Move over New England Patriots, the New England Revolution soccer team is back in town! And last Sunday was the annual chance for New England Revolution season ticket holders to meet members of the team and coaching staff.

Just in case soccer is not your normal following, the New England Revolution is part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) program. At the end of the 2005-2006 season the Revs were the Eastern Conference champions and were runner-ups in the MLS Cup final, being beaten out by a single goal by the LA Galaxy in overtime.

The Revs kick-off their home season this Sunday April 30th, 2006 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro at 3:00pm. And based on the number of season ticket holders at last Sunday’s gathering I’d say this season’s crowd is going to be one of the largest ever.

Two of my sons – and I – are Revolution fans, and we made the annual pilgrimage to get autographs, trade soccer tactics with coaches Steve Nicol and Paul Mariner, and just generally rub shoulders with some of the best soccer players in the U.S. today.

Could this be their season to go all the way and win the Championship? The fans I spoke with on Sunday believe it is, and so do the players and the coaches, and I bet the “Kraft owners” certainly hope so as well.

Going to a New England Revolution game is more of a family affair than anything else. Plenty of parents hanging out with their soccer kids in a relaxed and uncrowded setting. Sell-out crowds are a rare occurrence in MLS games, although each year it seems attendance increases at Gillette Stadium. And certainly if you want good seats then booking in advance makes sense.

To purchase advance tickets for New England Revolution home games go here.

For more ideas on things to do in the Boston area click here.

Talk to you next week,

Cliff Calderwood
Contributing Editor
New England Vacation Guide