Bob Delaney At Large: 2026

08 March 2026

Weekend of CITY Soccer and Church Greeting

Mid-afternoon yesterday (7 March), I was off to Julie's apartment to pick her up and bring her to Downtown West St. Louis for that night's St. Louis CITY SC match. I parked my car on a lot south of Enterprise Center (where the Missouri Valley Conference's men's basketball tournament was taking place) and then Julie and I walked 0.5 miles (0.8 km) towards Energizer Park. We browsed among the activities taking place there before going across the street to the Schlafly Tap Room for the St. Louligans Street Party.

Julie and I got dinner from the Cluck Oink Moo Sliders food truck--we each got two sliders with French fries--and took in the festivities of the party. I bought some Schlaffle raffle tickets but did not win the prize. However, the money is going to a good cause, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, that night's St. Louligans Charity du Jour.

Just over an hour before kickoff, the St. Louligans and Fleur de Noise rallied with STL Santos and St. Louis City Punks for a few minutes of chanting before setting off on our march to Energizer Park. After filing our CITY ramblers with soft drinks, Julie and I found places in the North End to await the match.

CITY (0-1-1 after losing 2-0 at San Diego FC the previous weekend) was hosting Seattle Sounders FC. Saint Louis University men's soccer head coach Kevin Kalish brought out the match ball, then walked over to the North End to wave a large flag and pound the big drum. Kalish's Billikens reached the NCAA semifinals last fall.

The match started off well for CITY, in that they had most of the possession and made some nice scoring attempts. However, the match was scoreless at half time. Seattle took the lead two minutes into the second half and held on run out 1-0 winners. A disappointment for sure to CITY and its supporters, though some positives came out of the match (including having 70 percent possession). CITY will regroup and play at Los Angeles FC this Saturday.

Julie and I walked back to the parking lot and I drove her home before I returned home. Overnight, our clocks moved ahead one hour to Daylight Savings Time/.

This morning, Julie messaged me to say she would not be able to come with me to church today, due to a sinus headache. Thus, I drove myself to Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel for the 11:15 am service, where I would serve as chief greeter. (This past week, I responded to an email appeal from Eliot for greeter help this Sunday.) This was my first service as a full greeter, having shadowed a greeter two weeks before. Today's stint went off without a hitch, and I helped to collect and count the offering money for the church. After the service, I finished shutdown procedures before relaxing at the coffee and fellowship time. After nearly an hour, I headed home.

Later.

Websites of Entries Mentioned in This Post:

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer

Schlafly Tap Room: Schlafly

Cluck Oink Moo Sliders: Cluck Oink Moo Sliders | Food Trucks In | St. Louis MO

Colorectal Cancer Alliance: Colorectal Cancer Alliance | Prevention, Support & Research for Colorectal Cancer

Energizer Park: Energizer Park | St. Louis CITY SC

Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel: Home

25 February 2026

2026 Season Opener for CITY SC

Last Saturday (21 February) saw St. Louis CITY SC and the rest of Major League Soccer (MLS) begin the new season. I left for downtown west St. Louis for the match late that morning. Julie could not come as she was recovering from recent shoulder surgery.

After parking just south of Enterprise Center and walking about 0.5 miles (08 km), I arrived at Energizer Park. I saw the Budweiser Clydesdales being prepared to parade before the match. At the stadium's Lou Fusz Plaza, I saw fans milling about, live music being played, and the Energizer Bunny posing for photos with fans.

I then made my way to the Schlafly Tap Room, where the St. Louligans were having their pre-match Street Party. After getting a can of Schlafly Kolsch beer, I ordered chicken tenders with corn on the cob and fries from the Heaterz Hot Chicken food truck. Additionally, I bought Schlaffle (raffle) tickets from the St. Louligans, whose Charity du Jour Saturday was the Josh Yaro Foundation, which provides educational necessities for children in Ghana.

