During the first two seasons of the MLS I attended every home game at the Rose Bowl loyally following the Galaxy and cheering on the likes of my still all time favourite Galaxy player Mauricio Cienfuegos.
I enjoyed watching live football once again, but there were draw backs. The MLS had a running clock where players could idly waste time while watching the clock run down on the scoreboard. It was great if the Galaxy were winning but frustrating if we lost or were drawing. We also had Mexican clown Jorge Campos between the sticks and it was in his contract that he had the option to sub late in MLS games and play up front for 10 minutes or so, it was embarrassing and he never scored, big shocker there then.
There were no draws, so each game ended in a tie-breaking shoot out. It really wasn't football as I knew it. And as much as the Rose Bowl is a beautiful stadium and we did initially get big crowds, the place was clearly too big for the Galaxy, even crowds of 35,000-40,000 made the place look empty and soul less.
After the first two seasons I became a bit bored with the MLS and the Galaxy experience and my visits to the Rose Bowl would be very sporadic, it was like a slow break up with a girl. You get tired of the relationship, it's over the honeymoon period and you just stop calling her without never actually breaking up with her.
I did gain a bit of interest when they moved to the Home Depot Center and went to a few games by myself just just really wasn't that much into it.
Looking back, I can see I was a bit of a Premier League snob, as I was comparing the MLS to my experiences back in England. It was an unfair comparison, I'd travel home and away, with large groups of my friends, drinking and generally having a wild time.
So my MLS days were seemingly over for good.
But a few years back I tracked down my old mate Mark Venton, I had been out of contact with him for years and actually thought he had moved back to England after being told that by one of the local Brit contingient.
Anyway I found him via his ex-sister in law and brother through facebook and e-mails.
We met up and he obviously hadn't moved back to the UK and was still living in the same house in Simi Valley, just five minutes away from where I lived. We met up, chatted and it turned out we had been at many of the same gigs over the years and living so close together, I have no idea how we managed to avoid each other.
Mark told me that he was a season ticket holder at the HDC for the Galaxy and would I fancy going?
I said yes, but as a still stubborn football snob I was a bit sceptical and basically just went along so I could hang out with my old mate once again.
I didn't exactly embrace the Galaxy on my return, I'd show up wearing my Man City shirt, I wasn't too enthusiastic and would just politely applaud when they scored and won. I poured scorn on the supporters groups, harking back again to my English football days and thinking that they behaved in ways I wasn't used to seeing and therefore it was unfitting behaviour.
Clearly I was wrong, the fan groups at HDC are as passionate and loyal as fans back in the UK, but just show it in a different way. Obviously while I loved the buzz at the time, following City in the 80's at the height of hooliganism was dodgy and watching the sport you love without the threat of getting beaten up or a brick thrown at your head is the way to go.
That first season back with the Galaxy and Mark was topped off with a visit to the MLS cup final in Seattle, it was a great weekend (Despite the result) and close up with some of the groups I had previously thought were tossers, I could see their passion and loyalty for the LA Galaxy and learned to appreciate what they were all about.
By my second season back I had ditched the City shirt and went out and bought Galaxy shirts. We started tailgating, it was great, get to the stadium early, eat, have a few beers that we brought in a cooler and then go to the stadium. It worked out quite cheap as the tickets work out at around $20 each.
Then in San Jose we hooked up with the Galaxians and have stayed with them ever since. They are the original Galaxy supporters group, their numbers have dwindled over the years but they are still there very week passionate as ever, banging drums, singing and standing up through out the game. As I often bring the kids with me, the Galaxians are ideal for us as the kids get a great view and everyone is really friendly and more than happy to have a couple of Brits in their ranks.
The kids love it and as a dad, taking your kids to the match is an experience that cannot be beat. Sure they act up sometimes, but I wouldn't miss it.
I also recruited Alex, my step daughter's ex-boyfriend as a Simi Valley Galaxian, he loves going to the games, hanging with Sandro and co at the Galaxians and generally the whole live footy experience. Obviously my step daughter thought it was a bit weird that her ex was hanging out with her mom's boyfriend at first, but I think (and hope) she's over it now.
In July/August Mark and I are flying up to Seattle for a few days to hang out with our friend Fergal and take in the Galaxy away at Vancouver and Portland. We just did the Real Salt Lake, which I will cover in more detail in another post soon and have made it our goal to visit every MLS stadium over the next few seasons with the Galaxy.
So far this season we have survived a monsoon at the home opener against New England at the HDC and freezing conditions up in Utah against RSL, but I am now fully addicted to the Galaxy and wouldn't miss it for the world. I obviously owe Mark big time for getting me back into them. We have met so many great people during our visits to the HDC and made lots of new friends. For about $60 I can take myself and my two kids to the game, with a bit of extra, we buy a cooler full of beers (and soda for the kids) and eat for less money than it would cost me just for a ticket to Eastlands to watch Man City play in the EPL.
Don't get me wrong, Man City will always be my number one team and nobody could ever replace them, it's just that the LA Galaxy are a close second and in reality I crave the games. I look forward to going to the HDC all week if we are playing at home and make arrangements with Mark to watch our away games. Remember it's not like England where you could have 10 or more away games within a 60 mile radius.
Apart from Chivas who we share the HDC with, our closest away game is over 400 miles away in San Jose. RSL was 1500 mile round trip drive and if we drove to Vancouver it would take almost 2 days, so clearly away days are far and few and very expensive.
Of course a big plus of following a MLS team is that our season overlaps the EPL so football never ends for me and every weekend throughout the year I either have a City or Galaxy game to look forward to, right now I have both.
Now I am as passionate about the Galaxy as I ever was about City when I watched them play live. I get annoyed when certain players don't give it their all for the Galaxy shirt, I am gutted when we lose, chuffed when we win and go fucking mental whenever we score.
I know a few of my friends back in England might be sceptical of my love of the Galaxy as I would be of them if the shoe was on the other foot. But I guarantee if they were in my position, they'd probably do the same and that is only something someone who follows their team in the flesh would understand whether they follow the EPL, MLS, Serie A or the Vauxhall Conference league.
Remember footy fans, "It's not where you're from, it's where you're at"
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