Birmingham
Matchday... Awayday...Yippee Yahoo Hurray!
Up in the morning and into the car, headed to Birmingham. Match time is 3 PM, so we've got plenty of time, and not far to go. Now I am sure Jennifer can tell you what we ate and when we ate it day for day, me though...not so much. A minute or two about Birmingham, and I don't want to harp on the city (Believe me there will be harping and it will be more deserved but that will come later and lies farther south.) cos we really didn't see much of the city. You know we spent all our time there in the industrial outskirts of mini/maxi malls, warehouses, train bridges were trains no longer run... all that stuff that is around Birmingham City's ground. It wasn't exactly cheery, but down amongst all this is like one of the oldest pubs in the world (or somesuch.) So you know we had to go there. Unfortunately it took longer to get to it than we spent there. Seems that the world that is now just sort of sprung up willy nilly around the old pub. Like the city planners took sometime off, or just threw a bunch of straw in the air and said, "Yes this is it! The straw has landed and that is where the streets will go. These here will be one way...crisscrossing each other, mind you...and this one will be six lanes. Ha ha, too right!"
Anyway after much confusion and much driving around in triangles we made it in and got a pint from a guy who I understood exactly one word from. Jennifer would have been completely lost, she has a hard enough time already. I can say that cos she's gonna hate the next part.
So here is Picture 1. 1368, like I said OLD.
Reflection
I really did struggle with our "sneaking" into the Birmingham City ground. I went back and forth, studied the net to see if this was safe (much less a good idea.) That's the thing with football (as it should be) a teams home ground is their fortress. They separate the fans, for good reason, something we could learn from in the US (anyone who has ever been to a game
{Giants vs. The Much Hated Dodgers- for example} and had to sit next to someone who wasn't on "your" team knows what I mean.) The thing is though it is so hard to get a Liverpool ticket in the first place, much less an away fixture that this was going to be the only way we were able to do it. I mean we could have paid 300 pounds to some ticket agent, but who are we helping then? (The frustrating thing is that someone is selling these tickets to the agents, and still getting the Points for them so that they can get more and sell more and supporters are left out. Big business... of somekindfekinell!) So we went in undercover, no colours {so no red, and no bloody blue thank you very much}- very nondescript (I'd show pictures but my wife looks like a madwoman in all of them, and like I said she's not going to like the next part anyway. But maybe it does make more sense of why she looks like she does in the photos.)
{Giants vs. The Much Hated Dodgers- for example} and had to sit next to someone who wasn't on "your" team knows what I mean.) The thing is though it is so hard to get a Liverpool ticket in the first place, much less an away fixture that this was going to be the only way we were able to do it. I mean we could have paid 300 pounds to some ticket agent, but who are we helping then? (The frustrating thing is that someone is selling these tickets to the agents, and still getting the Points for them so that they can get more and sell more and supporters are left out. Big business... of somekindfekinell!) So we went in undercover, no colours {so no red, and no bloody blue thank you very much}- very nondescript (I'd show pictures but my wife looks like a madwoman in all of them, and like I said she's not going to like the next part anyway. But maybe it does make more sense of why she looks like she does in the photos.)
End Reflection
So that brings us to picture 2. Note the "Home Fans Only" sign.
Did I mention the part of town that we were in? Did I mention that the boot (truck to you Americans) was big enough to fit exactly one 3X5 card, a pair of socks, and an hours worth of air for three ants. Seriously SMALL isn't a big enough word (gong) for where we wanted to put all of our stuff. We saw a sign for secure car park near the ground. Let me say this about car parks and football grounds (obviously I can't speak for all of them who knows maybe Old Trafford has a 70,000 space parking lot near it. But Anfield doesn't and neither does St. Andrews. They both have some parking but it is not for the likes small people like us.) The "secure" car park is like 5 pounds and isn't that far, I figure that should be enough...enter the madwoman. This will not do for her, oh no. She has a plan to make the car look like something that no one would ever break into. She wants it to look like some shambolic mess that someone lives in. That means opening up all the suitcases and spreading the clothes out all over the car. I thought maybe we could just
Interlude One: Iraq
Took the day off today, first one since getting back. Not my normal day off, Wednesday seems a little weird but whatever... I needed it. Didn't do much, but did finally unpack. I know crazy. I also changed my bedding, caught up on FIFA 10 (in my 3rd season) and watched some "Farscape" and "Doctor Who" cooked myself some eggs, and generally took it easy. It needed to be done just some me time, I'd forgotten how important that was. Don't anyone take that the wrong way, whatever that might in your mind be. To do nothing here is very important, it can really make all the difference in the world. Now I think I am really back in the swing of things. I don't think I'll be taking Wednesday's off though... I really liked Mondays better.
End Interlude One
So this can bring us to Picture 3. Our view of the match.
We are high up in the Upper Terrace (as you saw from the other picture) and had a good view of the action. We were right above the Travelling Kop, and it was great to hear them but alas we could not see our Red brothers and sister. Don't worry though there were several more Undercover Agents up there with us. We still had to be cool though. What does it mean to be undercover? Apart from no colours, it means talking in hushed tones and trying to remain calm should something exciting happen. I never felt like we were going to get our asses kicked or anything like that, but no one wants to be that guy from "Schoolhouse Rock"- you remember? "Hurray, I'm for the other team!" So we did our bit to remain inconspicuous and like I said we had a good view of how the match opened up.
