It’s time for my first soccer game! Today’s game is Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) vs Real Salt Lake (RSL). I’ve always heard about the high energy at football games, so I was excited to go check it out myself. The stadium is also giving out Son Heung-Min bobbleheads for this game, so I made sure to get there early enough for one!
Getting to BMO by bus is pretty easy, but you still have to do a short walk before getting to the stadium. It was only 5pm, but there were already fans lined up! We tried checking out The Fields LA right next door, but it wasn’t open until after the game starts, which caused so much confusion in everyone waiting for it to open (the staff included). We ended up just getting in line to get into the stadium.
There were a few different lines, but it seemed like they all lead to the stadium. The line went pretty quick, and scanning your ticket and going through security was straightforward. I almost walked right by the person handling out the bobbleheads, but good thing she called out to me to pick mine up! I wish I brought a bigger bag to hold it.
On the way to our seats, we stopped by one of the stands for a Margarita slushy. It melted so quickly. Once we found our seats, we walked around the stadium to see what there is. I was pretty impressed at the food selection – there were so many options, and each stand sold different items! I had to do one loop to see what the options were before going back to choose what I wanted. Since I wasn’t too hungry, I got kimbap (vegetarian). It was $12 – actually not bad for stadium food price!
Our seats were not the closest to the field, but it still felt close. Because were were higher up, we could see the whole field pretty clearly. I could even see the players without having to squint my eyes! We were just in the sun for some time before it finally moved away. In the fan section, there were chants throughout the entire game. I was not expecting the band to be playing the entire time! I was more used to basketball and football games where it would be quiet when the game is in play.
The opposing team was pretty good at keeping the ball on their half of the field, but when it comes to scoring, the LAFC team was very efficient – when they had control of the ball, they played to score. The whole stadium stood and cheered when LAFC scored. The soccer game was, in a way, very loud, but at the same time, quiet. A goal was only announced sometimes, so if you’re not paying attention, you could easily miss the score!
It’s a win for LAFC, 3-1! The game went until around 9:30pm. Knowing now that there’s so many food options at BMO, I would plan to get dinner here next time, instead of just a snack. I think showing up around 1.5 hours before the game started was the perfect time to find seats and grab a bite before the game. I’ll be sure to bring a larger bag next time too!
When will the next game be?