‘This is Manchester United football club, this is the theatre of dreams.’
The phrase coined by Sir Bobby Charlton in John Riley’s book simply entitled ‘Soccer’ 26 years ago has stuck in the period of unprecedented success which the Red Devils enjoyed under the tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson. From the Glaswegian’s appointment in November 1986, this cathedral of British football has undergone a dramatic transformation to become arguably the finest club ground in English football.
We searched on line to get tips about getting to the stadium and parking for the soccer game. We found the neighborhood suggested to park in and followed the crowds walking to the stadium.
We had our Seattle Sounders gear with our Sounders/Manchester United friendly match scarf. It was fun that a few people walked up to us recognizing that we were from Seattle and were welcoming.
We had enough time before kick off to take some photos and check out the Mega Store! Yikes was that huge with wall to wall people in it.
Our tickets included a club entrance separate from general entrances and a private lounge to enjoy snacks and drinks before the game and during half time. We also got a free program with our tickets.
We enjoyed our seats and the crowd. We had heard some horror stories about sitting in the stands that didn’t pan out in our experience. The seats were comfortable and the people around us were polite.
The excitement in the stadium reached an elevated pitch when Maraouane Fellaini took the field for the first time as a “Red”. Many of the fans donned wigs that tried to match Fellaini’s hair.
Marouane Fellaini has described his deadline-day move to Manchester United as a ‘dream’, and hopes to repay David Moyes’ faith in him by joining the long list of greats at Old Trafford.
There was a solid line of security between the home fans and the visiting fans. The chants from the two groups always get quite heated and aren’t flattering to their opponents for sure.
We took one last photo of all of us together enjoying experiencing a dream come true for Josh. This wouldn’t be the one and only game that Josh got to attend in England. While we were in London he took a chance at buying a last minute ticket to a sold out Arsenal game in Northern London close to the stadium where the game would be played. An older woman who was meeting someone to sell her 2 season tickets to decided that she’d like to enjoy the game with Josh after talking to him. We were happy for Josh to get his 2nd experience in an English Premier game atmosphere! We shopped while Josh enjoyed the game and then we met up at Selfridges on Oxford Street.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 