Message From Our Esteemed SE President
Hello fellow members! With the solstice having passed a week ago, the dog days of summer are finally here, and DC United’s play is heating up along with the weather. It’s been a while since I wrote all of you personally, so I wanted to drop you all a line as this very big weekend approaches.
BRING YOUR SCARVES AND WEAR YOUR SE JERSEYS ON SUNDAY!
With the David Beckham traveling circus arriving in DC this Sunday at noon, the eyes of a national TV audience will be on all of us at RFK Stadium. So, since we all want to look our best when we go out to a big party, it’s time for us Eagles to put our best foot forward in two ways. First, show your pride by wearing your SE jersey on Sunday. Second, bring your Screaming Eagles or DC United scarf to the game on Saturday, especially if you’re in the Nest or Perch, and be ready to hold it up both when the players come out of the tunnel and during the game ( Tifo Tim and his crew will prompt you when). The goal: no less than a Scarf Wall.
Between the Scarf Wall, giant overhead jersey, flags, banners, and other tifo planned for Sunday, we’re going to look great.
Oh yeah, don’t forget that we’re the Screaming Eagles. Along with your jersey and scarf, please bring your voice for a full 90 minutes too!
OH YEAH…THE SUMMER-WEIGHT SCARVES ARE IN
Now that its actually summer, the SE summer scarves have finally come in, and they were worth the wait. We’re thrilled – the scarf is silky-soft with a great design by SE member Eric Lowe, and it’s truly one of the nicest pieces of United-related merchandise I’ve ever seen. If you are a 2008 returning member, please come pick up your scarf at the membership table in Lot 8 on Sunday or at any future match. If you’re not in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, we’ll send you the scarf. If you’re a new adult member this season and want the scarf to go with your brand new jersey (which is also a really nice item), drop by the table and we’ll tell you how to get one.
As a bonus, the scarves will look beautiful held up in the Scarf Wall on Sunday.
GIANT TAILGATE SUNDAY
The parking lots are opening at 8 AM on Sunday morning. So, of course,, that’s when our tailgate will be opening too, with plenty of food and drink available courtesy of Babylon Futbol Café and Johnsonville. This is going to be a huge tailgate so please get there early if you want to stuff your face. As always, members drink free and eat all they want for $6. Here’s a partial list of what we’ll have available for this special morning tailgate:
Food: Breakfast/lunch fajita bar (tortillas with scrambled eggs, grilled chicken breasts, chopped red and green peppers, beans, and salsa), muffins, pastries, hamburgers, hot dogs, Johnsonville brats, chorizo, grilled chicken, and other possible items including some desserts. We probably won’t have our popular Jamaican meat patties or pizza on Sunday so that we can have grill space to cook up all the breakfast options.
Drinks: 6 kegs of beer, 2 kegs of mimosas, our usual panoply of water and non-alcoholic sodas and drinks. We’re also working on coffee (both iced and regular) and coffee drinks a la last year’s MLS Cup tailgate.
Location is the same as always – the tent city right by the twin SE storage Pods in Lot 8. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve added several additional tents (two more are coming this weekend), 80 comfortable camp chairs, and a water misting tower, so there will be plenty of ways to beat the sun and heat at the tailgate on Sunday.
Remember, the tailgate crew wants to get in the stadium on time too, so the grills will shut down at 11:00 and the drink tent will close down around 11:30.
HOMELESS WORLD CUP MOVIE TONIGHT – AND HOMELESS USA CUP ALL WEEKEND
“Kicking It”, a documentary about the 4th annual Homeless World Cup held in Cape Town, South Africa, has its DC premiere tonight at the E Street Cinema downtown, and the SEs have procured a limited quantity of tickets. Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who produced this film, will be in attendance and will take questions immediately after the film ends. To order a ticket (they’re $11), please contact Kim by 2 pm on Friday. For more information on the film and where we’re meeting up beforehand go here.
The premiere is timed for this weekend because DC is hosting the Homeless USA Cup this weekend at Washington Kastles stadium, located on the site of the old Convention Center at 11th and H NW. The schedule is here and the event are free and open to the public so get on down there!
As always, my ears and inbox are always open to hear to what you have to say. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, praise, whatever – find me at a tailgate or drop me a line at paul@screaming-eagles.com. See you on Sunday!
-Paul Sotoudeh, President
More News
Aerie Seats for Sunday: All pre-ordered Aerie seats for the Beckham match this Sunday have been mailed. There are a smattering of seats in the 300 level available for $35, but payment has to be made via Paypal after reservation is confirmed. Tickets will be emailed via PDF to be printed out. Contact outreach@screaming-eagles.com for more information.
SEFC Teams: Congratulations to SEFC Nuisance who have won their division in WAWSL with an 8 – 2 record and a plus 10 goal differential!! When you see them volunteering at the Beckham tailgate ask them about their scoring exploits or that stingy defense backed up by an awesome keeper!!
Come out and cheer SEFC Montgomery County in the Semifinals at the Maryland SoccerPlex Field #23 Saturday at 10:45am as they take on Clark Construction.
U.S. Open Cup
D.C. United is set to face the Rochester Rhinos in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, July 1 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, MD with a kickoff time of 7:30 p.m. ET. Should D.C. win, the quarterfinal match-up between United and the winner of Chicago Fire vs. Cleveland City Stars would be played at the Soccerplex on July 8.
Individual tickets for the match are available for $25, while groups of 10 or more can purchase at the $22 price level when purchased in advance. Season ticket holders will receive a special advance ticket discounted price of $20. Tickets can be purchased via dcunited.com or by calling United offices at 202-587-5000. Tickets will also be available at the Maryland Soccerplex by calling 301-528-1480. Parking at the Soccerplex is included in the price of all tickets.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an annual national competition that is open to all amateur and professional soccer teams that are affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest tournament in the U.S., beginning in 1914 when Brooklyn Field Club took home the very first title. MLS teams were first included in the tournament in the inaugural 1996 season, with D.C. United taking home the title.
