A Family Day Out at the Emirates
By Bootoomee
The day that we’ve all been waiting for finally arrived. ‘We all’ will just be me and maybe Mrs. Bootoomee. I don’t think the twins really care. I have set myself a target: to make Gooners out of them by the time they reach age of consciousness. My goals as a father is basically to get my kids well & properly educated, be kind & empathetic human beings and be staunch Gooners. I don’t know how much my wife cares about that last bit but I care very much.
Unlike other days since my long holidays have started, I woke before 7am! On other days when I wake up accidentally this early, I just turn over and carry on into snooze-land but this day was different. The Mrs. was up at her usual time and was already getting things going. I joined happily and without being asked. I was like a kid on the day of a trip to Disneyland!
We set out with the girls in their brand new Arsenal kits, with glances and comments from passers-by on how cute they were in their matching outfits. This is not strange to us as we get lots of people’s attention when we go out. The girls are very identical and we dress them as such always. I have got to say that they look extra cute in the Arsenal kits though. Or perhaps I just love the Arsenal colours too much.
We got into the train but not before the Spud official at the entry gate had taken a very friendly micky at us (how glad I was that he wasn’t there on our way back!). The train journey into Stratford was smooth and very comfortable; the Underground journey from there to Arsenal station was anything but comfortable but we were very well treated on the crowded Underground trains with fellow Gooners aboard graciously giving up their seats for us.
Classy fans; Classy club!
We finally arrived at the stadium. Maybe it’s because I don’t go often, but I am always in awe of that structure! My wife felt the same way and she is not even that into us (us being Arsenal but of course you get my point). The twins were again grabbing all the attention with particular interest from the ladies. People were happy to take help me take our pictures on request. We took quite a few!
After settling into our seats, I remember a promise that I made to Edda about looking for him. I set out on the mission just after the second half of the Porto-Napoli game commenced, with one of the twins in tow. Napoli was still leading 1 nil. It was actually very easy to find Edda who initially thought that I have come to reclaim my seat J No joke! He apologised and was about to start looking for his own seat. I think Edda is a very nice guy who doesn’t like confrontation. I introduced myself as Bootoomee from Untold and he beamed with smile. Observers would think that we’ve known each other from way back!
Edda’s first comment to me was about the lack of negativity from the fans contrary to the news that the gloom merchants have been feeding us. We chatted for about 2 minutes about Arsenal and Untold. We couldn’t chat any longer because we were blocking the view of the people behind him. We squatted and took a picture. (Edda, if you are reading this, please give your permission in the comments if you want the picture published. Tony has it). We then said goodbye and I left, to the relief of the people behind him.
Porto pulled one goal back on my way back but I saw their second and third goals.
It was really nice to see Higuain in the flesh and in action. I am not going to base all my judgement of his ability on his Emirates cup exploits (or lack of) but I think those lamenting his former club’s decision whore him to the highest bidder may just quiet down a bit. Well, hope is the key word here. He is clearly not better than Giroud who did very well on both days of the tournament. I have never felt better about my personal principle of always valuing my own possessions rather than coveting those of others. More on Giroud later.
The game ended 3-1 in favour of Porto. They now have 6 points: 3 points for the win and 3 points for the 3 goals.
Tony, re those BT commentators, I think they were just being deliberately stupid. The rules are ridiculously simple and straight forward. I don’t think that they (the rules) are very fair, however, because Galatasaray could still have ended up short yesterday if Porto had won 7-6 despite losing a game to the former who won both of theirs. 7-6 scoreline is not likely, I know, but it is fairly possible in a friendly tournament. They could have whined about this since they had nothing positive to say but instead, they moaned over and over about the kind of arithmetic that would not faze primary school pupils.
They also exposed their failure to do any homework on the tournament that they were covering for all to see. The tournament has been previously staged 5 times in the last 6 years with the same rules. A little research would have prevented them from making fools of themselves on TV. To those harassing Tony with charge of bias on his article on BT commentators, I hope this gives you some more contexts. I hope.
Back on topic.
Our players came out for their work out to thunderous cheers from the fans. I was a bit taken aback by the unbridled enthusiasm with which they were welcomed. I am still struggling to find those angry fans who want Wenger out. If they exist in the stadium, their number must be really insignificant!
