Signs of Spring

The last few weeks have been marked by a frenetic pace of research for several papers that will be due by the end of the semester . . . which is, amazingly, just three and a half weeks away!!  Still, so as to not go completely crazy, I have allowed myself a little bit of time for fun and for enjoying the start of spring here in the District.

And nothing offers as much hope for the arrival of spring then Opening Day of Major League . . . . Soccer.  Yes, soccer. 

I joined several of my colleagues from Catholic University to attend Opening Night of the Major League Soccer season for the D.C. United. Home games are currently played in the old R.F.K. Stadium, though there is talk that the team will get its own purpose-built stadium in the near future.

We enjoyed watching D.C. United beat up on the Columbus Crew, in part thanks to the two goals scored by Charlie Davies.  Davies was nearly killed in an automobile accident in 2009 and he missed the World Cup and the MLS season as a result. This was his first game back since the accident and his level of play was simply amazing.

The most interesting part of the match for me was the fan experience. I don't think I could ever have imagined that there was such enthusiasm for soccer in the United States! The game was very well attended and the majority of the fans were in their twenties or thirties. Everyone was wearing D.C. United gear and there was a constant, and I mean constant, drumming, cheering and chanting throughout the entirety of the game.

And whenever something good happened for the United, the flags and banners came out in abundance. I really wondered if I had somehow left the United States for a soccer match somewhere in Europe or South America. I definitely hope to attend another game or two sometime later this season.

Of course the truly traditional mark of spring in D.C. is the arrival of the cherry blossoms and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. I largely the avoided the crowds of the festival itself, but on a particularly beautiful day I snuck down to the Tidal Basin to view the blooming trees.

I was also happy to join several Koeth cousins for dinner and for a viewing of the Cherry Blossom Festival fireworks display. It was a bit cold down by the water, but it was a great evening with great family. And the houseboats and sailboats along the Potomac were all done up in purple and pink Christmas lights . . . which very much reminded me of the Christmas Boats along the Columbia River in Portland.

The campus of Catholic University was also alive with blooms, which made sitting in the archives and library even more difficult!

Sadly, just a day after I took these pictures we had a rather severe change in temperature, which was ushered in by a thunderstorm that blew down a lot of these blossoms. Still, we have the redbud and forsythia, and the hyacinth have just bloomed this week. If only Easter weren't so late this year the blooms would have coincided perfectly!