Fwd: AFCSM: My Emirates Experience
sujith sathyadas
You might like reading about my friend's experience in the Emirates stadium
From: Sukumar <suk...@my.sharp-world.com>
Date: Sat, Feb 26, 2011 at 12:29 PM
Subject: AFCSM: My Emirates Experience
To: "arsen...@yahoogroups.com" <arsen...@yahoogroups.com>
I went to my first ever match at Emirates Stadium to watch the game against wolves on 12th Feb 2011
It was an experience I will never forget.
I had at times to pinch myself to see if it's not a dream
The weather was cold as it is still winter, but considering everything it was excellent as we even had the sun out
My wife and I arrived at Holloway Road Tube station very early at 12.15pm, despite the game starting only at 3.00pm
We got out of the station and walked straight (2 mins), as you walk from the tube station you slowly see the ground which appears from over the top of the surrounding shops.
I was dumbstruck when I saw the ground for the first time, plus we were surprised to note that there were already hundreds of fans around the stadium.
On the street in front of the stadium there were little stalls on the streets selling Arsenal merchandise like shirts, scarf's, booklets and bags.
There were several police officers on Massive horses with riot helmets
The stadium is really spectacular; I actually had been there a few days earlier for the stadium tour
But on Match day the atmosphere is overwhelming
I have also been to Highbury but this was really something else, no stadium I have been to, comes close
We soaked up the match atmosphere and even took a photo with a wolves fan outside
We hit the Armoury shop again just to look around, as we already shopped in there a few days ago
But on match day there are much more stock displayed, and we ended up buying more stuff
You truly feel like a kid in there and want to buy everything on display.
We went into the stadium early, mainly out of excitement and wanting to find the seat before the crowd came in
In the foyer we joined a big crowd watching the Manchester Derby and when Man City scored the cheers were deafening
When Manure scored the second goal there were boos all around.
I have to say the view inside is excellent, I sat at the upper tier and even though I brought along a pair of binoculars rarely used it
When the Arsenal players came out there was a standing ovation,
And the crowd began their chants, I loved singing 'if you hate Tottenham stand up
It's really nothing like the noise as we hear on TV; much of the crowd noise is drowned by the commentators on TV
The Chanting and singing got more intense when the match started
Whenever arsenal missed there were a lot of 'aww' sounds around the stadium
I could feel all around me the true Arsenal support, sometimes as many as 3 generations Grandpa, son & Grandson / Granddaughter
Women fans and lots of kids, some very young children, behind me there were 2 old ladies on their own in Arsenal colors, I saw a mother with a baby that looked only 1 year old and parents with toddlers, how their children didn't cry with the noise God knows.
Then a fantastic moment Van persie scored, the fans were all on their feet. I had great fun participating in all the cheering clapping
Once you are part of the crowd you somehow just follow them naturally. We ended up following the crowd without realizing it.
We celebrated the 2nd goal with even more excitement
Few people left 10 minutes before the end even though the match was still very active, we understood why later.
We did not budge until the match was truly over and the tier we were sitting was almost empty
I guess we wanted to get our full money's worth
That day, the crowd was 62,000, but by the time we came down it was almost clear
It's amazing how fast the stewards can clear the stadium
The multiple wide exits also prevent any jams in getting out
When we got to the Arsenal tube station here was a large crowd
After about 30 minutes we entered the tube station onto the crowded tubes and began the Journey back home.
So overall the experience was much more fantastic than I expected
Plus the fact that we won 2-0 made it even more memorable
If you guys get a chance to go do not forget to take the Stadium Tours its 15 pounds
But really worth it you get a 1 hour tour including the home team Changing Room, Players Tunnel, Pitch, Press Room, Directors' Box & Club Level Rooms etc.
The Stadium Tours ticket also entitles you free entry to the Arsenal museum which should also not be missed
I really thank god for giving me the opportunity to have visited the stadium and an Arsenal match, and I hope the next chance won't be very far away
Arsenal I love you, Gooner for Life
Rgds,
Sukumar
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Jeremy Fernand
Jeremy
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