Chapter 2007
Farewell to RFK
The box of turf extracted from the field at RFK December 22, 1996 and the off duty police officers Patrick (10) stayed with during his dad’s “unfinished business” trip.
Theresa celebrated her 9th birthday at RFK (July 26, 2003) by kicking out the game’s ceremonial first ball to Washington Freedom and U.S. Women’s National Team star Abby Wambach. The Freedom beat the San Diego Spirit that night, 2-0, in front of nearly 8,000 fans thanks to goals by Wambach and Mia Hamm.
This Beach Boys-themed “Farewell to RFK” was inspired by an actual Beach Boys concert there on June 11, 1983, the 12th summer since baseball left town. The crowd of more than 50,0000 fans included me and my fiance Kate. The ticket for that afternoon’s North American Soccer League game between Team America and the visiting Fort Lauderdale Strikers included the free post-game concert. Or was it a concert ticket that included a free pre-concert soccer game?