I am not going to analyse the game. Those who did not see it live must have seen it on Arsenal Player or Youtube and many other channels by now. You would/might also have read the analysis from people who are much more qualified at such and therefore better at match analysis and reporting than me. I will talk about the atmosphere and my feelings about the game though. This is subjective, so please don’t crucify me if you don’t agree.
Our team sheet was stronger than Galatasaray’s because while we had Santi and many of our first teamers on, they started without Sneijder and Drogba. We outplayed them in the first half and our lead was well deserved. We could have scored more. Sanogo looked very fit to me. More importantly, he did not do worse for us than Higuain did for Napoli. Now, can those excusing the latter’s poor performance to needing to get used to his team mates extend the same courtesy to Yaya? Or do we always have to put our own on a different pedestal when it is time to denigrate them?
The second half belonged to Galatasaray. They brought on Sneijder along with our arch-nemesis and Stamford Bridge diver emeritus from the start and it showed just like bringing in our own big guns did against Napoli the previous day. My wife, who is even a less astute football analyst than me, was commenting about how we were being dominated just before the dive that resulted in the equaliser.
Giroud was brought in and he did very well with his movement and efforts. He had 2 good attempts saved. A shot after a turning a defender and a good header from a free kick. I feel very very good about our main striker. I feel very good about Giroud indeed.
I was hoping that Koscielny would be brought in to handle Drogba but the manager had a different plan and objective for the match. I totally respect this even if I hate the outcome. We all know how the match ended.
The atmosphere in the stadium was subdued although you wouldn’t be too sure because the Galatasaray fans were well blended in with Arsenals and they were wild with jubilation. I find this funny because if we had won, we would have been told to curb our celebration because it is only a pre-season friendly. Not these fans though.
Gooners were quiet on our way home but the little ones were still singing Arsenal, Arsenal! The adults were not negative though. We all just moved on quietly to our homes. I think this is only natural and have nothing to do with us being Arsenal fans in particular. When my school lost matches when I was a student, we returned to our school or home in a similar fashion. It is not a big deal.
My family’s return home was just like our trip to the stadium: uncomfortable Underground journey but with gracious Gooners giving up their seats for us and a very comfortable train trip back to our town.
I hope to do this again sometime soon if I am able to get tickets but not with the family though. Taking my girls for their ‘baptism’ at the Emirates ‘Cathedral’ into Arsenal ‘denomination’ of my football ‘religion’ was a dream come true. I hope the pictures and videos will be great memories for them and firmly set them as Gooners for life.
I hope.
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
- Royal Arsenal: from the Common to the Manor. Coming next.
The sites from the same team…
- Referee Decisions – just what are the refs up to this season?
- The Arsenal History Blog from the AISA Arsenal History Society
Recent posts
sounds like your twins are much younger than mine (they turn 16 tomorrow – gulp) but I’m glad you are bringing them up right. My grandfather was a steward at Arsenal in the 1930s and my father took we to games. He told me he didn’t mind who I supported but he was only ever going to take me to the Arsenal 🙂
I agree about the atmosphere but am perhaps a little more critical of the performance, but hey, that’s what football supporting is all about!
Yes I took my 5 yr old son and two daughters on Saturday it was a good day and we had a brilliant if not tiring day. I felt a pang of disappointment as their first arsenal games ended better than my first taste. It was 1978 my uncle took me to high bury one autumn/winter afternoon it was a loss 2-1 if I remember correctly can’t remember the opposition but my love affair with arsenal began fast forward 39 yrs and I hope my sons love affair with arsenal starts from now.he found two matches hard going but enjoyed it though he did want to get out on pitch. Again there were a smattering of boos mainly aimed at Higuain and reina and rafa of course. A boo for melo taking the penalty eboue won. I was not aware of any boos for Wenger and again if there were any Wenger out chants which I didn’t hear any then they were a minority.
Congratulations on what sounds like a wonderful family outing at the Emirates. Nothing puts things in the right perspective like the family, I always say. It sure looks like you’ve got your priorities in order. One thing caught my attention though, your surprise at lack of negativity from fans towards our players and Wenger( I’m paraphrasing your words). Perhaps the fans who disagree with you or Wenger on how Arsenal should be run, aren’t all “, mentall midgets and unreasonable fanatics” you would want them to be. Perhaps they are thoughtful enough to wait till the close of the TW , and actual outcome of games before voicing their opinion. Just a thought. Have a great day!
