Minton: Lionel Messi's Gillette Stadium Takeover Sucked

0/10 would not recommend

Photo By Sam Minton

Gillette Stadium was filled to the brim as fans wanted to say that they saw the greatest soccer player perform in the flesh.

It sucked.

Now I am in a privileged position. I get to attend whatever New England Revolution match I want (including the matchup against Miami that I understand a lot of people wanted to attend) . I get to see visiting players and occasionally even chat with them (shoutout Aidan Morris). I get to be in the Revolution locker room and cover a professional team, literally something I dreamed of as a child.

Getting to see Lionel Messi work his magic on the pitch is a memory that will stay with me. I mean he is the greatest player to ever kick a soccer ball.His second goal was a true work of art. He darted towards net at the perfect time. Any other player goes offside but Messi is just different.

He calmly finished the chance and acted like it was a normal occurrence. While that is for the Argentine, any other player would be ecstatic.

But Saturday was also horrid.

I got to Gillette Stadium around one to beat all the traffic. This ended up being a smart move as congestion started an hour or two later.

I used this time to walk around Patriots Place and sort of check the temperature. While I got a free Dunkin’ bucket hat and talked with some supporters, the crowd was largely wearing pink. Seeing someone in Revolution gear was as rare as seeing Giacomo Vrioni score on the road.

A wave of sadness hit me as I realized Gillette Stadium would never be like this again for a Revolution game. The anticipation and overall excitement for the match will never be topped.

Now back to my gameday experience. Security was buttoned up like the President was going to be in attendance. While me and a fellow media member descended to the pits of Gillette Stadium to make our way to the field to film a pre-game video, security stopped us. We were held along with many other media members and general stadium employees for around 10 minutes.

Why?

Well, Messi and Inter Miami needed to walk to the pitch for warmups. Fast forward to after the game, media members were pushed aside and told to wait as Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, and Messi walked to the bus. We then entered a nearly empty Revolution locker room which doesn’t make for a ton of great postgame quotes.

At least we got to hear from captain Carles Gil and Xavier Arreaga.

The stadium was filled but so was the press box. Everyone besides the usual media members there for one reason, to talk about Messi. After Saturday’s match, they will go back to forgetting that the team even exists.

To get extremely inside baseball, the sequencing of events for postgame media availability almost seemed tailored for those providing coverage of Miami. Let me be clear this isn’t a fault of the Revolution communications staff but Tata Martino spoke first, something that doesn’t usually happen during a normal MLS match day. Miami’s communications staff then announced that a mixed zone featuring two players would be taking place, something that also doesn't happen on a normal MLS match day.

After a few minutes, Caleb Porter walked in and faced a bevy of questions. While some revolved around Messi, most involved important matters regarding the team.

So while it might have been a cool and memorable experience, Saturday just showed how far New England has to go. The gamble is that a soccer-specific stadium in Everett will create a great environment for fans and increase the profile of the club but it isn’t guaranteed.

A traveling circus seems to be a proper comparison for what it is like when Messi and Miami come to town. It completely takes over and moments later it is over. Then you dream of being back in that magical world while you are stuck in the constant churning of everyday life.

So thank you for letting me rant about getting to watch the greatest soccer player on earth dominate Gillette Stadium. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.