I guess for a blog, primarily based on my views supporting Arsenal, it will seem a little odd that I’ve waited until mid-February to attend my first game.
It’s many years (back to my early teenage years), since I last waited until seven months before attending my first home game. There’s no specific reason why it’s taken so long. I still go to the pub to watch the big games and watch all the other games at home. Have I missed attending the games?? Not particularly. I must admit I miss the pre-match beers a great deal. That sense of anticipation. But once the game starts, I actually enjoy watching the game either in the pub or at home.
The atmosphere at the Emirates is so contrived and forced, that often the most noise can be found in the pub (especially if I head to the likes of the Twelve Pins or the Gunners Tavern, near the ground). You can stand up, swear, drink (none of which you can routinely do at the Emirates) and generally show a great deal of emotion, which is often frowned upon when actually going to the games. It’s just such a different experience from the past. I won’t go on and bore you with my grips about the modern game (heaven forbid), but the rescheduled date for the Leicester game shows you all what is wrong with the game, from a match-day supporter perspective.
Back in December, Sky Sports and BT Sport chose the four live games for this coming weekend. Back then, Leicester were riding high and it was a great surprise that the game was not selected. I had no idea why this was the case. But nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to visit (temporarily) a bygone era. A top of the table clash, on Saturday at 3pm!!??!! Plus the fixture was assigned as a Category C game, so my ticket was priced at only £26 (as opposed to paying £65 for a Category A game against the likes of Chelsea). I, like many others who were going, immediately planned the day and it was going to be a messy one. Any plans for Sunday were shelved, as I was sure to be suffering from the mother of all hangovers. The masterplan was to meet up at midday and then head into the West End to enjoy the post-match celebrations.
There was a great deal of excitement from the Leicester fans in particular. The idea of paying only £26 and spending the day in London on a Saturday, meant there was a huge demand for tickets in the away end. Trains and hotels were booked and it was going to be one of the top aways of the season. I guess it was too good to be true and this was the case. Without a hint of embarrassment, Sky Sports revealed the change of date with barely three weeks’ notice. It was now to be played on the following day with a midday kick-off. By all accounts, the Barclays Premier League gave Sky Sports the go-ahead to change the date of the fixture to allow the game to be televised after consulting both Arsenal and Leicester.
The fans who had paid out non-refundable travel and hotel expenses could take a running jump. No consideration at all from the clubs. Sorry, but we want to look after our paymasters at Sky. We simply could not allow this game to be played without the pressing need for live tv. There’s talk of a protest from Leicester fans. A plan of missing the first ten minutes as they remain in the concourse has been muted. An admirable way of demonstrating their disgust, but I doubt the clubs, Sky or the Premier League will lose much sleep over the protest.
So this whole sorry episode probably explains why I’m happy to ‘support’ my club from my sofa or my local. A half-empty stadium will not be so attractive to sponsors or broadcasters. But that delicious prospect is some way off. I’ll go along to the game on Sunday and I’m looking forward to the match a great deal. The pubs will open early and I’ll enjoy the pre-match beers. But the planned post-session has been binned due to work commitments the following day. The day will come soon when the Emirates will be full of tourists as opposed to local fans. If you think the atmosphere is sterile now, just you want until a few years time. Rant over….for now.