Aw, Becks

Another weekend, another sporting event. This time, my view was different than the usual third base line at Fenway Park:



Yep, that would be David Beckham. The LA Galaxy were in town to play the New England Revs, so of course I got to Gillette Stadium for the game. But lest you think I was staring at Becks and ignoring my own team, I'll make it known that he stared at me first:



Oh, I'M KIDDING. There were a bunch of guys yelling at Beckham from the front row, so that look was meant for them, not me. And while I did take a few gratuitous Beckham photos, the rest of the time I had my eyes on the game, which was tight from start to finish. (Though, sadly, the Revs lost.)

If you haven't been to a MLS game yet, GO. They're tons of fun, easy to follow, and unlike baseball and football, you know it's going to be over in 90 minutes so you can get your beauty sleep for work the next day. No overtime, no extra innings. And a major bonus: tix are cheaper!

What are you waiting for?

Brasil! Brasil!

Quick, where did I take this photo?!



If you say "Brazil" because you know that "Brasil" is the way Brazilians spell the name of their country, and you noticed that the ads are not in English, well, you are a smarty pants for looking at the title of today's blog. But you would also be WRONG! This was taken in the good ol' U.S. of A.

This past weekend, Boston's Gillette Stadium played host to a double-header of the New England Revolution vs F.C. Dallas, followed by a wickedly rowdy game between the national teams of Brazil and Venezuela. I was lucky enough to go (and had a fantastic time, once I actually got a parking spot.)

To give you an idea of how things looked before the game, check out the parking lot:



You could hear the music pumping out of loudspeakers and smell the barbeque from over a mile away. (And I got asked to dance three separate times just walking from my car into the stadium. Now that's a party!)

Those of you who read Sticky Fingers, which was set in the Boston suburb of Framingham, know that there's a huge Brazilian community west of Boston. I think ALL of them showed up to the game--the attendance was around 55,000. The stands were filled with Brazilian flags, yellow soccer shirts, and even green-and-yellow striped wigs. I think Mat (from Sticky Fingers) would have fit right in. The guys behind me even brought their trombones. (Seriously. I got the evidence!)



And I met this woman as I came in the gate. Had to get my picture with her and her Brazilian Statue of Liberty!



I did see one lone carload of Venezuelans. But this was about it for the entire night:



They were parked right next to the gate, I assume so they could make a quick getaway. Smart people: Venezuela won 2 - 0. Would you want to be on the other side of this crowd after they lost? (Especially since Brazil was heavily favored and has never lost to Venezuela?) I wouldn't, either!