Austin FC Match Day: On the Road
- Kimi's Travel Thoughts
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Earlier this summer, my sister called to tell me about a special deal she got on tickets for the Colorado Rapids. One of the games was for their home match against Austin FC and she asked if I would be interested in making a trip to Denver for the August 1, 2026 match since I'm an Austin FC fan and we could spend the weekend hanging out together. Of course, I said yes and made plans to book a flight for a weekend in Colorado to support my Austin FC in enemy territory!
Flights
Before booking my flights, I was fully committed to only spending about $200 on round trip flights to and from Denver. I set alerts on Google Flights so I could get notified of any significant changes in prices leading up to about 4 weeks out from the day I planned to fly to Colorado. While I was close to booking on Frontier, the math ultimately worked out to be about the same amount I would have spent on Southwest. I'm also a Rapid Rewards member with Southwest and had the ability to save a little more than $80 on my flights by using some of my points towards my payment. That would allow me to stick to around $200 out of pocket and I had flight options that worked better for my schedule so I could have two full days in Denver for the first time ever.
Side Note: This is my fourth trip to Colorado in the past 3 years and each one was basically a day trip. I actually wrote about my first day trip to Denver a few years ago. I finally got to experience Colorado for more than a single day!
Food
My sister and I ate some meals at her apartment and some meals while we were out and about. In the end, I only went to a few places for food during this trip to Denver.
The Blazing Chicken II
My sister asked what I was interested in eating after a morning checking out a couple of museums and I said I wanted chicken after she suggested it as an option. We went to a restaurant called The Blazing Chicken II that she wanted to go to after noticing how busy the restaurant constantly is when visiting the neighborhood. This place is super tiny and has a dining room with a capacity of less than 40 people. We had to a wait a little bit, but we were able to be seated at the bar and it was worth the wait! After viewing a menu filled with soul food classics and seeing the owner mixing up drinks behind the bar, we both ended up ordering non-chicken entrées. I ordered cornmeal breaded catfish and my sister order ox tail. The food was delicious and it was instantly understood why they have so many regulars the staff know have come to know well and treat like family! This is a place that I would intentionally make time to return to for each trip to Denver -- and next time I will actually try the chicken.
Colorado Rapids Concessions
I love trying concession stand food whenever I go to a stadium for the first time. I was on a quest for something crispy, salty, and tasty. That led me to brisket loaded fries. Crispy, salty fries topped with green chili queso blanco and tender chopped brisket. It was so good and exactly what I needed to enjoy while watching the soccer match!
Chipotle - Original Location
I'll be honest and let you know that I am not really a fan of Chipotle. It's a place that I will order from if it's the best available option or if that's where someone else wants to eat, but I'm not going out of my way to get a meal from there. However, I made an exception because I thought it would be fun to go to the original Chipotle location in Denver. My sister took me and it turns out this is a very tiny location with only a handful of counter seats facing the window. It's so small that there are only a couple of employees handling everything and there is no space for a menu on the walls. Otherwise, it still looks and feels like Chipotle and the food isn't any different. I got a burrito bowl with brown rice and pork carnitas to try something new compared to what I would usually order. I ate half my food at the restaurant and the other half for dinner before leaving to go to the airport.
Little Man Ice Cream
After getting Chipotle, I really wanted some ice cream so my sister took me to Little Man Ice Cream. This was much needed on an extremely hot afternoon in Denver. Rather than getting scoops because I was worried about the ice cream melting on our way back to the car and having to wait in line for a long time (only one person was staffing the store that day), we looked at the grab and go items in the freezer. There was a large horchata flavored ice cream sandwich option that we both thought would be really good and each got one. The ice cream in the sandwich was great and the cookies were perfectly baked! It truly was an excellent ice cream sandwich and I wish I could have one all the time. In case it's not obvious: I love ice cream!
Colorado 150th Birthday & Free Museum Day (Bonus Activity)
Colorado is the Centennial State and is celebrating 150 years of being part of the Union. There was a festival in downtown Saturday morning and afternoon with an artisan market, food trucks, live performances, free breakfast, and a low rider car show. It was also free museum day, so my sister and I spent a few hours exploring the Denver Art Museum and the Colorado Women's History Museum. These museums are part of the Cultural Center Complex and their collections and featured exhibits that are very multicultural. This area of Denver is actually really nice (my sister took me here the last time I was in Denver) and I highly recommend checking out the museums if you're looking for a casual activities that teach you more about Colorado's history.
Low rider car
Follow @KimisTravelThoughts on Instagram for more photos from this trip!
Austin FC at Colorado Rapids Match Day Experience
The Austin FC at Colorado Rapids match was the focal point of this trip and I was glad it was a night game because that allowed for having time to experience a daytime bonus activity during this trip.
Parking
The Colorado Rapids call Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City their home and offer free general parking. Parking is available on the east and west sides of the stadium with plenty of spaces to choose from. Many people were there early to tailgate before before the start of the match which was my first time seeing people tailgate at something that wasn't an American football game. That was cool to witness! There is roughly a 3-5 minute walk to the stadium entrance depending on where you park which overall makes the parking situation ideal.
Soccer Match Recap
Once my sister and I entered the stadium, we went into a team store so she could buy a Colorado Rapids hat before finding some food and eventually locating our seats. Mascots from all of the local professional teams and several area college teams were there to celebrate Colorado's 150th birthday and fans would be allowed on the pitch post-match to watch a special fireworks show. Halftime featured a kids soccer team going against all the mascots and it was hilarious because the mascots were playing by their own rules. They threw some of the kids' shoes to other parts of the pitch and Miles, the Denver Broncos mascot, was playing the wrong football and tried to get away with a 'scoop-n-score' move!
The Rapids fans are extremely passionate about the team and were loud and proud in showing their support. However, the Austin FC supporters made their presence felt and had hope for gaining 1 point or maybe even 3 points towards their total in the MLS table. Sadly, that feeling was deflated in stoppage time when the Colorado Rapids scored on a penalty kick. My team didn't win, but I still had a good time at the soccer match because I got to hang out with my sister and the post-match fireworks were very pretty!
Wrap-Up
I had two full days to spend in Denver for the first time and they were filled with quality time with my sister while having more new experiences in the city. My trips to Colorado have always been good and I feel like they get better and better each time. This is the fourth time I have traveled somewhere specifically for a sporting event and it's so much fun that I think I'm going to make this a more regular thing. Stay tuned for future blog posts about more trips to Colorado or other sporting events!
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