The acid test will be when we entertain Villa. Emirates cup is fun and is primarily used as your post suggests as a family day out. If the club however fail to strengthen in the next week or so the atmosphere on 17th August may well be different.
Nice story mate but let’s not detract from the facts. Wenger has now moved on around 30 players this summer if u count the loanees. He has brought in 1 and is now looking at 26/27 year olds on trial and kids. The kids I get but if a 26 year old hasn’t proved himself by now in front of scouts then what the hell has he been doing. We are now down to around 16 players (4 injured) classed as over 21 (once gervinho bendtner park and chamakh are confirmed) sure we have another 24 under 21s and 17 scholars but something needs to happen and now
I am an identical twin and my dad used to take us out to watch ice hockey games where we lived. That,my dad later described to me, was like taking two tigers to see a female in heat…we were all over the place and he barely saw the game. I took my kids out to a few football matches but the quality was so bad that they left the stadium (they were teenagers) and ended up spending the entire 2nd half chatting with some classmates who they found in the local McDonalds.
As a twin, I can warn you that times will get ¨interesting¨ for you and your wife as the saying goes….Double the trouble, double the fun!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed the Emirates Cup! It really is a nice place to take the family. Press on
The answer is simple. Last weekend was a day out for the tourists and one game a season crowd. Most of the hardcore season tickets holders that the club depends on gave the weekend a swerve. If you were paying over a grand a season to watch the mediocre football that has been served up recently you wouldn’t be so forgiving! In Arsene we rust.
Hey mate, it was very Nice to meet you, and yes I was a bit confused the first 10 Seconds, lol. Like I said to me the feeling was good at the stadium both saturday and sundagy. And as an answer to Tom : I talked to alot of football fans at different pubs in London Friday and saturday and the thing I find quite funny is that all the Arsenal fans I met are understand that we must spend wisely and cannot splash the cash, the only fans I met that had that opinion was fan’s of other teams. And I got a feeling they said it mostly to take a dig at us.
PS, Bootomee, you or Tony are free to use the photo as u find useful 🙂
Tom,
Thanks.
I get your point about the ‘so called’ negative fans. The reason why I stressed this is because they are always telling us on the Internet about the ‘impending revolt’ and how most fans are unhappy at the stadium. That is what the point is all about. Unless you’ve never heard of that ‘negative’ atmosphere at the Emirates before.
porter,
We’ll see when the time comes. But we get these threats all the time and nothing happens.
Anyhow, we’ll see when the season commence.
bc,
Please let’s be patient. AW says the management is working behind the scenes (as it should be) to get the needed additions. I believe him. Patience is what we need, especially as all our panicking has no effect.
OMGArsenal,
Thanks.
I already have my hands full and they are only 20 months old. I have been told it’s not going to get any easier but I intend to fully enjoy the bumpy ride.
Edda,
My man!
It was great to see you on Sunday man. I couldn’t go to a pub, although I would have love to, but I’ve got to shepherd my troops back home 🙂
Contrary to what we hear on the Internet, most Gooners are understanding. I’m glad I was at the stadium on Sunday, it’s good to see fans in flesh and blood and hear them speak for themselves.
It’s great knowing you Edda, even if only for a couple of minutes!
Blacksheep63 and Richard,
Thanks for your nice words. It’s appreciated!
Where’s my post? The truth obviously doesn’t fit in with your blinkered views! Wake up and smell the coffee! Most hardcore fans have had enough.
More articles from Bootoomee please. Lovely piece.
Makes me feel good about being an Arsenal fan all over again.
No offence to Tony, Walter and the guys, that doesn’t mean less from you guys 🙂
We’re getting greedy now.
Allez Untold.
Dec,
Thanks for the vote of confidence. It means a lot to me.
Very nice story Bootoomee, thank you for your post.
It is by dream to take my 18month old and newest addition yo the famiky to see the Arsenal, but alas I am 12k miles away at the other end if the planet so not happening in the future, spuen!
This is why I love Untold so much, I can get my Arsenal fix here without having to read some poor young bugger who is angry at everyone, especially our manager all cos they frequent the evil places out there that polute their minds with anti AW shit. We can’t hide from them all as they come here now and give it.
I wonder when we have won trophies did the fans enjoy the last few minutes when it was certain we won it? Or did they straight away think back to a game we won while coming from behind, or a thrashing of spurs, Liverpool etc
Becos I have also had those good times and i still think bout them with a smile and i feel proud, but we didn’t win a trophy?
