Rocky Mountain Cup, Part 1

Rocky Mountain Cup is between Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake. It's a fan based cup basically, but it can be a fun rivalry. We were missing Will Johnson because he got two yellow cards in the last game, but also because his thumb was broken in three places when he was rammed into the boards during a challenge. But, we do have an excellent and deep bench so it wasn't a huge deal. We won the first leg at home, 1-0. Espindola scored our lone goal in like the 92nd minute. It was a pretty sweet. I do find myself cheering for him a lot this year, which is good. I will admit that I have changed my tune about him from the first year. when he can keep his emotions in check he is actually a really good player.
Celebrating the goal. Of course, there is the question of whether or not it was off-sides. I am not in a position to say yes or no on that, but I figure if the ref doesn't call it, it's good. Every team has calls that are for and against them that people don't agree with, but hopefully it all works out in the end.
He really did have a good game. Yes, he did get called off-sides a lot, but I would rather him try to make the play then sit back and watch.
And, Denver did treat him like he was a danger.
Celebration!
Grabavoy in the midst of something while Beckerman looks on.
Yes, it was a very wet night and very cold. That was not a fun part of the evening.
Nick going for a great save.
Morales making his presence known.
Grabavoy did spend some time on the ground, but a lot of players did with the field conditions.
Wingert getting in there. He still looks so different with hair.
It doesn't look too pretty, does it?

We had a bit of an extra adventure after the game. I met up with my friend/co-worker, Amanda, after the game. We had a training up in Midway and had gotten a hotel for the night in Heber - we decided we would rather spend the night up there than have to leave extra early in the morning. Anyway, as we were driving to Park City, the snow was insane - and other drivers were insane in it. We had made the decision to turn around, but all of the exits were for Canyons so we didn't feel good about taking them - it may have been just fine, but in the middle of the storm was not the time or place to find out. So we just kept pressing forward. Amanda was driving and having some serious anxiety as she couldn't see the lines on the road. I was in the passenger's seat and could see them so I would guide her a little to the left a little to the right. It was definitely a team effort. When we did the turn off for our exit for our hotel, there was nothing. The road was completely dry. When we got to the hotel, out legs were so shaky. Needless to say, the first thing we did was say a prayer of thanks for reaching our destination in safety. The next day, there was no sign of what we went through, but we know we weren't both hallucinating the exact same thing.