Last Saturday morning (8 October), I picked up Julie at her house and drove us to the Schlafly Tap Room in St. Louis' Downtown West neighborhood. We attended a watch party for the MLS Next Pro Cup being played in Columbus, Ohio between Columbus Crew 2 and St. Louis CITY 2. The St. Louligans were there to hold the event, joined by the St. Louis City Punks, the Thieves, and Fleur de Noise. Schlafly provided a free buffet lunch, and we could buy Schlafly beer in the Tap Room.
Julie and I set up our chairs in front of the big screen set up on the lot and we watched the livestream of the match. We had fun socializing with the other supporters. Unfortunately, CITY 2 lost the match 4-1. We were sad about the loss, but happy about the season they had.
After the game, I drove Julie back to her home, before I returned to my home.
The next day, after refereeing some youth soccer matches at the Lou Fusz Complex, I washed up and returned to Julie's house. This time, we went to Centene Stadium, immediately south of the Schlafly Tap Room. We were attending a special event for Enterprise Holdings employees, and Julie was my guest. Entering the stadium, we were each presented with a commemorative scarf.
Wandering around the concourse, we were most impressed with the beautiful, clean lines of the stadium. This is the home ground for St. Louis City SC when it begins play in Major League Soccer in 2023. Julie and I sampled food and drink from the complimentary buffet bars around the concourse and shopped in the City Market souvenir shop.
Julie and I then joined other attendees and took our seats in the lower deck for the evening's program. This was the premier of a new documentary film, "Jack Taylor: The Enterprise." It is about Jack Taylor, born 100 years ago, who founded Enterprise 65 years ago. Prior to the film being screened on the videoboard, the film's director interviewed Jack Taylor's two children: Andy Taylor, Executive Chairman of Enterprise Holdings, Inc., and Jo Ann Kindle. The three discussed Jack Taylor, his life and legacy.
After the discussion came the film. The 57-minute-long film was narrated by Gary Sinise and looked at Taylor's childhood in St. Louis, his service as a Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific during World War II, and his founding of Executive Leasing (now Enterprise Rent-A-Car) in 1957. Interviews Taylor gave prior to his death in 2016 were included, along with archival footage and interviews with family members and historians. The film showed how Taylor's wartime service influenced his approach to business and life. (Taylor would eventually call his firm Enterprise after the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, where he served part of the time in the Pacific during World War II.)
After the movie ended, Julie and I walked out feeling happy and most impressed with what we saw. I drove us back to Julie's house. We stayed and talked for awhile before I left to go home. This was a great weekend for us.
Later.
Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:
Schlafly Tap Room: Tap Room Brewpub - Schlafly Beer
St. Louis CITY2: STL CITY 2 | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)
St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)
Saintt Louis City Punks: SLCP Home (slcitypunks.com)
The Thieves: Home | Up the Thieves! (stlouligans.com)
Fleur de Noise: Fleur De Noise
Enterprise Holdings, Inc.: Enterprise Holdings
Centene Stadium: Home - Centene Stadium
St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC | America's First Soccer Capital (stlcitysc.com)
