Reminiscing About Saturday Night at the OCP

For those of you who were lucky enough to make it in in time (sorry Nick) Saturday night at the Off Campus Pub in Carson was a night that will be remembered for a long time to come.

While this member of the blog staff was not there, Galaxy Account Executive Chris Thomas was there and has agreed to share his story with you guys.

Enjoy...

With the Galaxy off for the weekend, I made my way to watch Landon Donovan and the U.S. National Team take on Honduras in a crucial World Cup Qualifier at the Off Campus Pub in Carson. Even though I arrived two hours before the match, the pub was already full of eager U.S. supporters.

This was the only English language venue to watch the game in the area and I met people who had bested my measly half hour drive by commuting from the far reaches of Los Angeles County. Even the back patio was rocking and with an hour before kickoff the pub was literally packed to capacity with fellow USA fans.

Sweaty and eager, standing shoulder to shoulder, we greeted kickoff with a rousing chant of "USA! USA! USA!" I even noticed the family members of two certain national team players in attendance especially caught up in the moment. The first half was eventful more for our playful displeasure at the choppiness of the closed circuit TV feed than the match itself. Although Charlie Davies' two missed chances whooped the bar into a frenzy, no one seemed as excited as the poor fan whose misguided attempt at crowd surfing landed him on the floor in a puddle of spilled beer.

After half time the match really began to pick up. The room quickly went from shocked silence at the opening goal from Honduras to a combination of joy and surprise at Conor Casey's equalizer shortly thereafter.

Following Casey's second goal and Landon's majestic free kick everyone in the pub, myself included, was jumping up and down uncontrollably like sugared up kids on pogo sticks. That wasn't enough so I burst into song and lead the room in a full-voiced and heartfelt rendition of our fine country's national anthem.

The final whistle whipped the place into a frenzy. Beers were spilt and hugs were shared. All the while, I couldn't help but calculate in my head how many more air miles it would take to get to South Africa.

Every one of us relished the joy of our country's national team's thrilling upset and qualification for the World Cup. It was an absolutely unforgettable night as the fortunate few who shared the experience with fellow U.S. fans would attest to.

We also made sure to send Troy down to the OCP to capture some of the action, including this scene following Landon's eventual game-winning goal.