FC Tampa Bay 1, Puerto Rico Islanders 1

Watched some TV today, went to the beach, Janneke did some grocery shopping, bla bla bla. Then: This evening, we went to a professional soccer game. Here's the evidence:



Kids singing the National Anthem before the game. Though interestingly, they sang two - the Puerto Rican, followed by the American. I'd never heard the PR one before - it's very minor-key and staid and dignified. I liked it.



Kids ahead of us holding up the little scroll-signs they handed out at the gate as the team takes the field. Q and T loved them, as well as the inflatable "thunder sticks" we got. Janneke and I loved those...less. The stadium is a baseball stadium, and is gorgeous, as nice, I would say, or nearly, as the minor-league stadium we visited in Birmingham, AL. It's odd seating for a soccer game, but it works OK, and there were probably a thousand people there who'd paid an average of $10 to come. Lots of folks in jerseys, with towels and banners, and two different rhythm sections that, unlike the NE Revolution drummers, had rhythm and enthusiasm. The whole complex there - there's a colisseum, a stadium, a police station, and a judiciary center, all with the brand-new overhead rail system snaking through - is beautiful and seems brand-spankin' new. Bayamón, in general, the suburb where the complex sits, is very prosperous and snappy-looking. I liked it a lot, though I've only driven there now at night.




This is what you buy at the Islanders games: Batidas de coco with a big ol' cherry on top. De, licious. Three bucks, though. Everything was three bucks - popcorn, peanuts, soda. Well, not everything: Beer was more; water was less.



This is "Bompy", the mascot, with his backwards cap and dreads. And he's accompanied by "las Bompy Dancers". They had a whole routine that went for most of halftime, very tightly choreographed. Whoever's in the Bompy suit can dance, but I'm afraid very few were watching Bompy dance, if you know what I mean.



This is T watching Bompy and las Bompy Dancers. Her look of innocent fascination just killed me.



The Islanders went down 1-0 in the first half, and in the second, there was a real excitement built up in the stadium. T got swept up in it and asked Q to come with her to the (empty) row behind us and stand and hold up their scroll-out signs. Q refused, so T went by herself, and shouted "Go Islanders!" every thirty seconds or so. She was so earnest!

So earnest, in fact, that Janneke had to go up and kiss her. This is the aftermath:



Just look at those two. I get to smooch them both regularly. It's not a bad gig.

Oh- and I tried out the guayabera tonight. And Q, unsolicited, said he liked it. Which may or may not be good.