Sunday, March 13, 2005

Jersey Unveiling: A Night Like No Other

Waking up that Saturday morning, March 12th, I wasn't sure what was compelling me to attend the RSL jersey unveiling. Anyone who had frequented the various soccer discussion boards had already seen the new jerseys put out by adidas. Also was the factor of getting to Park City from Logan which required a two-hour drive. Being a sucker for events associated with soccer, and having the privilege of delivering the newly printed Loyalists t-shirts to the club president, I made the drive, and was not disappointed.

My wife came along with the agreement that I join her at the outlet mall in Park City for the afternoon. The deal seemed fair enough and we were off. While at the outlet mall we happened upon a local sports wear store. Stopping in for a quick look one of the workers asked what my Loyalists shirt was all about. I explained and that brought us to the topic of the event being held that evening. The workers informed me that they had the jerseys, but could not sell them until after 6pm. I had agreed that if the team wasn't selling them that I would be back before they closed at 9pm and let anyone else know to come to their store.

The unveiling presentation itself was held outside in a small plaza at the center of town. Entertainment consisted of a break dance team, a couple of Latin folk dance groups, and a really loud MC. I was the first Loyalist to arrive. As other group members arrived I revealed the shirts and they were distributed amongst the group. Everyone seemed pleased with the final product. The atmosphere was very casual. RSL had a merchandise tent but did not have jerseys to sell that evening. There were players and coaches all through the audience. The Loyalists were talking to a gentleman who introduced himself as "Brian", only to find out later it was Brian Kamler. This was probably better that I didn't recognize him as I did Chris Brown. Being a former Wiz and Quakes player I had to shake his hand. I went up to Brownie and shook his hand where at that very moment I lost any thought of something meaningful to say. So, rather than saying something normal like,"Hello", or "How are you", I sputtered something stupid like, "Hi, I just wanted to meet you." Sometimes the giddy fan inside gets the better of us.

The sun set, the air grew cold, and the meat of the presentation got underway. It started with the CEO of adidas North America raffling off some autographed balls. Then followed a group of red clad skiers carrying red flares coming down the mountain next to the plaza. The group made their way down the hill to an oversized replica of the red RSL jersey home jersey. Next some of the RSL players in attendance made an appearance on stage to model the new team apparel. First came the legend, Jason Kreis wearing the red shirt, followed by D.J. Countess in white, Nelson Akwari wore the yellow training shirt, while Brian Dunseth modeled the white jersey, and Sergio Flores finished it off in the home red. Once they left the stage the MC closed the show. With the stage open we figured it was a perfect chance for a Loyalists photo opp. RSL must have thought so as well because no sooner had we jumped on stage for the picture fireworks erupted in the sky above us. After performing some songs for the news crews present we were asked to help the team by folding up the giant jersey left on the mountain. Then came the surprise of the evening.

Upon depositing the folded jersey/banner in a near by temporary RSL office we were informed that Chris Keeney of RSL wanted to escort the Loyalists to a private gathering at a local restaurant. When we arrived we scoped out the two story structure and a group of us gathered at a corner table on the first floor. We confessed that it was the first private party most of us had attended and thus felt a little backwards on how to act. The adidas bigwigs present came over and introduced themselves to our group. They came to say that they wanted our logo on their product. I have never heard of a front office treating it's supporters group so well as RSL has treated the Loyalists. While at this shindig each member of the team front office who we ran into was friendly and welcoming. Players were hanging out everywhere and also very approachable. It gave you the feeling like you were, for an evening, on the inside. It was a special experience for a lot of us. After some appetizers were sent around GM Steve Pastorino gave a speech. Then the new RSL commercials were previewed on various T.V. screens through out the party.

At this point it was getting close to 9pm and I wanted to get my hands on a white jersey before the local shop closed. Although I understand we missed some other festivities and food my wife and I made our exit and were able to arrive at the store just in time. Two guys were walking out as we entered. They had purchased one of the training jerseys. They had also been at the event that evening and wanted to know how to join the Loyalists. I was able to get my shirt and the worker even gave me discount. It was a great PR evening for RSL and it's supporters group. A night like no other.

Photos from the evening. Taken by Loyalist Neil.

2 Comments:

At 11:10 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting story written from a casual first person perspective.

 
At 6:31 PM, Blogger Scott said...

Neil took the great photos. But he did not write this account.

Thanks for the comments!

 

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