tell you, the LA supporters blew the Revs supporters away. The constant refrain of, "Rev-o-lu-shun!" seemed to be all they were capable of, and considering that chants lends itself perfectly to throwing "SUCKS!" onto the end of it, maybe not the best choice guys.

Halftime-ish

I shall not move during half time. My deft strategy of dehydrating myself with vodka is working perfectly.

WE SCORE!

I see something happening at the other end! And then I see the telltale sign of the net shaking and everyone goes nuts, so we must have scored! I have to pick something up, and there’s a wheelchair in front of me, so there it goes! About a nano-second later I’m grabbed by a guy in a redcoat and told to please, don’t throw the wheel chair. I had zero intention of taking out the first five rows of section 120 with a wheelchair, but now it’s in my head. Thanks security guy.

THEY SCORE!

Man, WTF? This isn’t right. And the game’s almost over. Damn. Extra time. This is probably a good time to go pee. Right, move quickly man. I dash to the bathroom, and every "ohh" and "ahh" I can hear coming from the stands has me worried that I’m missing "it". Did they score? Did we score? Will I have time to buy a beer before the break?

Extra time

Ugh. This sucks. I was supposed to be out in the parking lot drinking beer by now. And it’s tense. The chorus from GA has become more pained shouts as people are getting frustrated. Oh, and the ref sucks. And then…

WE SCORE!

Bedlam! Forget this, that wheelchair is going for a ride! Oh, never mind. So I pick up the guy next to me, and then the somewhat terrified 23-year old next to me. I know she’s 23 because she was like, "Dude! I’m 23!" Anyway, GA is going off. For the next 10 minutes the Stub is the loudest stadium in all the land. And then…

WE WIN!

After some jerk decides to pick up and then push down Jaime Penedo, the ref blows the whistle three times and we win! More fireworks! At some point Landon Donovan grabs the megaphone from the ACB capo and says something. None of us at the top can hear him, but everyone in the front cheers, and we cheer, and all is good in the world. And then Alan Gordon runs by with an ACB flag like a "Twilight Zone" episode. I wonder if a certain group up north is seeing how loyal their players are?

4:00 pm?

Out in the parking lot a finally have that victory beer. I have been thoroughly entertained and I’m starting to sober up for real.

4:30 pm

I take a left onto Avalon. Oh man, that was a mistake.

6:00 pm

I arrive home, happy, sober and ready for bed. I think I told someone I’d write something for LAG Confidential. I will, but not yet. Not yet.