Broke the California Boycott

I moved to Utah from California four years ago. SO far no one has come to visit me. So I kept joking that I was going to boycott the state until someone (anyone) came to visit. And then it was announced that Brandi Chastain was having a testimonial game for her retirement. It was going to be a whose who of soccer players (and actors) that I had grown up cheering for. The time had come to break the boycott. Most of my friends won't be shocked that it was soccer that got me back to the state. It is still my first love when it comes to sports, even if I do not go to as many games living in Utah. (And yes, I know we have a pro team. Just not the same.)

I headed out to the bay area on a Thursday. Almost didn't make it. Somehow I mixed up the times in my head and thought I needed to be down at the airport before 7:30 to check in. In fact my flight was leaving at 7:30, so at 6:20 I was in a bit of panic driving down I-80. Fortunately I made the delayed flight. Sometimes you have to appreciate a delay. It worked out since my friend Nancy was running behind to pick me up. We managed to be on the same time table after all of that. Nancy and Kim had been kind enough to take me in and offer me the use of their car for the weekend so I didn't have to rent. It was super nice of them. On our way to Nancy's house she showed me a way to loop around to their street if you couldn't make the turn due to traffic. At the stop sign before you turned onto their road she said there is a good view there. But since it was dark I couldn't tell. The next morning I realized I had forgotten my directions. Since I couldn't back up I did the loop. Turns out that good view is looking across the bay at the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. That is an amazing view!

Friday I drove down to the Cal State East Bay campus for a bit. Since everyone was busy I walked around and looked at some of the changes on campus. Then I headed out to Walnut Creek to meet up with Bri. We had survived grad school together and been the two girls who wanted careers in sports. It was so great to see her for a bit over lunch. I hope that sometime soon I'll convince her to come out to Utah.

Bri & Me after lunch

After lunch I raced straight back to CSUEB for the women's volleyball game. I had worked with the team when I lived in California. None of the players are the same but I still love the head coach and the one assistant I know. It was a great game and CSUEB came out with the win. Afterward I got to talk to Meg and Spagle. I had to give Spagle a hard time about having a tournament trip to Alaska after I left. Turns out I also missed the tourny trip to Hawaii. He does take his teams on some great trips. When I was there I got to go with them to Kentucky. Nothing like seeing a bunch of California girls in the Midwest. It was great. Spagle was just happy because my mom found him a place to get a hot brown sandwich and a bourbon. When in Kentucky... Anyway it was great to see all of them. Then Debby talked us into going over to the soccer games which wasn't on my schedule. The field is amazing now. They have redone it and it is used for the women's pro games. Nancy and I left for a bit to go get dinner. We headed straight to Val's for burgers, fries and milkshakes. The best comfort food I ever found when I lived out there. Then we stopped back by campus for a bit to see how the guy's were doing in their game.

Debby & Me at soccer.

Saturday morning was a nice slow start. Eventually though I left to drive over to Alameda to meet up with Mansi and Amanda who also survived grad school with me. We went to this cute little place by the water. We had the best view of the San Francisco skyline and the Bay Bridge. It was windy but beautiful. And since I had missed Amanda's wedding I was happy to catch up with them. Mansi swears they are either coming to visit in January for Sundance or June when it warms up. I have sent along the Sundance information so we'll see what happens.

Mansi, Me & Amanda

When I got back to Nancy and Kim's we got ready to head to Santa Clara for Brandi's game. I was so excited. All of my favorite players were going to be there. Brandi had invited Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Tisha Venturini, Cindy Parlow, Tiffeny Milbrett, Marcelo Balboa, Tab Ramos, Eric Wynalda and so many more. There were also actors and athletes from other sports. The game was being held at Buckshaw Stadium at Santa Clara University. I used to love going down there for games when I lived in the Bay Area. It was a beautiful day for a game. We got there early so we watched the clinic they were putting on for the kids ahead of the game. Kim and Nancy bought me a t-shirt and the program as early birthday presents. We had also brought a 12 year old friend of theirs named Tiffany. At one point the two of us wandered down to see what else there might be to do and get food. Unfortunately the line for food was so long we bailed on that idea. The line never did get short. I think a lot of people missed a lot of the game standing in that line.

Some of the players.

Julie Foudy & Mia Hamm - team captains

Eventually the game was under way. It was red team v blue team. In the first half Brandi played on the red team but at halftime she switched to the blue team. Considering that some of the players were not soccer players and others had been retired for 6 years it was a great game. Everyone was very competitive and having a good time. I really did watch the game but I also took about 300 photos. I never thought I'd have the chance to see so many of my soccer heroes playing in one game, I had to get proof. It really was a dream come true. There was a group of boys from a local soccer team sitting in front of us. The ones not standing in the concession line kept asking who people were. Since I had the program and years of soccer watching I filled them in the best I could. It is sad that today's kids do not know about Mia and the rest of that group. Although the little girls knew about her. They were still wearing her jersey. The boys were mostly excited because they had heard that a former Boston Red Sox player and an NFL football player were there. I knew they were referring to Nomar Garciaparra for the baseball player but it took awhile to figure out the football player. It was a former 49ers player named Brent Jones.

