Day 286 (The Ultras)

After spending the first part of the day in San Francisco with Stacey, Heather and Ryan, I was off to San Jose to watch a professional soccer game with Ryan. Ryan had left us several hours earlier to be part of the tail-gating party and to watch the first half of the game. He is part of "The Ultras," a hard core group of people that support the San Jose Quakes.

He asked us to go with him, but Stacey and Heather bailed at the last minute, so I had to drive up alone. I didn't have the best directions, so by the time I got there, there was only about a half hour left in the game.

It was interesting. As most of you know, I'm not much of a sports person, but I do like soccer, and if I'm every actually at a soccer match, which is extremely rare, I like to actually watch the game. The Ultras kind of made it hard to concentrate. I totally appreciate their enthusiasm, and as a fan, I'm sure they would be fun to have on the sidelines, but to be in the midst of them is a bit much. Still, it was kind of fun getting into the clapping and shouting and singing and chanting and flag-waving and shoving and general craziness that ensues when you find yourself with such a group of people.

Afterwards, we went to a bar, where the celebration of our 1-3 loss continued. Yes, it was a disappointing first Quakes game for me. I am also not much of a bar person, so I let Ryan hang out with his friends inside while I caught up with Carly on the the phone outside. Because I hadn't counted on being so late, I didn't have dinner in the city, and figured I could grab a hot dog or something at the game. I ended up eating a 7-11 hot dog.

Interesting night, a lot more hectic than I had originally planned, but it worked out. Maybe I'll try to take it easy tomorrow.