Toyota Park

When the announcer called out the final seconds and the sea of people in the stands streamed out to catch the buses, I couldn’t help but think how fast it all went.

The team was told about the big Toyota Park Game last year before anyone even started to think about spring semester finals. Our coach told us that we were going to attempt to break the attendance record, and we were all excited about the idea.

Much like a large family vacation, a surprise birthday party or anything that is planned for a long time, it seemed as though the game would never come. The team continued to show up at every school function and spread the word with stacks of flyers, but other than that we went about our normal lives as college soccer players.

Before long, time did its thing, the future became the present and I was waking up to the day that had been promoted for so long. The seconds felt like minutes as I waited for the time we were to leave for Toyota Park. Text messages came from friends wishing me  luck, and the game was no longer an idea, but something that was actually going to happen later that day. When I walked to Alumni Gym to gather my gear to get on the bus, I caught a glimpse of the huge line of people waiting to get their free burritos. That’s when I realized it wasn’t just a poster anymore.  It was on.

The bus pulled us up to the stadium a couple of hours before game time which gave us plenty of time to mill around before we had to start warming up. We were only given one real direction: Do not touch the grass. I took a walk around the field and tried to imagine the place without an empty seat, and wondered what type of soccer game it would take to fill the whole place and what it would be like to play in such a game.

When I hit the far corner, a security woman asked me what I was doing. I had to convince her that I was on the soccer team and told her that I was just taking a walk.  After a little more discussion she decided I was not a threat and reminded me twice more not to touch the grass. They had the Michigan vs. Notre Dame football game playing on the jumbotron and guys on the team were sitting on the concrete walls watching. The concrete walls did not touch the grass.

As game time crept closer, we filed into the vast locker room.  They were short one chair, but it was no matter because freshman Caleb Norton sat himself comfortably into the huge lockers.  There was not much left to do now except sit and focus.

An hour before the game we were finally allowed to touch the grass, and we began to warm up. The fans had started to pack the stands and there was an incredible energy in the air.

The game happened and the result was not in our favor, but looking back on it, it was a great experience. We did not set an Illinois record, but we set a Loyola Soccer attendance record with 2,211 fans, and all of them were fantastic. Big thanks to everyone who came out, it was quite fun to play in front of each of you, and especially thanks to those behind the scenes who worked so hard to make the Toyota Park game happen. 

Even though Toyota Park came and went, it is still on. This weekend the team travels to Kansas City to get back on the winning track. There are still five more home games this season.  They are quite a bit closer and free, so why not come out again, bring a friend and help set a few more records?