Review: Philadelphia Union

I couldn't believe it myself, but real professional soccer is happening in Chester. I consider PPL Park and the Philadelphia Union a hidden gem for a family outing, right in our own backyard. This year I was able to attend three Union Soccer games and ended up discovering my inner-soccer fan. Since I love to use bullet points, here are the reasons I highly recommend the Philadelphia Union as a must-do family outing in Delco. 

• PPL Park is a virtually brand new stadium with all the trappings of any of the other professional sports stadiums in the area, just on a much smaller scale. From cheese steaks to Italian sausage to pints of Turkey Hill Ice cream and Crab Fries from Chickies's and Pete's, PPL Park has some great food choices.
• PPL Park is easy to get to. For anyone who is concerned about knowing their way around the Chester waterfront, don't be concerned. Follow the directions on the PPL Park website and you'll flow with traffic right into the well-lighted on-site parking lot. 
• The Union offer one of the cheapest professional sports tickets in town.  Tickets start at $25. Wow! Since the stadium is built for soccer there really is no bad seat in the house. You can buy and print tickets online and they usually have seats available a week prior to the game.
• The crowd is heavily weighted to families and friendly soccer enthusiast. Soccer fans have the reputation of being rowdy. Each time I attended a game (one was with my 8 year old daughter) the crowd was spirited but overall they were very courteous. But, be prepared, soccer fans cheer a lot during the game. It's hard not to get up and cheer.
• Soccer is very easy to watch and you can quickly understand the basics. It's also exciting. Balls that miss the nets or go out of bounds often end up in the seats. However, you don't get to keep them, you must throw them back.
• It's easy to tell that the players love the game, they love the fans and they love the Philadelphia Area. Some of the popular players include: Danny Califf, Sebastien Le Toux, Faryd Mondragon and Jack McInerney. You can access the full roster here. 
• They support local youth/travel soccer clubs. Every local club has their framed club jersey hanging up all around the stadium concourse. 

The Union will host 5 more regular season games at PPL Park lasting through early October. So plan a fall trip to PPL Park to support Delco's Philadelphia Union.

Also, if your looking for a great sport to start your 5 year old boy or girl out on, soccer is fun and easy to learn. Register your child now for the fall season. Some local clubs include:

• RoseTree Soccer Club
• Ridley United
• BYC
• Nether NPAA Soccer
• See our full list of clubs here.