Photograph Gerald van Wilgen

Let’s start with your name.

Christa Reynolds.

And.. where are you from?

Springfield Pennsylvania.

Why are you here?

Uhm… We gave uhm… tickets. Oh my God this is the German game!  We are not missing this one.

You have season tickets?

Yeah, ha!

What is your relationship with soccer?

My son played since he was five.

How old is you son now?

15.

Where is he playing.

Springfield! He plays for Springfield High School now.

Is he any good?

I think so.

What do you like about the game of soccer?

First of all this is a beautiful stadium. The field is HUUGE.. It’s a gorgeous night on the water. Just  a nice night out. But about the sport, I feel like, it’s so athletic, it’s a lot of running. You have to have a lot of endurance to play soccer.

How long have you been coming to the Union?

This is only my third season coming to the Union games.

What was the first game you went to?

It was freezing, I came to the ARMY-NAVY game. It actually wasn’t the Union but the first time here was ARMY-NAVY. That was cool. Because of all the military men and women in the stands.

About the game, what do you like best about the game? When it comes to watching it.

I like the drama from the players. If you get hit, it’s a lot of drama. Some of these guys go down, I know they’re not hurt, the almost deserve an Oscar, an award. Honestly that’s what I love best, I love the drama on the field.

When you watch your son’s game, do you see the same behavior?

One or two boys I do see imitate what they see on this field. You see them drop to the ground, like they couldn’t possibly go any flatter on the ground.

Are they effective?

You know what? YES! You see a yellow card after that. Yes, very effective. Very funny, it does work. Works in other sports as well. 

When you watch the game what do you look at most?

The goalie. My son plays defense so I tend to look at that area most. I want to see how he is setting up his protection. A lot of times you see the goalie yelling out more instructions than you see the coach yell out.

What gave you learned from watching the game?

Protect the goalie. I swear that’s what I’ve learned most. It seems like that’s what you need to do because he can’t do it on his own. 

Do you shout dumb thing when you are standing on the side line?

I really don’t, my son says I do but I don’t think I do. Fifteen year old boys get embarrassed very quickly. I can’t yell anything anymore. He told me tonight: don’t yell! No shouting! He’s so embarrassed, so do i yell? I try not to yell.

And at his games?

At his games I try not to say anything!

Since you have been coming here and have learned about the game, are you now able to give your son some constructive feedback after you watch your son’s game?

Absolutely not. He thinks I know absolutely nothing and I need to not give him any feedback other than, “Way to go!” and “Good job!”  “All right, atta guy!”

Do you keep your mouth shut?

I do. Because he “knows” more than me, so I keep my mouth shut. It’s up to the coach to teach them how to play. Although just yesterday I was in the back yard with him, because he says “practice with me.” I have to practice “settling the ball” you know what that means? It’s new to me, so we practice in the backyard settling. So obviously I must know something because I am the person he asked to help.