About one hour from kickoff, the St. Louligans gathered with the other supporter groups--Fleur de Noise, STL Santos, and St. Louis City Punks--for a brief rally before marching into Energizer Park. We settled into our places in the North End for the match. Olympic heptathlon champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee brought out the match ball before walking to our end to wave a flag and beat a drum.

CITY came out in their all-gold Tina Turner Kit, which will be their alternative strip for the next two seasons. The match against Charlotte FC went well. After a scoreless first half, Marcel Hartel put CITY on top in the 60th minute. However, Charlotte leveled it 13 minutes later and the match ended drawn at 1. Still, for the first match of the season with several new players, CITY played well.

The next morning (22 February), I was at Eliot Unitarian Universality Chapel for the early service. I shadowed one of their greeters for that service, since I had indicated that I would like to volunteer to be a greeter a few times a year. It went pretty well, learning how to offer service programs to attendees, count adults in attendance, and collect offerings. Julie was in the audience for that service.

Right after that service, I joined with eight other new members in being formally welcomed by the associate pastor and the church board. After starting the ceremony in the sanctuary, we moved to the pastor's office for the membership book signing. (Julie took videos of this ceremony on her phone.)

Right after that, we each had our photos taken for the church bulletin board. Our membership will be made official by the board when it meets next month.

After coffee and conversation at the church, I drove Julie home for lunch with her roommate Joan and two others. We then played the card game Cards Against Humanity, an adult game I had never played before. It was fun and I would not mind playing this game again sometime. I came back home late that afternoon.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC

Energizer Park: Energizer Park | St. Louis CITY SC

Major League Soccer: MLSsoccer.com - The Official Site of Major League Soccer

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer

Schlafly Tap Room: Schlafly

Heaterz Hot Chicken: Heaterz Hot Chicken

Josh Yaro Foundation: Education in Ghana | The Josh Yaro Foundation

Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel: Home

Cards Against Humanity: Home - Cards Against Humanity

18 February 2026

Into February 2026

After being bedridden at New Year's with influenza Type A and catching up with personal and business matters in January, I was happy to turn another year older this month.

My birthday (7 February) began with a haircut at Great Clips, followed by hair coloring at home using Just For Men. I was ready in mid-afternoon when Julie came by to begin the birthday celebration. She gifted me a handsome ring from Helzberg Diamonds, which I love. I told Julie I owed her a ring.

Julie then drove me to Maggiano's Little Italy at The Boulevard in Richmond Heights for dinner. We had such a wonderful meal, enjoying great food and service.

Following dinner, we browsed among the stores at nearby Saint Louis Galleria. Julie and I bought books at Barnes & Noble. Then, it was on to downtown St. Louis for the evening's main event.

Julie surprised me by taking me to The Boom Boom Rom, a burlesque theater on Washington Avenue. We had refreshments in the lobby before the theater opened for us and the other ticket holders for that night's show. Julie and I had a table right by the stage and I got a crown for my birthday.

The Boom Boom Review we saw was their signature burlesque show, with a mistress of ceremonies and the five dancers of the Boom Boom Bombshells. Over two hours, the dancers performed a high energy, teasing show.

Just after the intermission, I was on stage with other audience members celebrating milestones (birthdays and upcoming wedding or divorces). It was interesting, for sure! Later that night, Julie and i posed for a picture on stage.

After the show, Julie and I tipped the dancers as we left the theater and then got back into her car for Julie to drive me home. This is a birthday I won't soon, if ever, forget.

The next morning (8 February), I attended a service at Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel in Kirkwood. It's Julie's congregation and I will be joining it later this month. I stayed after the service for coffee and conversation.

After church, I headed to Leviathan Bookstore on South Grand in south St. Louis. There, soccer historian Dave Lange and St. Louis soccer legend Ty Keough were signing copies of Lange's new book "St. Louis Soccer: An Illustrated Timeline." It has some 150 moments in St. Louis soccer history from 1875 to the present. I chatted with Dave and Ty for a bit before they signed my copy, which I then paid for before leaving the store.