The whole list of players for the game:
Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Tisha Venturini, Joy Fawcett, Aly Wagner, Eric Wynalda, Leslie Osborne, Eric Lagopoulos, Marcelo Balboa, Tab Ramos, Brent Jones, Kelly Lindsey, Ro Hernandez, Tiffeny Milbrett, Nomar Garciaparra, Cindy Parlow, Giovanni Savarese, Chris Armas, Judy Reyes, David Zayas, Sissi, Danielle Slaton, Julie Inkster (she played in her hat), Yang Zhou, Meagan McCray, Jordan Angeli, Fernando Clavijo, Chris Dengerfield, Bobby Sarnevesht, Kristi Leskinen, Joe Cannon, Val Henderson, Tony DiCicco, Chioma Igwe, Chad Chastain, Lorrie Fair, Colleen Hacker, Linda Leipper, Shawn Medved, Cameron Smith, Kerry Smith


Late in the second half Brandi finally scored a goal in her testimonial game.

Brandi's goal.

Celebrating the goal with Mia.

After the score was tied 2-2 they called the game and went to PK's. You almost expected Brandi to take hers and then whip off her jersey like in 1999. She did take the last PK but after scoring she ran over and hugged the goalie. And the game ended up a tie. Not a bad way to go with so many amazing players.

Post game included the retirement of Brandi's high school jersey, her college jersey and then the Mayor of Santa Clara declared it Brandi Chastain Day. The best though was when they let Mia and Julie have the microphone. They had some great things to say about their friend and former teammate. I really miss watching these amazing players. They were a true class act and what all athletes should be like. Finally Brandi had the microphone and thanked everyone. She was a bit emotional but you certainly can't blame her. I was emotional listening and realizing that now all my soccer heroes are retired. It was a beautiful night.

Brandi thanking her fans.

Tisha, Julie, Mia after the game.

How do you follow up an awesome experience like Brandi's testimonial game? You spend Sunday in Monterey with two great friends. Nancy and I drove down to meet Joyce and got there around lunchtime. After checking out Joyce's adorable house we walked down to the wharf for a lunch of sushi. I had been craving sushi for awhile so it was great to finally get some. After lunch we walked back to Joyce's to get the car so we could go cheese tasting and wine tasting. When I still lived in Cali a group of us had gone down to meet Joyce for a day of wine tasting but she introduced us to the Cheese Shop in Carmel that day too. My request was sushi, Nancy's request was cheese. So off we went to The Cheese Shop where we easily spent an hour or more tasting cheese from all over the world. The owner was working with us and started calling me Utah after I told him I couldn't join the wine & cheese of the month club since I live in Utah. He had us try a cheese called "Barely Buzzed" that is dusted in espresso from Utah. I laughed because I'm pretty sure caffeine is not allowed by the Mormon religion, or so I had been told. We had a great time and we all walked out with plenty of cheese and I bought a bottle of wine to try. The next stop was a wine tasting room on Cannery Row. Joyce was a member so we went in and tried some of their delicious wines. I had to purchase a bottle there as well. After that we walked around and tried some of the shops. The sock place pulled us all in and no one walked out empty handed. I was pretty excited to find Thanksgiving socks. Our last stop was the Rocky Mountain Chocolate shop where Joyce treated us all to candy apples and other goodies. Yum! We made sure we had a group photo before taking Joyce home and driving back to Hayward.

Joyce, Me, Nancy

Nancy and I had one more stop that evening. We were invited to dinner at Debby & David's and you never say no! They are the best cooks. And it is always fun to spend time with them at their house. We had a lovely dinner and I got a chance to see the remodeled kitchen. I do miss their amazing dinners now that I'm in Utah.

Monday morning I went in to work with Nancy. Then I borrowed her car to go pick up sourdough bread at Trader Joe's and chocolate from the Ghirardelli Factory Store. If you are in the East Bay Area I recommend the factory store. Great prices and wonderful chocolate. I also had to stop and pick up lottery tickets while I was in a state with a lottery. Hard to win enough to travel the world when you live in a state with no lottery. I picked Nancy up and said good bye to Debby. Then on the way to the airport we stopped at See's Candy to pick up a box of chocolate for my Great Uncle and Aunt. The last time I was out there I bought a box but it never got to them. They received the padded envelope but not the candy. (This time I sent it Fedex.)

And then it was time to fly home. All in all a great trip to California. Hopefully someone from that huge state will come visit before the next time I travel that direction.