The past year or so, I’ve really gotten into watching soccer, specifically EPL. My friend Jacob’s gone hard core with it, so I’ve gone to watch the games live at a pub in NOLA with him. Then last year I got invited to play in a fantasy league so I had to learn the players and teams even more than I had before. The way the league works is the winner gets a jersey of their choice paid for by the previous year’s winner. That would mean this year Jacob will buy the jersey. Currently I’m leading, and I’m constantly checking EPL news whether it’s on ESPN or BBC. Not so much for the free jersey, but to win something that’s such a new found love and to beat guys that know way more about it than I do.
Anyway, so lately I’ve been thinking about the game I went to last year when I went to Europe. When planning the trip, I told Lori I’d like to go to a game if we could. She was able to plan our trip that we’d make the Sunderland/West Ham game. It was incredible. Most people in this country have been to football games and everything, and football in Europe is pretty much the same thing, if you had the college intensity at a pro game, amped up a bit beyond that. Lori’s friends who got us the tickets were from Middlesborough, and they told us they couldn’t believe they were having to get Sunderland tickets. The opposing teams hate each other. I’m talking hatred like college teams hate each other. Pro sports really don’t have that type of rivalry at all. I mean, I know as a Saints fan I should hate the Falcons, but it’s not like I hate the university of south carolina.
The morning of the game we got dropped off at the stadium and it was cold and rainy. We walked over to a pub across the street to get some beer and hopefully not antagonize any of the Sunderland fans. Jacob is a big fan of West Ham, the day’s opponent, and I was kind of actually going hoping to see WH win. Luckily no one really asked us who we were pulling for, they just thought it was funny that a couple of Americans would be going to a Sunderland game. They didn’t really have any food at the pub, so we drank a couple of John Smith’s Extra Smooths (I was pretty much only drinking stuff I couldn’t get in the US) and headed over to the stadium.
It was pretty cold, and once we got inside, the concourse was packed. We got up to the concession counter and got some food (Shepherd’s Pie!) and ate it in the concourse. Mostly because it was cold and rainy and we wanted to stay out of the weather as long as possible, also you couldn’t bring food down to your seats. We go down to our seats and they are on the front row behind the goal! We were pretty much behind one of the goal posts. I think they were officially in the family section, because the hard core guys who chant and sing were at the opposite end. The West Ham supporters who had traveled to see the game were also on the opposite end of the stadium, surrounded by police. Even though we were in the family section didn’t keep fathers from heckling and cursing or their kids from following suit. I thought it was funny how they booed a member of the opposing team when he was injured. I always want to do that when I think they’re really milking the injury (which the guy was). Oh, and NO walking vendors! The concessions also closed during the game, so no one was getting up to go get more beer or food. It was actually great.
The first half was cool, and the score was tied at 1. West Ham scored first at our end of the field, then Sunderland scored at the opposite end of the field. The game was pretty much back and forth until the very end. During the game Lori took refuge in the empty concourse and I later joined her. It was pretty miserable, but we went back to our seats soon enough.
The game was still tied at 1 at the 90th minute, so they went into injury time. IT is basically the time the ref adds to the clock to account for things like injuries or substitutions since the clock is constantly going. A lot of people had actually left by this time, I guess assuming the game would end in a tie. Sunderland had a couple of chances but they missed. The thing about actually being there, is it’s hard to figure out how much injury time is, so the game could have ended at any time. Sunderland kept firing, and then just when you thought the game would end, they got a goal. The entire stadium (or what was left of it) went insane! By the end of the game I was hoping Sunderland would pull it out, so when they did in such dramatic fashion I went crazy too. Lori and I were jumping up and down hollering our heads off and then the camera guy turns his camera back towards the crowd. We managed to get on the BBC! (at least Lori did) We got on match of the day! this clip is part of the MOTD clip, and Lori’s in the green coat and I come behind her, about 0:25 into it. I have never been that excited for a game where I had no vested interest in either team. Come to think of it I’ve never really been that excited for a game many times. I’ve been to see games won at the end, but there were plays leading up to them, so you kind of knew they were coming. The IT goal had drama building for 30 minutes and close chances, but nothing to make you think “all they have to do is kick the FG now” or “they’re going to run a play to hit a 3 to win”. It was an amazing thing to be a part of.
Peter King wrote about a game he went to last month on his MMQB article a couple of weeks ago. It was cool to see someone else had a similar experience.
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