Poppin' My MLS Cherry

So my buddy and former talk radio co-host Gray is a huge Major League Soccer fan (well, he's a huge soccer fan in general) and he has been staying on me about checking out the local Denver MLS team, the Colorado Rapids, now that I live in a pro soccer town.

I've never had anything against soccer or the MLS but just have never really taken the time to get into it.

Gray called me the other day and let me know that there was going to be a free exhibition game between the Rapids and a local college team (Metro State) and that I should go check it out as a way to dip my toe into the professional soccer waters.

I was a little reluctant at first but then I reminded myself that part of the reason I moved to Denver in the first place was to be in a town where there was always something going on and there were all kinds of pro sports.

So me and my buddy Dan found the Dick's Sporting Goods Park up in the northeast corner of the city and I have to say that I was very impressed. It's a gorgeous, state-of-the-art facility and I have to give the MLS teams credit for deciding to build smaller, intimate venues that they can really pack out instead of having only a couple thousand people show up to a major football stadium.

There isn't a bad seat in the house and no matter where you are, you feel like you're right on top on the action.

The best part of the whole night was when I jokingly selected midfielder Terry Cooke as my favorite Rapids player and told Dan that I would literally buy a Cooke jersey if he scored a goal only to watch him drill a 30-footer into the back of the net just a few minutes later.

Um... Gray, do they even make Cooke jerseys?!