We are high up in the Upper Terrace (as you saw from the other picture) and had a good view of the action. We were right above the Travelling Kop, and it was great to hear them but alas we could not see our Red brothers and sister. Don't worry though there were several more Undercover Agents up there with us. We still had to be cool though. What does it mean to be undercover? Apart from no colours, it means talking in hushed tones and trying to remain calm should something exciting happen. I never felt like we were going to get our asses kicked or anything like that, but no one wants to be that guy from "Schoolhouse Rock"- you remember? "Hurray, I'm for the other team!" So we did our bit to remain inconspicuous and like I said we had a good view of how the match opened up.
Interlude Two: Iraq
Does it feel like I am putting something off? I might be, but I also have something else to say about the here and now. So, as I cleaned up and changed the sheets (took off the blankets too, not really going to need them anymore) I put on a DVD of The Clash: Live. Why do I bring this up you may ask...well I'll tell you. I don't think the world appreciates The Clash enough (such is usually the way with great bands though... see Echo & the Bunnymen, among others too numerous to name here) do they get the credit they deserve? Probably not (again who does...IE Joy Division, etc) Not that they were like Mozart or whatever, but look at how much in music changed because of them (and bands like The Damned, etc {I know there are people going "Who?" right now} Point made.) But without them you don't have the Green Day, etc of the world. Maybe if there were more bands like The Clash (and the other above named, etc, etc, etc) we wouldn't have American Idol and its like. Just saying. Good band, check them (and maybe some of the others) out if you haven't. If you have tell someone who hasn't.
End Interlude Two
So down to it, right?
First a comment about the beer...we went to get our pre-match beer (you can't bring alcohol into the stands, maybe another clue we could take back in the states) and the sign says Carlsburg they also sell John Smith's. Jennifer says, "Of course we have to get Carlsburg!" (Liverpool's sponsor, until next year) Anyway I should have mentioned that this small time club hasn't changed their signs (Note: they have airbrushed the Coca-Cola Championship patches off half the pictures hanging all over the place) cos when we coulda had a nice pint of bitter, we got a un-nice pint of Fosters. Try and support your club and see what happens...
I was saying good view, yeah? And I mentioned that we had to be discrete, not get too excited, right? Well that good view showed us how the field opened up, and the fact that we spent most of the time going from side to side, we really didn't have that much to get excited about. Yeah, the Reds scored first and I had to grab Jennifer before she started hugging people she didn't know giving out high fives and the like (in fairness she had to do the same to me at other points) and remember that we are undercover, in semi-hostile territory and all that. But we needn't have worried. My thoughts of, "We've got these, yeah. Just another small-time secondary club(We saw Villa Park on our way into town.) that wears blue, right?" Remind you of some certain across the Park neighbours, yes?) Anyway I was wrong, we didn't have them, they didn't have us either, it turned out a draw, but a draw that The Reds shoulda won. Just seemed like we didn't want it, just pushing the ball, no one attacking, Gerrard playing deep, Lucas playing at all. We came away with a point, but if we'd have tried it coulda been glorious.
It still beats the Hell out of Iraq. And we are headed up to the Promised Land...the 'Pool of Life..."that land that I love" tonight so it can only get better. I should say and we are together and all that, but you get that right?
Cheers,
g
First a comment about the beer...we went to get our pre-match beer (you can't bring alcohol into the stands, maybe another clue we could take back in the states) and the sign says Carlsburg they also sell John Smith's. Jennifer says, "Of course we have to get Carlsburg!" (Liverpool's sponsor, until next year) Anyway I should have mentioned that this small time club hasn't changed their signs (Note: they have airbrushed the Coca-Cola Championship patches off half the pictures hanging all over the place) cos when we coulda had a nice pint of bitter, we got a un-nice pint of Fosters. Try and support your club and see what happens...
I was saying good view, yeah? And I mentioned that we had to be discrete, not get too excited, right? Well that good view showed us how the field opened up, and the fact that we spent most of the time going from side to side, we really didn't have that much to get excited about. Yeah, the Reds scored first and I had to grab Jennifer before she started hugging people she didn't know giving out high fives and the like (in fairness she had to do the same to me at other points) and remember that we are undercover, in semi-hostile territory and all that. But we needn't have worried. My thoughts of, "We've got these, yeah. Just another small-time secondary club(We saw Villa Park on our way into town.) that wears blue, right?" Remind you of some certain across the Park neighbours, yes?) Anyway I was wrong, we didn't have them, they didn't have us either, it turned out a draw, but a draw that The Reds shoulda won. Just seemed like we didn't want it, just pushing the ball, no one attacking, Gerrard playing deep, Lucas playing at all. We came away with a point, but if we'd have tried it coulda been glorious.
It still beats the Hell out of Iraq. And we are headed up to the Promised Land...the 'Pool of Life..."that land that I love" tonight so it can only get better. I should say and we are together and all that, but you get that right?
Cheers,
g
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