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Barons supporters savor historic journey
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GERMANTOWN, Md. - The Ocean City Barons wanted to make things easier for fans to make the 200-mile trek to the Maryland Soccerplex to see their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game with Major League Soccer's D.C. United.
So the Barons chartered three buses to take the trip down Interstate 95.
For Steve and Fiona Holloway, the trip to meet up with the Barons' fan bus at the Tennessee Avenue Soccer Complex was longer than the nearly four-hour bus trip.
Their son Neil is the coach and general manager of the Barons.
So the Holloways took the eight-hour flight from their native Reading, England, about 40 miles west of London, to see the biggest game of their son's life.
"The English like the story of the underdog," Fiona said.
Ocean City lost, 2-0.
The Holloways have been making the trip to the United States once or twice a year ever since Neil came to America at age 18 to play college soccer.
"It's fantastic," Steve said. "It's what he deserved after 12 years of soccer over here. … It's beyond words, really. But we knew it would happen one day."
Danny Holloway, Neil's younger brother, isn't much of a soccer fan but made the trip anyway. He would see his brother get ejected for arguing early in the second half.
A scarf inscribed with "Ocean City Barons" was draped across the front of each bus as it pulled out of the parking lot around 1:15 p.m.
Team owner Giancarlo Granese pulled up to the bus after fans had loaded for one last carry-on package to be put under the bus in storage.
Bobby the Boardwalk Baron, the team's mascot, was nearly left behind at Carey Stadium. So Granese made the trip across town to get the costume.
"This is everyone now," Granese joked.
The team buses and fans that drove up individually rolled into in the stadium parking lot before the game.
Barons jerseys peppered the main lot as fans set up grills to tailgate while younger fans made friends with one another and started juggling and passing together.
Chris Curran, a senior-to-be at Ocean City High School, made the trip with a pair of friends and close to 10 family members to watch his brother Kevin play.
Chris (spoiler alert - Chris has spent a number of games inside Bobby the Boardwalk Baron) said that he took some confidence from the U.S. National team's big win over Spain in last week's Confederations Cup.
"For my family, it's so big," he said. "Everyone is so nervous for (Kevin). It's just crazy. Especially after USA (reached the Confederations Cup final on Sunday). That was the kind of thing where you said, 'Well, they almost did it, so anything is possible.'
"After that and seeing this, it's nice because you know that there are little kids in Ocean City that are going to see this and say, 'Hey, that could be me.'"
Bill Pinto Sr. follows the team just about everywhere.
He left his house in Audubon at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and wouldn't make it home until well after midnight. Funny thing is, there isn't anything he would rather be doing.
"This is awesome," said Pinto, whose son, Bill Jr., is a midfielder with the Barons. "It's just an amazing thing."
Pinto Sr. said he grew up playing soccer before it gained popularity in the U.S.
He was amazed to see how many children there were following the team to Maryland.
"For me, to see the youth and some of the kids with the Barons shirts, that's really what it's about," he said.
Granese expected nearly 500 fans to make the trip to see the team's Cup game and hundreds more to watch online.
One online viewer stayed up well past her bedtime on Tuesday night just to see the game. Back iEngland, Holloway's 83-year-old grandmother Doreen was planning on forgetting the five-hour time difference to watch her grandson coach.
"She is Neil's biggest fan," Fiona Holloway said.
E-mail John O'Kane:
Posted in Sports, Breaking_news, Soccer on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:50 am Updated: 1:06 am.
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