Philadelphia Union

It's probably a good idea to split these USA Tour threads up.



Great post by Union, so I will stick it here too:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Union (Post 11751178) So Your Team Is Playing In Chester: A Survival Guide. Welcome to sunny Chester, PA. Yes, its true, the mayor's wife may have been carjacked like 1/4 of a mile 1/2 km from the stadium last week. But that's sort of an outlier. The good news is that a soccer football fan has never EVER been attacked, robbed, stabbed, etc. The local Chester population knows what PPL Park means to their local economy. Its sort of an unwritten code. Don't mess with the stadium. And they honestly never do. Stay on the stadium grounds and you will be fine. I've been going for years and not a single thing has happened to me or anyone I know with the exception of other drunken fans, but that's to be expected. I think. Whenever an English team comes in for the annual friendly, the first quesiton, without fail, is why do you assholes call it soccer where is the local supporter pub? Wehellhell...as for pubs, there aren't any in Chester. Chester isn't exactly a place you want to hang out. Rather, we practice the UnitedStatesian practice of "tailgating." We just have a giant party in the parking lot. All are invited. The area behind the stadium next to the river hosts the two big supporter groups, the Sons of Ben and the Bearfight Brigade. The SoBs are the official supporters group and generally friendly. For the official Philly Union experience, you have to go to the Bearfight Brigade tailgate and do a Bearfight. They welcome all comers and will pour you a bearfight. You won't win the competition. These gentlemen and ladies are champion bearfighters. But its an experience that shouldn't be missed. If you really, really want to be British and do the pub thing, the closest "football bar" is Stoney's Pub in Delaware. Its an awesome place. In actual Philadelphia, there are several good bars. I recommend visiting Fado or Brauhaus Schmitz. Brauhaus Schmitz has this nifty gameday shuttle that leaves downtown Philly, drops you off right in front of the stadium, then takes you right back after the game. With plenty of bear on the ride. Highly recommended for those that don't want to deal with driving or using public transport. As for accommodations, the closest nice hotels are either at the Philly airport or in Wilmington, DE. (Chester is basically right on the Pennsylvania-Delaware border.) I'd probably just stay in center city Philly for the experience. Try a cheesesteak, run up the Art Museum steps like you are Rocky, visit the Revolutionary War Museums(oh wait...wrong audience...) It's a fantastic city, it really is. Tons to see and do. Now how do you get there. You have 3 decent options. 1) Rent Hire a car for your trip and park at the stadium for $20. (Or park at the Sonoco Market on 2nd Street for $10 and walk like 3 minutes....shhh...its a secret I don't want out there too much...) 2) Take the train. There is a great guide on the Union website. I'm too new to link to URLs, so I apologize. 3) Do the shuttle thing above All are easy enough. The drive in is very simple. Its right off of the interstate highway. The shuttle is for the ultimate in not having to worry about it. The metro is probably the biggest hassle, but the cheapest option unless you have a car full of people and use the $10 lot. Now what about the team? They suck so far. They have nobody that cn finish, they need a CB, and the coach is weird. But there are bright spots. The keeper has been brilliant. The kid is 23 years old and I personally think will be the next great American keeper. He is 3 for 3 on PKs this year. Very bright future for him. They have a great midfielder straight from Ligue 1 named Vincent Nogueira who is fantastic. Maurice Edu is on loan from Stoke City. The defense has some great young players. Amobi Okugo will play for the US national team next cycle, I guarantee it. Ray Gaddis is easily among the best 1v1 defenders in the league with blazing speed. Other than that...meh. There is talent...just bizarre coaching. They decided to randomly convert a tall, skilled target forward into a CB for reasons nobody understands...and start him EVERY WEEK. Even though he has literally 2 months of experience in his life at the position. Suffice it to say...the last opponent scored 5 on us. But I will support them until I die. We welcome you to the outer Philadelphia suburbs! Any questions, go ahead and shoot.

And here is the Photo of the ground that Caterham Eagle posted:

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaterhamEagle (Post 11750529) Philadelphia's stadium with the bridge and river backdrop looks pretty cool. Philadelphia Union - PPL Park

And here is Rich Eagle's ticket post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich the Eagle (Post 11752828) Philadelphia Union Tickets OK, this sounds a little complicated but really is standard practice for visiting supporters over here. All prices & details are subject to alteration. The club have come back with me with this: 1. The away section will be Section 133. As indicated on the plans, it is a standing section. If you need to sit down for the game or need disabled seating, please let me know. 2. The individual price for section 133 will be $32. You will be able to get this by contacting the club directly & asking for Section 133 when the tickets go on sale. 3. A ticket link will be created, however the price per ticket will be $32 plus $5.50 in fees. Now, here it gets interesting: 4. If people are willing to buy from me, I can get a group rate as low as $25 a ticket ($26.10 after PayPal fees). 5. Payment could be made in £ - £15 at the current exchange rate. 6. Tickets would be either emailed, left at the box office or distributed earlier on the tour. I hadn't planned to get into buying / selling tickets with this, however I'm happy to do it if it saves Palace fans a bit of cash.

So, who is going?