Re: World Cup Soccer XVII: There can only be ONE!!!11!!!
A decent amount of people booing Henry any time he touches the ball.
Really? I didn't hear it, at least not at the end of the stadium where the supporters clubs were. Maybe just the Spurs fans, who were more numerous than I expected. His reception seemed pretty great overall.
Other thoughts:
The stadium is sweet. Seats very close to the action, holds in noise well. Aluminum floors to the upper deck seating sections are extremely conducive to stomping to make noise. Pretty decent food/drink options and variety; we had rodizio platters from a stand right outside the stadium and liked them a lot. (PBR on draft inside the stadium, 24 oz/$9.)
Henry is going to be one of the best players in the league if he keeps playing hard and doesn't just coast. He and Angel will score a lot of goals playing together.
Joel Lindpere is also very good, especially for a guy who doesn't use up a designated player spot. Completely undressed Alan Hutton to set up Henry's goal.
Tim Ream is very solid, plays like he's taller than he's listed (6'1"). He might get some USMNT looks.
Bouna Coundoul is a great shot stopper but man is he ever a terrible kicker. His goal kicks never reach midfield. Not sure if this was old news but it surprised me a little.
Macoumba Kandji has great ball skills but no idea when to dish the ball off to another player.
Seth Stammler missed two VERY good goalmouth chances. Can't imagine he'll see much playing time if everyone is healthy.
Robbie Keane looked bad, despite getting a goal (which was pretty much a fluke on a bad misplay by the Red Bulls' backup keeper). Looked slow with a bad first touch, though maybe it was just summer rust.
Gareth Bale looked dangerous when he was used as a left midfielder, maybe the most dangerous attacking player Spurs had. (He saw a lot of the ball too, maybe more than Kranjcar or Modric.) As a left back, much less involved. But Chris Albright was up to the task of defending him more often than not, which surprised me.
The Harrison PATH station is entirely not equipped to handle match crowds; they're renovating it so it'll be better, and even before that it's probably still the best option, but the lines to get in after the game are nuts. We walked back to Newark (~20 mins) and got the PATH from there instead, just to avoid the sheer frustration of waiting on line.