That’s why I support a football team. It’s the journey not the destination…
@ Bootoomee – Another big LIKE from me .Glad you had a great time .
Long Time Gooner, If perhaps you read the info about posting, on the home page, you might understand why your post was delayed. It is there, written perfectly clearly.
I doubt you’d hear much booing at the Emirates Cup. Most of the hostile fans who are tired of Arsenal’s stagnation refuse to waste money on such an event. Many of them have given up season tickets, if you believe some of the stuff you read on other blogs, as they refuse to spend vast sums on a club which to their minds fails to reinvest their money. The Emirates Cup is primarily a day out for families and tourists, all of whom may well be Arsenal fans but I wonder how many of them attend every game, home or/and away.
Also I think that the majority of Arsenal fans still have faith in Wenger.
The Emirates Cup was one of the last times I went to the ground. It was about five years ago and it was a pleasant day out in the sunshine and I remember being impressed by a young left back called Gibbs.
They not really giving up their season tickets becoz they are still buying them, the difference is they aren’t going to the stadium. Rather childish if you ask me, why not give up your season ticket to another gooner instead of keeping it locked up in your drawer.
swing,
It’s called cutting your nose to spite your face or something like that!
Their main objective is to make the world see how mad Arsenal fans are at the club. Buying the season tickets and refusing to attend is a ridiculously expensive way to protest against a football club in my opinion. But I’m not complaining. It’s their money!
Still, judging by the number of empty seats and magnanimously conceding that every empty seat belongs to those described above, their number is still much smaller than they are trying to make the world believe.
The patient fans far outnumber the impatient ones, even on the Internet, they are just less vocal. See my article where I referenced my experience at TeamTalk Your Say page. You will find it very interesting indeed.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/30206
elkieno,
Keep the faith. It can happen. And I hope it does. It is unfair that fans like you can’t visit the stadium but I hope fortune makes it possible for you sometime soon!
Look at the Running Man for instance! Isn’t Arsenal the classiest club ever?
just like i’ve said countless times, the AAA is in the ‘insignificant minority’, so can untold stop blaming them for gervinho’s lack of confidence, our difficulty in attracting star players, the fall of olympus, any and everything
@swing,
they dont give it up because they’ve got hope that it will be over one day, that wenger cant be here forever. they just dont want to start afresh when that day comes. so they renew their tickets, give or loan it out to an AKB, and wait for a bright new future
@UK
So basically what you are saying is that they are postponing supporting Arsenal until the bad days are past us, then they can start supporting Arsenal when all is well and Arsenal is winning trophies again. So much for them being true supporters, reminds me of Adebayor/Nasri. Whats the difference between him leaving for more money or an Arsenal fan only supporting when we are winning.
@uk
You describe the bdefinitive ‘Fair weather supporters’, for whom the song ‘you only sing when you’re winning’ is sung around the world.
Who needs ’em?
@dec and swing,
they dont support the regime in place, most feel making this obvious at the ground might be detrimental to the teams performance, so they stay far away.
some folks didnt support gadaffi or hitler(regimes) despite the economic prosperity(trophies) under these regimes. so trophies isnt the issue here, but the way the club is run(style of governance)
@dec
and yes, they still support with their money (poor guys, but much respect to them), some just feel if they had to express themselves truly, they’d be booing management all match. an act that can be misconstrued to mean booing the squad
@Uk
Amounts to the same thing really, we are too classy to boo in the stadium, so we’ll boo privatelly (on blogs, to our friends and in the media). And when did Arsenal’s bad management graduate to being a regime comparable to Gaddaffi or Hilter, couldn’t you compare Wenger & co to someone else.
How i really envy you, Mister. 🙂
Cheers
Nice account, Bootoomee.
Wish I’d seen your little twins at the match.
They sound really cute – especially in their little Arsenal outfits!
@swing
thats exactly what hitler and gaddafi supporters would have said when compared to earlier tyrants.
and by the way, like i said, i respect the opinion of peeps who say ‘our grouse is with management, lets spare our team the boos’. however, everyone is free to support or boo on the internet, i hope the management gets it. if they dont read the blogs, @least the press does, and i trust them to get the sentiments across. i reiterate, those guys who boo in the stadium are mostly guys who feel let down by the club, yet are willing to support still, however, sometimes its just too much to take, and they just let it out. eg substituting AOC our most effective player, during the match against man utd