As part of its official sponsorship program with Major League Soccer, our friends at Continental Tire invited us out to October’s Los Angeles derby match between Chivas USA and LA Galaxy.

Under the sponsorship agreement, Continental becomes the exclusive tire of MLS. The tire manufacturer has been a long-time sponsor of FIFA World Cup Soccer, as well as individual leagues around the world, so the new agreement was designed to continue the association and raise the brand’s profile in the US.

Although we regularly attend Galaxy games thanks to a friend who holds season tickets, and we see Conti banners on the field, we weren’t aware the sponsorship provided signage on all four corners of each stadium around the country. This provides visibility at nearly 300 televised games during the season. Continental also receives 30-second commercial spots in national TV broadcasts to further boost its presence.

What this meant for us was some great seats and the chance to get onto the pitch during the pre-game warm-up. Inevitably, all the talk and cameras were directed towards David Beckham, the Galaxy’s star player. And despite the presence of several US national team players, it’s Beckham who gets the biggest cheer and a tide of female screams whenever he approaches the ball.

The match itself was a great game, with Chivas fans turning up the noise on the often subdued Galaxy crowd. However, the Galaxians walked out 2-1 victors with a stunning Beckham goal from a trademark freekick, and another from Edson Buddle.

As if that wasn’t enough, we were treated to a photo with the Chivas cheerleaders, which rounded out a pretty awesome evening!