Kevin's Birthday Present

One of the presents I got for Kevin for his birthday was tickets to go see the Ireland vs Costa Rica soccer match! They were playing a "friendly" international game here in Philly, and I knew Kevin liked the Ireland team (he has a few jerseys and everything!). So, on Friday after we were both finished with work, we grabbed a few beers and some sandwiches for our new cooler (we just bought one that day!), and headed to the stadium to do a bit of tailgating before the match!

We had fun tailgating a bit and eating our dinner, and then we walked around for a bit, because the stadium parking area has some really pretty bridge views and the weather was PERFECT! The high was in the 70s that day and not humid at all. It was a very relaxing and fun way to wind down from the work-week.

You can see our new ice chest in this picture! I don't know how we didn't own one already... 

The bridge!

We headed into the stadium about 30 minutes before kickoff, and we noticed that we were some of the very few spots of green in the stadium - It turns out that Philly has a TON of Costa Rica fans!!! The stadium was a sea of red shirts and jerseys to show support for Costa Rica. And if you think I'm joking, check out the pictures - I'd say it was 95% Costa Rica fans. I had been guessing that it would be an even split of fans, because I know Philadelphia has a HUGE Irish population... But nope! Costa Rica has some very passionate and intense fans in Philadelphia. 

Here we are looking a little nervous wearing our green jerseys before the match started - We noticed the extreme lack of green in the stadium.  

 The pretty view of the bridge from our seats! 

Umm... Do you see all the fans wearing red? Do you see how very little green there is in the stands?

Again with the red...

And again with the red.... 

The final score ended up being 1-1, and it was a lot of fun to watch!  We cheered loudly for Ireland, even though it was a bit scary at times to be an Ireland fan during that game. The Ireland team played way better in the first half (and that's when they scored), but Costa Rica dominated the 2nd half (and that's when they scored). I think Kevin really liked his birthday present!!