When I received an email with the title 'D.C. United 12th Man Promotion,' I figured that I would open it and find the name of the lucky winner of the contest. I was right. I opened an email that started, "Harvey, Congratulations ..." After reading it about three times, I was convinced that my friends were putting me on. So, I replied to the email and eventually was able to contact the sender by phone. It was the D.C. United phone number. He said "D.C. United" when he answered the phone. So, I was convinced that my friends had enlisted the aid of some D.C. United staffer to punk me.
After talking to (Vice President of Marketing) Jamie O'Connor at the D.C. United office, I discovered that it wasn't a joke. It was legitimate. Out of the thousands of people who registered online for the contest, I was the winner. First, I had to finish hyperventilating and regain my powers of speech. Then, they gave me the details of what to do and when to arrive. I hung up, still slightly in disbelief and starting calling some friends and sending emails.
Was I really going to get an MLS 2004 Championship Ring? Unbelievable. That couldn't be right. It must be like those plastic replica rings that they gave away to everybody after the 1999 championship, right?
They gave me four tickets to club level seats, so I could bring three friends who would stand at the touch line while I actually went on the field to help pass out the championship rings to the players. I invited one from the Screaming Eagles, one from the Barra Brava, and one from La Norte. They all (of course) accepted the invitation.
We got to the stadium and were met at the gate by Courtney Hankamer (Marketing Coordinator, D.C. United). First, she took us to our seats in the club level. They were excellent. We got to walk by the trophy case on the way to the seats and took some pictures.
Then, Courtney escorted us into the bowels of the stadium. Around one of the first corners, we ran into Bruce Arena, Peter Nowak and Dave Kasper. That's when it finally struck us that we were going out at field level. We ran into several players jogging through the tunnel out onto the field and spent the warmups hanging out in the dugout and standing up by the dasher boards. We took many pictures.
Then came the big moment. After the national anthem and the introduction of the opposing players, I was introduced as the '12th Man' and took the field. It was such a charge to step on the field that I started to run, but they told me to walk. Then, Kevin Payne (D.C. United President and CEO) handed me a championship ring on behalf of all the fans of D.C. United. I could only looked at it briefly, but I think I forgot to breathe for a few minutes until the players started coming. Kevin Payne, Dave Kasper (D.C. United Technical Director), Talon and I distributed rings to all the players that were there. Each one came by and shook all of our hands and received his ring.
But, the surprises weren't finished. After that, the players lined up for the pregame picture and I got to stand with them. Then, it was game time and we went back up to our seats.
The game started off unfavorably, and then the good guys fought their way back. We couldn't stand watching such a game from the club level. At half time, despite the rain, my friends headed down to their proper spots .. with their respective clubs, bouncing the bleachers.
One of the guys got to spend some time talking to Marco Etcheverry at halftime. We saw Bruce Arena and Curt Onalfo on the way out of the stadium. And we got to spend more time after the game admiring the hardware in the trophy case and reliving games and memories.
On the way out of the stadium, Marcelo Balboa got on the elevator with us. I congratulated him on his induction to the Hall of Fame and complimented him on the excellent coverage of MLS that he provides on HDNet. Then, he said, "Are you the 12th Man that was on the field before the game?" I told him that I was. "You got the ring right?" So, I pulled it out and showed it to him. There I was sharing an elevator with Hall-of-Famer Marcelo Balboa and showing off my MLS 2004 Championship Ring. That was surreal.
I first became a fan of D.C. United shortly after the team was founded, in the early days of the league. The first game I attended was the first home game. I've been a season ticket holder since 1999, and I'm a member of the Screaming Eagles. Previously, my biggest experience during a game was a few years back on my birthday when I was selected for the half-time contest and took some shots at the goal for prizes. But, this definitely exceeds any experience I've had with the team so far ... even attending the MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Cup, and Inter-American Cup games I've attended.
The whole evening was an unbelievable experience ... one that I will cherish forever.
I just hope that I can avoid all those posters on BigSoccer.com who have threatened to mug me to take my ring.
Harvey Roberts was the winner of the D.C. United '12th Man' Sweepstakes and is a longtime supporter of D.C. United.
