Through a stroke of luck, Marco and I got to spent Easter Sunday in a slightly different way than usual. One of Marco's colleagues had tickets to the soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City and, through a stroke of bad luck on his side, could not make it himself. So he passed them on to my husband. And even though the boys in the hubbinator's office made it clear that it would be such a waste to take his wife (yes, sexism IS alive and kicking), the wife he did take.
I used to follow the local soccer club when I lived in Cologne and went to matches quite a lot. I have been keeping up with Arsenal through Marco, as he's a fan, but tickets are so hard to come by that we never went to a game before. I really was reminded of what I'm missing.
I love the atmosphere at a soccer game, the acoustics in the stadium and the passion of the fans. I wish I had studied some of the Arsenal supporters' songs, so that I could have joined the chanting. Arsenal won 1-0 after a really exciting two halfs, so everybody left in a celebratory mood. Well, except maybe for the Manchester City fans...
The old Arsenal home ground Highbury is just around the corner from the new, modern Emirates stadium. It was closed down in 2006 and converted into high end apartments. I was wondering if it was all soccer fans who snapped these up.
Arsenal memorabilia all around.
There were really great food stalls all around the stadium. A lot of them were run out of people's front yards.
We fell for this Korean barbecue teriyaki beef sandwich. It was yummy. I am seriously thinking about just coming back for the food on match days!
Fans streaming into the Emirates Stadium.
More food inside the stadium. Hot dogs, nachos and Bovril... Strangely all ketchup and mayo was by German company KΓΌhne.
Arsenal logos through the ages.
This ladies's room was the most deserted I have ever encountered any ladies' room anywhere!
We had really awesome seats.
The team warming up. The match was too exciting to take pictures during it, so this is all I have to offer of the players, I'm afraid.
As with every sports event I go to, the professional photographers gave me massive lens envy.
The stadium was pretty much packed to the last seat!
This clock was taken from the old Highbury Stadium.
Now I really don't know who gives better hugs. Gunnersaurus or Marco. Hmmmm...
How about you? Are you passionate about any sports teams? Do you have one you support?
I don't follow any sports - I get caught up a little in the Olympic hockey games - where Canada is a star =- but that's about it!
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