4-2!! WE WON!!! The San Jose Earthquakes are the MLS Champions for the 2nd time in three years....and I was there. Mike, Mindy, Deanne, Andrew and I drove down to Carson on Saturday night. Captain Tindle piloted the Minivan with grace and aplomb. We stayed at a Courtyard Marriot near LAX, which was very nice - I can always fall asleep to the sound of jet engines.On Sunday morning we piled back into the trusty Minivan and headed for the Home Depot Center which is magnificent and clearly not deserved by the Galaxatives. We somehow managed to get killer seats despite only getting them the week before. We were 4 rows back from the field and despite being rather close to the Fire fans, I think we were all pleased with the seats. The game kicked off after the national anthem and a flypast by 2 F-18s. We couldn't believe our luck when the Quakes were awarded a free kick just outside the box after only 4 minutes. Richard Mulrooney, Jeff Agoos and Ronnie Ekelund all lined up over the ball; any one of them was capable of slapping the ball into the back of the net from that position. This time, it was Ronnie's turn, and he delivered...GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!! After that, we never looked back, we led the whole way through the match, despite some spirited effort by the Fire (except Ante Razov who couldn't score in a whorehouse) and an own goal by Chris Roner. A great penalty save from Pat Onstad and 2 goals by LD were enough to bring the trophy back home. Sir Frank Yallop, who is likely leaving the Quakes as early as next week to take the Canadian national team coaching position was deserving of Coach of the Year, but somehow the MLS overlooked him and gave it to Dave Sarachan. After the crowd left and we had soaked in all the glory, I managed to snag three of the Champions hats that they give the players when they win (see the above pic.) Exhausted and glorious, we piled into the minivan and began the trip home. After a brief detour to drop Andrew off at his hostel in Beverly Hills (?) we hit the road. A quick stop at Del Taco later and we were back in Tracy. God Bless you San Jose!