By Ed Piper
When a security guard came around in the middle of the second half to clear the aisles, I told her, "We're a family." She: "Okay, just stay behind the (standing) counter, out of the aisle."
We had a good chuckle over my appeal to avoid being scattered. I wasn't trying to be mean or deceitful. It was all in good nature. Here we were on the 300 deck--the third level of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood--and standing the whole game was worth it, instead of going up yet another level to the 400's with a microscopic view of the action.
It built unity. Here I was, towering over the other members of "my family", a Mexican family of four, with Dad explaining the two team's maneuvers in the Iran-New Zealand soccer game to his young son in Spanish, and a middle-aged couple supporting the Kiwis. I said, "We all look the same."
When the uniformed security guard had arrived and said, "I want you all to go to your seats," I meekly said the line about being a family. She wasn't harsh-toned, just wanting to do a good job in trying to clear the aisles, especially in the event of a fire.
"I'm the ugly duckling," I said when the other six and I resumed watching the 2-2 tie, which was narrated by the overwhelmingly pro-Iran crowd (L.A. has the largest concentration of Iranis second only to Teheran). A young woman nearby kept leading cheers, "Ee-RON, Ee-Ron".
"You're the little son who misbehaves," joked Mr. New Zealand, a kindly fellow. I was impressed his wife was willing to stand the entire two hours with him. Same with the two elementary-school-age kids.
My new-found Mexican compadre smiled. He was a good source to bounce off comments from my decent but limited soccer knowledge. To his wife, I said, "You're a great cheerleader," she having helped start a wave that circled the stadium on all four decks among a sell-out of 70,000.
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