By Clemente Lisi - EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (Oct 26th, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- Red Bull NY marked the end of an era – others would argue error – on Saturday night when the team played its last game ever at Giants Stadium. This would have been their final game regardless, with Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ opening for 2010. After years of waiting, it comes when Giants Stadium itself is scheduled for demolition. The National Football League teams are moving to the new Meadowlands Stadium right beside Giants Stadium.
There’s no doubt that since Giants Stadium opened in 1976, it has served as one of this country’s most important soccer venues. To older fans, Giants Stadium means Pele and the New York Cosmos playing before sold-out crowds and winning championships. To younger ones, the venue will always be known as home to Giovanni Savarese and the MetroStars (later Juan Pablo Angel and RBNY) playing before sparse crowds and struggling to win games.
“I think it’s been a great venue. There have been a lot of big soccer games that have been played here in the past,” said RBNY interim coach Ritchie Williams, who attended Cosmos games as a child and later the 1994 World Cup. “It will be missed.”Former Cosmos and US goalkeeper Shep Messing, who now works as a TV color commentator for Red Bull games, said he’ll miss Giants Stadium, where he helped the North American Soccer League club win the 1977 Soccer Bowl.
“I’ve had great moments here and I’ve had some horrific ones,” said Messing, referring to his career as both a player and analyst. “The older you get, though, you tend to just remember the great ones.”
The MetroStars/Red Bulls have never had much luck at Giants Stadium despite amassing a 102-76-36 all-time regular season record there. Next year, RBNY is moving to greener pastures when Major League Soccer’s eighth soccer-specific stadium opens in the spring.
The Red Bulls’ new, 25,000-seat arena in Harrison, just a few miles away on the New Jersey Turnpike, is the latest attempt at replacing a venue that was simply too big for Major League Soccer. The MetroStars, and later Red Bulls, suffered from a lack of atmosphere along with a decent playing surface.
“I hate Giants Stadium. It’s not a great place to watch a soccer game. The place lacks atmosphere, particularly when the lower bowl isn’t filled,” said Dan Ryazansky, who has run the site MetroFanatic.com since the league’s inception in 1996. “Combine that with the Astroturf, [NFL] field lines, the strict security and it’s not a friendly place.”
Although not everyone loved Giants Stadium as a soccer venue, there is no denying that it served a vital function over the past 30 years. At the 1994 World Cup, the stadium was the only one in the New York-area to host games, including Ireland’s shocking 1-0 upset of Italy in the group stage. The last major international game at the stadium was played on July 26, when 79,156, the largest crowd for soccer in Giants Stadium history, saw Mexico crush the United States 5-0 in the Gold Cup final.
Despite its history, Red Bull fans cannot wait until next season.
“I’ve never been a fan of the team’s corporate takeover,” said Ryazansky. “At least they did one thing right and build a real soccer stadium.”
Clemente Lisi is the author of “A History of the World Cup: 1930-2006.” Contact him at: CAL4477@yahoo.com
