Alternate transportation
Two D.C. United fans from Baltimore made unusual travel arrangements for the Black-and-Red's match with the New England Revolution this past Saturday. Rather than taking the traditional approach of driving their cars, Eric Lowe and Sean Courtney rode their bikes to the game. The two began the 48-mile trek from Inner Harbor to RFK Stadium at 8:45 a.m. riding only their bikes, despite an early morning drizzle of rain. Five hours and one flat tire later, the duo had reached their destination.
"The trip wasn't that bad, except for the rain," said Lowe. "Surprisingly I still had energy to jump around during the game."
Lowe and Courtney both tried to encourage more people to take the trip with them, as part of the reason for the ride was to diffuse the traditional sports rivalry between Baltimore and D.C.
"I really isn't that far," said Lowe. "I used to take the train to Wednesday matches, and driving down [from Baltimore] isn't that bad.
The two are considering making the ride a regular event, already planning to make the trek down for a game next season.
"It was a lot of fun, it wasn't too difficult a ride, and it's something I would like to try and do again," said Lowe.
One game to go
With a single regular season game remaining for all MLS teams, the second, third and fourth seeds in the Eastern Conference have yet to be finalized. D.C. United is assured of the top spot in the East, but who the Black-and-Red's first round opponent will be is still up in the air. Kansas City currently holds a two-point advantage over New York, ahead of the two teams pivotal confrontation on Saturday. The Wizards need only a draw to qualify for the playoffs, but the Red Bulls will have home field advantage. If New York does manage to defeat Kansas City on Saturday, they will slip past the Wizards by a single point for the final playoff spot.
In the conference's other playoff match-up, New England will play Chicago in the opening round. Going into the final weekend, however, second place in the conference -and home field advantage in the first round- remains up for grabs. With its 2-1 win over D.C. on Saturday, the Revolution jumped into second in the East, one point ahead of the Fire. The Revolution play Columbus at home on Saturday, while the Fire travel to RFK to take on United (
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