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For most professional soccer players, that first game is an unforgettable one regardless of the circumstances. Realizing the dream of being a pro is enough to make any debut a special one, but for Jeremy Hall, his first game in Major League Soccer came with even more unforgettable circumstances.
Hall entered the New York Red Bulls' 3-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the 34th minute of a match that was slipping away from his club in front of a hostile and sold-out crowd at Qwest Field. Rather than cave under the pressure, Hall thrived, providing one of the few bright spots for the Red Bulls on that night.
In the first of what will be a new SBI series, Hall shares his thoughts and recollections of his first professional match. Here is his story:
A trip to Seattle and a debut to remember
By JEREMY HALL
Heading to Seattle I can honestly say that I was more excited than ever. I was going on my first trip as a professional, about to start off my career. We boarded the plane and got ready to take off on a long six-hour flight to the West Coast to take on the Seattle Sounders. The flight was long but I managed to watch two movies to cut the time out. The airline played Express on the TV monitors, and when that was done, I watched a classic movie in The Three Ninjas on my laptop. When we landed and went outside to the bus it was chilly and there was a light drizzle. We stayed at a Hyatt Hotel in downtown Seattle in a real nice area where I was able to walk around and go through the different stores and shops. I did learn that the very first Nordstrom's and Starbucks were in Seattle so that was pretty interesting.
The game Thursday was one that I will never forget. The atmosphere in the stadium was unbelievable! When we went our for warm ups the stadium was almost full and by the end of it the whole stadium was filled. It was loud and all you heard was the fans screaming for the home team. I have played in big games before but this game was a lot different from the rest. Being that this was my very first professional game on a Thursday night on ESPN2 with all my friends and family watching.
When coach told me to start warming up I was a bit shocked at first being that it was only about 30 minutes in the first half. I was running up and down the sideline just talking to myself trying to calm the nerves I had down while also laughing at what the fans were yelling at me. When they told me I was going in I don't even remember what was going through my head at that point, it was all a blur. I think after the first couple of minutes I started to settle in and felt more comfortable. It's definitely cool to debut in front of 30,000 fans, but just wish we could of played better than what we showed because we are capable of it!
Also on our trip to the West Coast we had a reserve game against the Portland Timbers. We played them at the University of Portland's soccer field where there also was a nice little crowd. The Timbers also had great fans as they were cheering the whole 90 minutes along with their chainsaws....YES!! Chainsaws. They had a free kick right outside the box when Jon Conway was setting us all up and I heard the chainsaw going and got just a little startled. Never have I seen that at a game before! I thought we played well, we created a chances but their goalie Steve Cronin came up big for them. We ended up drawing 0-0 in a hard fought game.
Getting my first game under my belt has given me more confidence than I had before. Playing in a great atmosphere against a good opponent was real exciting. I now know what to expect in my next game when I am called on to play. Were back in New York now and are preparing for our home opener against New England on Saturday night, it shall be a good one.
