I’ve been fortunate enough to see many games throughout the
U.K. and Ireland and watching a game in that part of the world is unlike any
experience I’ve ever had attending various sports games here in the U.S. I’ve
seen the Yankees play the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium as well at the Jets versus
the Giants and those don’t come even close to a soccer match in England or
Scotland.
One of my early experiences was seeing Liverpool play
Sheffield United at Anfield in Liverpool. The sight of the away fans from
Sheffield, cheering on their team who were bottom of the table at the time was
unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The passion and dedication of their fans
was amazing. In more recent times, I’ve been able to see one of the truly great rivalries in soccer (and probably all of sports), a Celtic versus Rangers Cup Final at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Walking into the stadium, separated into halves (one for each set of fans) is almost like something out of the movie Braveheart. The fans are more interested in yelling at each other and winning the battles in the stands then the actual game itself. I also saw Spain play Scotland during the recent Euro 2012 qualifiers in a terrific match that ended in a 3-2 victory for Spain. The opportunity to see Spain with Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, and David Villa amongst others play in a competitive match was amazing. Scotland fought bravely, encouraged by the famous “Hampden Roar”, and nearly pulled off an upset to earn a draw. Last fall, I was able to see Liverpool play at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and come away with a 2-1 victory. The atmosphere again was something that is difficult to compare to any sporting event that I’ve seen here in the U.S. Especially when you consider that this was just an ordinary league match.
Many of my friends ask me how I’m able to get tickets for these matches. The first thing that I recommend is to ALWAYS buy the tickets through a club, Football Association, or another reputable source. Counterfeit tickets are rampant in Europe and it’s very difficult to determine which tickets are legitimate in a foreign country. Sometimes it can be as easy as purchasing the tickets online through the club the same way as you’d purchase tickets for a game here in the U.S. For a big match such as Chelsea – Liverpool, I had to join the Chelsea fan club (which cost 25 pounds), and then wait till the tickets were put on-sale to the members. The tickets for the Celtic – Rangers Cup Final were very difficult to purchase as many season ticket holders for both clubs don’t even get these tickets. However, I was able to purchase a Hospitality package that cost a couple of hundred pounds, but included meals, an open bar, transportation to the stadium, and a good seat for the game. It’s not something that I would recommend doing often, unless you have a lot of money to spend, but for a special occasion such as that it was well worth it. It was also less money than scalpers or ticket touts as they’re called in the U.K. were charging just for the ticket.
Purchasing tickets for matches in other European countries seems to be very difficult at times. Even now more and more clubs are creating English versions of their websites for the ever-growing international fan-base. This sometimes makes it easier to purchase tickets, but it can still be difficult. You might be required to purchase a membership with the club similar to Chelsea. Ajax from Amsterdam has you purchase a hospitality package and you have to complete a bank transfer, no credit cards accepted.
Safety at games in foreign countries is a whole other issue. You have to remember that you’re in a foreign country with different customs. It’s not okay to support the away team if you are sitting in the home section of the stadium. You don’t want to antagonize a group of fans from either team because a fun and exciting experience can turn into a dangerous one very quickly. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t go to a match, but just to use common sense and good judgment.
Often you can stumble onto some very funny experiences if you have a good sense of humor and don’t take things too seriously. I was at Ibrox Stadium to watch Rangers play PSV Eindhoven from Holland last year and didn’t have a chance to eat dinner before the game. At the stadium, I ordered a traditional Scottish meat pie, which was very good. When I received the pie I was a bit dumbfounded because I didn’t receive a plastic fork and there weren’t any located in the concession stand. I asked the girl at the counter exactly how I was supposed to eat the pie and between my dumbfounded look and Long Island accent I received a good round of laughter from some of the people working the concession stand as the girl explained that I’m supposed to eat the pie with my hands. It ended up working out and providing me with yet another experience as a yank abroad travelling to see some soccer matches.
One of my favorite experiences was in Edinburgh, Scotland when I went to see the Hibernian (Hibs) – Hearts derby match. This is another big rivalry in the Scottish Premier League, but a lot more relaxed then a Celtic – Rangers match. I was able to purchase the ticket online through the Hibs website, walk to Easter Road stadium from my hotel, and have a really nice experience. The stadium was very nice, and the whole experience much more relaxing, with the exception of the giant wall that was put up after the match to let the Hearts fans leave and keep them separate from the Hibs fans. Security is still a priority, even with a smaller rivalry.
Overall, the majority of people that I’ve met at the games are very friendly and interested to learn why an American is coming from so far to watch a game. It’s generally a very nice opportunity to get to mix with some locals and talk about the sport that we all love so much. You can also get a sense of the passion and pride that the fans generally feel for their team.
Most of the stadiums that I’ve been to are nice, but they are a bit old by our standards. Wembley Stadium is an exception and it’s actually the best stadium that I’ve ever been to for any sporting event. It also helped that I was there to see our U.S. national team play England in a friendly a few years ago that we lost 2-0. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many of my fellow Americans there so sitting in the U.S. section was a little bit lonely, but on the positive side I was able to get a seat only 3 rows from the pitch.
Travelling abroad is always an interesting and generally amazing life experience. As a soccer fan, it’s a unique opportunity to experience the culture that surrounds the game in a very different way. To see soccer being analyzed and dissected in a similar manner to how other sports are covered here is very eye-opening. It reminds us why soccer is the most popular sport throughout the world. MLS and the other teams in American soccer are terrific and very under-appreciated here in the U.S. However, while I encourage everyone to support their local team, seeing a match abroad is part of the soccer experience that no fan should miss out on.
