Week 14 Impressions by Lauren Bryson

There are two things I would like to address in this blog.

1. First is this county’s obsession with football. People will define themselves by what team they support. West Ham to Arsenal, Fulham to Liverpool, you live for your team. It’s kind of like a secret society but not secret and involves lots of yelling. When game day rolls around, you bust out your scarf and migrate to the pub, or if you’re lucky enough, you migrate to the stadium to watch your team. Trying to describe the attachment you feel to your team is really difficult. I remember learning about the power sports teams can have over people in my social psychology class, but now I can really see the spell football can put over people. If you see someone wearing your team scarf walking down the street you will feel an automatic pull towards them, be more inclined to talk to them and maybe want to hug them. In my time here I have held conversations with so many people from so many different walks of life just because of our affinity for Manchester United. It is really an amazing phenomenon I am going to miss a great deal when I get back to the states.

Now, the scenes at the pub on game day are quite possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. I am used to watching the Premiership on my TV at home in my PJ’s. usually by myself. But here, two teams equals two different groups of fans who will become your best friend if you support the same team, or your worst enemy. There are also different kinds of fans, well different levels I guess. You have the obligatory middle aged men who come to the pub, get completely pissed, and yell obscenities and cheers at the screen. There are the men deep in conversation at the table talking about Schevchenko’s terrible season, who is getting transferred to what team, and what team will really win the Premiership. You have the singers, the chanters, the chuggers, and the just completely outrageous over the top men decked out in their jersey looking like they have actually been playing football because their face is so red from cheering.

My experience with football came to a high point with the arrival of my little sister a couple days ago. She is my other football half and in high school we combined forces to convince my mother to get digital cable so we could watch the Premiership in the states. Our main goal was to go down to Portsmouth and watch Manchester United play. Unfortunately, our goal was blocked by the small obstacle of £300. So I took her to 3 Kings Pub to watch the Manchester United vs. Portsmouth game last Saturday. Apparently, there are not many Manchester United fans that go to 3 Kings to watch them play. More specifically, at 3 Kings that day there were exactly 3 Manchester United fans. Me, my sister, and a man who was born in Manchester. 3 against about 50 Porto fans. In the beginning of the game we were quiet. There is something a bit intimidating about being the minority team when watching football. My ears were full of GO PORTO colliding with WANKERS and the occasional TOSSER whenever Man U got possession of the ball. As time went on, pints were consumed, and slowly you could hear the occasional GOOO MANCHESTERRRR from us in the corner. The other Man U fan caught on and came over and soon we had our own cheering station complete with Rooney chants to the tune of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. You always expect dirty glances from the other side, but they are usually so into their team they don’t really notice you. Or maybe they do and choose not to acknowledge it. It is these experiences that I will cherish when thinking about London. The friends made, the pints consumed, the heated debates held, and most importantly, the different chants learned.

2. Secondly, and most importantly, I did not lose my tube pass during my stay in London.
Great success!