First, a huge public thanks to Ray, who not only tipped me off to Middlesex County League matches but also was generous enough to be my go-between for a Fulham-West Ham ticket. To get on my soapbox for a second: English sides maintain a screwy ticket purchasing system that pushes new people out of ticket purchasing options or forces them to purchase insanely priced tickets. Fulham never released general tickets even though there were a lot of empty seats (I assume part of that was the weather but part was unsold tickets); they only listed tickets for sale to people who have purchased in the past. I was also hoping to buy a Brighton Hove-Chelsea ticket for tomorrow but they will only sell me a 125pound ticket even though they have 5-8 seats available in most sections. Again, they will only sell to people who have purchased before. There is a lot of screwy shit with US sporting tickets but once tickets have been sold to season ticket holders then the rest are just general sale. It's a much better system.
Anyway, first stop was Stonewall FC v. FC Roast. Attendance not including the guy video recording the match for youtube: 6 (With a caveat that I think 2 guys have some role with the set up, 2 were students at uni from Southampton doing a follow-up radio story about Stonewall's recent match at Wembley Stadium, and the other two were me and another guy going to Fulham-West Ham after this match finished). I had a great time. Everyone was chatty and amzingly there was a small covered stand that was nice. The stand kept the wind and rain out, although the cement seating in this weather would certainly freeze one's sperm or ovaries so bring something to sit on if you decide to see a match at Barnes Elms. The weather was horrible: wind and rain. But I have to say that the standard of play was very impressive (esp. with the weather). Stonewall, which is an all LGBTQ team, won 4-0 and could easily have won 6 or 7-0 if they had taken all of their chances. I'm sure others can say more about this league, including Ray, but it seems like a quirky league with many teams founded based on identity rather than geography.
From there Dennis (a West Ham supporter who seems to ground hop a bit and tells me that he has seen England play in every UEFA country except Kosovo--some of you may know him) and I walked to Craven Cottage. My face is finally thawed many hours later after that brutal walk. Honestly the match was probably less exciting than the non-league match but it was great to see a game at Craven Cottage, a wonderful stadium. Fulham had a very early chance but it was clear over the 90 minutes that the team lacks skill up front, passing skill in the final third, and high level decision making in most areas of the pitch. That doesn't bode well. West Ham won it 0-2 and the fans were in full voice throughout. Luckily the rain stopped by the time the match ended so the walk back to the train was better than the walk to the stadium.
Anyway, I would go to Brighton-Chelsea tomorrow but that seems impossible so I'll instead see if I can chase down a DIY punk show. I got back too late to see a really nice post-punk bill at The DIY Space.
EDIT: And I forgot to say while I was standing on my soapbox that these 4 fools showed up 20 minutes after the match had started, left to get food or drinks with 5 minutes left in the first half, returned just before the second half started, and then left the match 15 minutes into the second half. So those are the ticket buyers that seem to be prioritized.
Anyway, first stop was Stonewall FC v. FC Roast. Attendance not including the guy video recording the match for youtube: 6 (With a caveat that I think 2 guys have some role with the set up, 2 were students at uni from Southampton doing a follow-up radio story about Stonewall's recent match at Wembley Stadium, and the other two were me and another guy going to Fulham-West Ham after this match finished). I had a great time. Everyone was chatty and amzingly there was a small covered stand that was nice. The stand kept the wind and rain out, although the cement seating in this weather would certainly freeze one's sperm or ovaries so bring something to sit on if you decide to see a match at Barnes Elms. The weather was horrible: wind and rain. But I have to say that the standard of play was very impressive (esp. with the weather). Stonewall, which is an all LGBTQ team, won 4-0 and could easily have won 6 or 7-0 if they had taken all of their chances. I'm sure others can say more about this league, including Ray, but it seems like a quirky league with many teams founded based on identity rather than geography.
From there Dennis (a West Ham supporter who seems to ground hop a bit and tells me that he has seen England play in every UEFA country except Kosovo--some of you may know him) and I walked to Craven Cottage. My face is finally thawed many hours later after that brutal walk. Honestly the match was probably less exciting than the non-league match but it was great to see a game at Craven Cottage, a wonderful stadium. Fulham had a very early chance but it was clear over the 90 minutes that the team lacks skill up front, passing skill in the final third, and high level decision making in most areas of the pitch. That doesn't bode well. West Ham won it 0-2 and the fans were in full voice throughout. Luckily the rain stopped by the time the match ended so the walk back to the train was better than the walk to the stadium.
Anyway, I would go to Brighton-Chelsea tomorrow but that seems impossible so I'll instead see if I can chase down a DIY punk show. I got back too late to see a really nice post-punk bill at The DIY Space.
EDIT: And I forgot to say while I was standing on my soapbox that these 4 fools showed up 20 minutes after the match had started, left to get food or drinks with 5 minutes left in the first half, returned just before the second half started, and then left the match 15 minutes into the second half. So those are the ticket buyers that seem to be prioritized.
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