Louis Saha (left) and Steven Pienaar
May 30, 2009: For the 1st time, I watch the FA Cup Final, played at the new Wembley Stadium in London. At least, it's the 1st time I can remember watching it. It's possible that, when I was a boy, I might have seen it broadcast on ABC Wide World of Sports, but I don't think I did.
Both teams traditionally wear blue: Everton, the blue team in Liverpool, gets to wear their usual blue shirts with white shorts; while Chelsea, of West London, wear an all-yellow kit. Everton were managed by Scotsman David Moyes, and, through the 2021-22 season, this is the closest he's ever come to managing a team to a major trophy.
Chelsea were managed by Guus Hiddink, who had won 6 Eredivise (Dutch league) titles and the 1988 European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) with PSV Eindhoven, and had just guided Russia to 3rd place at Euro 2008. He had taken over on February 11, after the team's owner, Russian energy billionaire Roman Abramovich, fired manager Luis Felipe Scolari, despite a good record.
Louis Saha, Everton's French forward, scores 25 seconds into the match, the fastest Cup Final goal ever. In 1895, Bob Chatt of Birmingham team Aston Villa had scored 30 seconds into the match, and Villa went on to win. Saha had beaten his record, and had beaten Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech.
But Didier Drogba, Chelsea's big forward from the African nation of Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), ends their momentum with a goal in the 21st minute. He is known for his diving for penalties: Earlier in the month, he had executed 5 dives in the Champions League Semifinal against Barcelona, but didn't find it necessary this time. Frank Lampard scores in the 72nd, and Chelsea win, 2-1.
It was the 8th time that Everton had lost the FA Cup Final, a record. They have won it 5 times, most recently in 1995. It was Chelsea's 5th win, and they received the FA Cup from the honorary chairman of the Football Association, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. (Through the 2021-22 season, they have now won it 8 times, most recently in 2018.)
I watched the game at the first great American soccer bar, Nevada Smith's, at 74 3rd Avenue in New York's East Village, now closed. Two weeks earlier, I had seen Manchester United clinch the Premier League title there, with a draw against North London's Arsenal, the team I support. The United fans trashed the place.
Despite Chelsea's fans in London having a reputation for despicable violence, the "New York Blues" celebrated like human beings. Also unlike the United fans, they seemed to understand the Champagne Difference: The cheap stuff is for spraying, the good stuff is for drinking.
One more note: At the time, Arsenal had a forward from Mexico, Carlos Vela. Big things were expected of him, and their fans sang, to the tune of "Que Sera Sera," a common song for English soccer chants:
Carlos Vela, Vela!
The Mexican superstar!
He's better than Lou Saha!
Carlos Vela, Vela!
Vela would star for his national team, and later for Los Angeles F.C. in Major League Soccer. But he was not better than Louis Saha, who had helped Manchester United win the Premier League in 2007, and both that and the Champions League in 2008.
*
May 30, 2009 was a Saturday. The Stanley Cup Finals began, a rematch of the previous season's Finals, in which the Detroit Red Wings had beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Wings won Game 1, 3-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. But the Penguins went on to win in 6 games.
Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals was played, at what was then named the Amway Arena in Orlando. The Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-90, and clinched a berth in the NBA Finals. Dwight Howard scored 40 for the Magic, while LeBron James scored 25 for the Cavs. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Magic in Finals in 5 games.
Football was out of season. These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-5 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. CC Sabathia defeated his former team. Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher hit home runs. Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Robinson Canó went 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.
* The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, 7-3 at Shea Stadium. Josh Johnson outpitched Tim Redding.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals, 9-6 at Citizens Bank Park. Cole Hamels was the winning pitcher. Ryan Howard hit 2 home runs.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. David Ortiz went 0-for-4.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 7-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ryan Dempster pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Ángel Guzmán and Aaron Heilman completed the 5-hit shutout.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-5 at at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 14-1 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 8-7 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Eric Byrnes singled Mark Reynolds home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a sacrifice fly to score Wladimir Balentien with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Albert Pujols hit 2 home runs.
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