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Joined: 15 Dec 2003
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| Tell a Friend Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:27 am Post subject: Leagues Apart |
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Leagues Apart
As fireworks exploded in the dusky evening sky and children munched on enormous hotdogs and even bigger pretzels, I realised, as I enthusiastically sang along with my fellow spectators, that although I hadn’t really watched a minute of it, I had thoroughly enjoyed a football game; an occurrence that I never imagined could be possible. I need to mention at this point that this was indeed an American football game; I do not hold the same sentiments for the occasions I have attended English football games. Whilst going to a sports game in the USA is like taking a day trip to Disney World, An English football game is at the other end of the spectrum, an event which consists of watching your mouth (and your bag) amongst beer stained, aggressive groups of roaring men. I can see how this can be enjoyable for some individuals, particularly beer stained, aggressive groups of roaring men, but it has never been my cup of tea.
Whilst studying in the USA, I was convinced by friends to go to a game, Carolina Panthers V Washington Redskins. The idea did not particularly appeal to me, as being the stereotypical female, I know even less about American Football as I know about English Football (or rather Soccer) but I thought I would try it out for the experience. The game was in the afternoon and when we set out for the stadium in the morning, I realised this was turning into a full day trip. As weird as it sounds, we spent a few hours before the game in the car park of all places, eating and drinking out of the back of a truck! This is apparently quite normal and is referred to as ‘Grilling out’. The car park was full of others performing the same strange football ritual, with sellers and vendors winding amongst the cars, revelling in a profitable opportunity. The first thing that struck me was the people gathered in the car park. There were men, women, children teenagers and students just like us. People attended with their whole families, even three – four generations worth. This evoked a feeling of family and solidarity which I absolutely loved and we hadn’t even entered the stadium.
Upon entering the stadium, with beer in hand and covered in Panthers memorabilia (I could not resist the lure of the fore mentioned sellers and vendors), the atmosphere continued to escalate as music was pumped over the stadium, cheerleaders leapt around the pitch and competitions led by a crazed looking panther took place. Peanuts, popcorn and pretzels were guzzled by all and the atmosphere took on a feel comparable to being at a circus or at funfair. Fans from both teams and wider sat amongst each other, proudly wearing their shirts from different states and surprisingly not ripping each other’s throats out. The game went on for a good three hours, prior to attending, the thought of this would have been torture but once there, it didn’t feel quite long enough. As the game concluded with singing and fireworks, I myself concluded, that although I was still clueless about the rules of the game, you don’t need to be a football fan to enjoy the experience, you don’t even need to like football.
Written by Phiona for UKEvents.net |
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