I’ll be honest. Before I traveled to London, I didn’t understand how someone could enjoy watching soccer – or football, to the rest of the world.
It’s the most popular sport on the planet. But in New England, I think very few watch it, compared to go-to’s like the Patriots and Celtics.
When I traveled to London to see my Patriots, unfortunately, lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars a few weeks ago, I went to a real football game the day before.
Five of the eight friends I traveled with follow the English Premier League, commonly known as “The Prem,” and each have a team they support. They dragged the rest of us to watch the Tottenham Hotspur FC face off against the West Ham United FC Hammers.
I couldn’t name a player on either team, but somehow, had one of the greatest live sports experiences of my life.
Yes, it was great seeing the hometown Spurs beat the visiting Hammers in a London derby, but that wasn’t all of it.
Simply put, London fans – international for that matter – take the sport of football to a level unseen in New England.
I was aware of the atmosphere I’d be walking into, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the experience.
My friends and I went to a pub before the match and had to show our tickets to get in. The pub didn’t allow West Ham fans in. We had to prove we were sitting in the home section to drink there.
Yes, they have separate seating for home and visiting teams.
My friend and I also got lost on the way to our seats: row 14, section 118.
We found ourselves in front of section 113 and thought it would be easy to cut through instead of walking around the stadium.
No. It wasn’t that easy. The home and visiting teams have separate entrances to the stadium and we couldn’t cut through.
To my pleasant surprise, we were sitting directly adjacent to the visiting section, filled with screaming West Ham fans.
West Ham scored the first goal.
I looked to my left and had never seen a group of fans more excited. And, more noticeably, yelling at my section with such passion.
Yes, “my” section.
I quickly learned what it meant to be a Spurs fan. Everyone sitting next to me felt the same passion for 11 players kicking a black and white ball for 90 minutes.
The Spurs quickly overcame the 1-0 deficit and shot their way to a 4-1 victory.
I watched the West Ham fans go from exchanging obscenities with me and my fellow Spurs fans, to trickling out of the stadium in shame.
Then, I left the game and told my friends, “I’m now a Spurs fan.”
I haven’t watched another game since I’ve been home. However, I’ll never forget that experience.
The passion and excitement of a football game in London.
