Yesterday, I had the fortune to be invited by one of my workmates to go to the Arsenal match. It is fairly difficult to get tickets, so I made sure to rearrange my plans in order to make it (that makes it sound like I'm so busy, but I'm not. I just happened to have plans this weekend that I had to reschedule for March).
One of my workmates told me I should cheer for the underdog (Blackburn). Now that I know that opposing team fans would be looked down if outside the visitor section, I'm going to have to have a conversation with him. I feel like he was setting me up.
5) Limited substitutions. - Apparently, each team is only allowed 3 substitutions during the entire match. Considering it is 45 minutes of running during each half, it is a testament to how in shape these guys are. Impressive.
6) Limited drinking. - They don't allow drinking in the seats. In fact, there are no vendors touring the stadium. They have drinks available during the 15-20 minute halftime, but it isn't enough time to down the drink. If you have to go to the loo, you end up shotgunning a beer/cider (yes, they sell cider at the stadium!) so you can finish it before the second half starts.
7) Fashion observation. - This is the point where Brock would start stabbing himself in the eye with a pen. He hated when Sue, Julie and I would start talking about fashion. Anyway, the thing I noticed from a fan-fashion perspective --- not many baseball caps. In the States, I'm used to seeing a ton of people wearing Cubs/Bears/Sox/Hawks caps at any sporting event. I saw 2. That's right, two (2) people wearing hats. Not a British thing. So glad I chose to leave my Cubs hat back at my flat. The fan-favorite piece to wear --- a red & white scarf. Seemed a little odd to me, but it was everywhere.
8) The universal love of sporting events. - It's consistent here as in the States, the bathroom line is almost always shorter for the women. :)
So, I checked another one off the list. I'm so happy I got to do it. Next up, rugby and cricket.
For those that don't know, Arsenal is a London football team. By football, I mean soccer. Although, if I were to say that here, I think I would be smacked. They were playing the Blackburn Rovers. Sadly, they lost, but the whole thing was *SO* cool.
Here are I am in front of the stadium.
Since I know absolutely nothing about football/soccer, I had a lot of questions for Geoff and he was kind enough to answer all of them (Stein, you would have hated me!).
Following are a few things I learned at the match:
1) Emirates Stadium is in a Wrigleyville neighborhood. - Similar to the Cubs, the stadium where the Arsenal play, is in a local neighborhood. I got off the tube and we walked about 10 minutes to the Stadium. It is just a mass of people heading there. There aren't as many pubs around the Emirates Stadium, though. Once the match is over, people leave (very orderly like).
2) No paper tickets. - They don't give people paper tickets. Instead, the tickets are given out in a little red leather wallet.
As a result, there is very little scalping. I don't think it is illegal, but it apparently isn't really done.
3) They call the field the "pitch". - I don't know why, Stein. They just do. You may think it is stupid, but I'm not going to get looked on as being the stupid American by calling it the field. Here is my view of the pitch.
4) Visitors are confined to one section. - Unlike other arenas where fans from the visiting team can be peppered around the stadium, that is apparently not done in English football. The visiting fans are relegated to one particular section, which just happened to be across the pitch from me (visible only in the top left corner of this picture).
One of my workmates told me I should cheer for the underdog (Blackburn). Now that I know that opposing team fans would be looked down if outside the visitor section, I'm going to have to have a conversation with him. I feel like he was setting me up.
5) Limited substitutions. - Apparently, each team is only allowed 3 substitutions during the entire match. Considering it is 45 minutes of running during each half, it is a testament to how in shape these guys are. Impressive.
6) Limited drinking. - They don't allow drinking in the seats. In fact, there are no vendors touring the stadium. They have drinks available during the 15-20 minute halftime, but it isn't enough time to down the drink. If you have to go to the loo, you end up shotgunning a beer/cider (yes, they sell cider at the stadium!) so you can finish it before the second half starts.
7) Fashion observation. - This is the point where Brock would start stabbing himself in the eye with a pen. He hated when Sue, Julie and I would start talking about fashion. Anyway, the thing I noticed from a fan-fashion perspective --- not many baseball caps. In the States, I'm used to seeing a ton of people wearing Cubs/Bears/Sox/Hawks caps at any sporting event. I saw 2. That's right, two (2) people wearing hats. Not a British thing. So glad I chose to leave my Cubs hat back at my flat. The fan-favorite piece to wear --- a red & white scarf. Seemed a little odd to me, but it was everywhere.
8) The universal love of sporting events. - It's consistent here as in the States, the bathroom line is almost always shorter for the women. :)
So, I checked another one off the list. I'm so happy I got to do it. Next up, rugby and cricket.
What does a "lot" of questions mean? A lot could be more than 3 or 100. If you asked more than 4 that is a problem. I hope you didn't annoy your host or the people around you. I'm sure there are "rules" at matches pertaining to the number of questions an uneducated person can ask are the same as in the U.S. And this isn't Kelly's 5th grade class, there ARE stupid questions.
ReplyDeleteI asked at least 20 questions. And he didn't kick me out! I wasn't asking it loudly, but I did tell everyone within earshot that I was friends with you, Stein.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous. I've talked with my Swedish friend Rik about getting to england to watch an EPL match someday. PS....I like the scarf over the baseball cap.
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