Behind the scenes at the home opener
By Jay Hipps · April 14, 2008
It didn’t make the TV broadcast, but the pregame events on Saturday included the ceremonial presentation of San Jose’s two MLS Cup trophies to team owner Lew Wolff by the board of directors of Soccer Silicon Valley. It was a big moment for all of us and for our members since it signified that we had, at long last, achieved the goal of having engaged, local ownership for the team. (At least one other goal, a new stadium, remains.) Here’s what went on behind the scenes.
(left to right) Don Gagliardi, John Jussen, Jay Hipps, Freddy Adames, Ned Zuparko, Lori Hibbett, Merryl Zuparko, Mike Turco, Colin and Owen McCarthy. Photo: John Todd, centerlinesoccer.com/isiphotos.com
12:45 My cell phone rings. “Where are you? We’re supposed to be at the elevators now.” It’s Merryl Zuparko, board secretary of the new SSV Community Foundation. I have apparently spent too much time at the Club Quake tailgate. With all the smiling faces there, as fans got reacquainted with friends old and new, it was hard to tear myself away. I was also helping Scott French, managing editor of Major League Soccer magazine, line up interviews with long-time Quakes fans to get their perspective on the team’s return. Fortunately, I was also aware of the time, so when Merryl’s phone call arrived, my wife Krystal and I were already walking up the BART ramp towards the East Side Club, where we’d find the elevators and the rest of the board.
12:50 We show our tickets and invitation to the pre-game VIP party, which I have now mostly missed. SSV president Don Gagliardi tells me I was smart to stay so long among the jubilant fans at the tailgate — the mood is festive in the East Side Club but also more subdued. There’s always a strong business element to events like this, and these parties cater largely to sponsors and other corporate partners. Everyone is having a good time, though, and the food and drinks on offer are impressive. Don tells me that he spoke to Lew Wolff earlier, who thanked him for SSV’s efforts and said, “We couldn’t do this without you.” I kick myself for missing that conversation but appreciate the sentiment all the same.
12:53 Things are still getting organized at the elevators so I pop into the party to grab a couple bottles of water for me and Krystal. I run into SSV board member and former Club Quake president Mike Turco inside and he gives me a quick briefing on what food is being served where and points out the two bars that have been set up. Cognizant of the schedule, we’re about to leave when we spot Earthquakes and A’s president Michael Crowley. We stop for a brief chat which turns into something longer as the two Mikes discover that they both grew up in the South Bay at about the same time. Names are passed back and forth (”Oh, I remember him. What’s he doing now?”) as shared roots are discovered.
12:57 Water in hand, Mike and I emerge from the party along with fellow board members John Jussen and Lori Hibbett and resume waiting near the elevators which will take us down to field level. There is one less field pass than there are people waiting, so Krystal volunteers to watch from the stands. It’s neither the first nor last sacrifice an SSV spouse will make — just as Wolff said, “We couldn’t do this without you,” SSV’s board members could all say that of their significant others as well.
1:02 It’s elevator time! Quakes staffer Niki Shinn ushers us on board and we drop into the bowels of the stadium beyond the center field wall. Among the equipment back there is a large, flat apparatus that looks like a flatbed trailer, marked “Pitching Mound Mover” in foot-tall red letters. Who knew such a thing existed?
1:05 As we walk through the cavernous space below the stands, I scope out our fashion choices for the day. I’m in a blue SSV t-shirt while John, Don, and SSV’s first president Colin McCarthy have opted for blue Quakes jerseys from years gone by. Mike and Freddy Adames are sporting black jerseys but I am suddenly stunned when I read the name and number on the back of Freddy’s shirt: “Beckham 23.”
“Freddy,” I blurt out. “What are you wearing?”
I am obviously not the first person to comment on Freddy’s attire as he replies with a pained expression. “It seemed like a good idea this morning.”
Closer inspection reveals that it’s a Real Madrid shirt, so at least it’s not, you know, completely evil. As we walk along the perimeter of the field towards home plate and the player tunnel, I pull Freddy’s scarf lower on his shoulders so it at least covers up the “Beckham” on his back.
1:12 We arrive at the player tunnel and the trophies appear. I’m carrying the 2001 cup and Don gets 2003. They are, as always, a magnificent sight, symbols of so much that was so good. I point out to Don that the ‘01 trophy is made of sterling silver while ‘03 is silver plated, a fact that becomes obvious when I hand him the significantly heavier ‘01 to compare. We’ll have to win another one so we can find out if MLS has cut back on the trophy budget for everyone or if they were just picking on us that year.
1:15 A number of Fire players exit the field via our little inflatable tunnel. John Jussen shakes Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s hand on the way through. I believe it is the only time all day when someone in an Earthquakes shirt makes physical contact with Blanco without Blanco immediately dropping to the turf and rolling around as though he were in severe pain.
1:18 Freddy’s shirt again becomes the topic of conversation. Someone — I think it was either me or Lori — suggests that he wear it inside-out. The idea is immediately echoed by pretty much everyone and a near riot is averted as Freddy complies with our demands brilliant idea. It actually looks pretty good, although people may be confused when they see he’s wearing something manufactured by a company called “sadida.”
1:22 We’re on. The PA announcer narrates as we approach Wolff and Crowley with the trophies, although he mistakenly identifies our president as “Dan” Gagliardi. We all wince for a split second, but we’re all enjoying this too much to get too upset. What’s a misplaced vowel among friends, anyway?
1:22:30 I walk past Wolff and Crowley, saying, “This thing is pretty heavy — you don’t actually want me to hand it to you, do you?” They smile and say no, thereby giving me a further chance to loft it over my head and turn slowly around, showing it off to the whole stadium. I forgo the traditional ritual of kissing the cup, maybe because I’m being demure or maybe because I remember the tongue bath it received from Jimmy Conrad in Columbus. “Dan” smooches it up with ‘03, however.
One last thing: There was one other item that we presented in the ceremony. Perhaps some of you reading this attended SSV’s MLS All-Star Game viewing party last year at the Britannia Arms. (We called it that because we had to, but it was really a party to celebrate the announcement made the day before the game that the Quakes would take the field in 2008.) At that party, we had a poster, printed on acid-free stock with archival inks, proclaiming “Thanks, Lew!” in six-inch letters over an enormous Earthquakes badge and the closing text, “From Everyone at Soccer Silicon Valley.” By the end of the night, that poster was filled with signatures from grateful fans. On Saturday, we finally had the perfect opportunity to present it to Lew, so we did. Presentation of the poster was not actually on the agenda, and it gives me a bit of a thrill to see that our group’s independent, unorthodox nature, so obvious in SSV’s early days, can still show itself when needed.
Thanks so much to everyone at SSV….you all deserve a tremendous amount of credit for your successful efforts on behalf of all the rest of us soccer affectionados. Now, let’s see the ink on the paper with the city of San Jose for that stadium!