10 Things I Learnt After Attending My First Football Match: Arsenal Vs Chelsea

in football •  7 years ago  (edited)

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Yesterday I attended my first Premiership football match. Arsenal Vs Chelsea at the Emirates (2-2).

Prior to this game I had absolutely no interest in football. As a kid I supported Liverpool FC, but that was solely down to my big brothers @nanzo-scoop and @notdavemate. Plus, I quite liked John Barnes.

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I was invited to the game by Martin Best, the Head of Brand Marketing for fast-rising digital money transfer company WorldRemit (ongoing sponsors of my company’s Tech in Ghana Conference).

WorldRemit was founded in 2010 by Ismail Ahmed, a UK-based entrepreneur from Somaliland. They recently partnered with Arsenal to become the Premier League club’s first official online money transfer partner.

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Initially, I wasn’t up for it. Aside from my lack of love for football I’ve also got a thing about big crowds, which I think stems from being crushed at Notting Hill Carnival back in the 90s.

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However, I quickly changed my mind after convincing myself to face my fears, and use the opportunity to genuinely ‘bond’ with the WR team.

Interestingly, the experience highlighted a few unfounded preconceptions I had about football, its fans and the nature of the game.

Here are 10 things I learnt about myself and the football industry after attending my first Premiership match:

1. The people who attend football games are very ‘normal’. When I alighted at Arsenal station I quite frankly expected a to see a crowd of loud, drunk hooligans. But nope. Instead, there were cute couples, old people, young people, and all nationalities. Two guys walking beside me were having a conversation about Bitcoin!

2. Everything looks so pretty! The view from the upper tier was like a scene from a Hollywood movie. The ground was super clean, the players all looked immaculate, the lighting was perfect… I was expecting muddy grass and dirty boots. But nope. Far from it. (The pic below is a Google image, but you get the idea).

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3. The crowd action is hilarious. All the synchronised boos and cheers reminded me of watching WWF. The chants are funny too. The few but very lively Chelsea fans singing ‘you will never sing back’ to the Arsenal crowd was my favourite I think.

4. Fans have A LOT to say to their team’s players. The passion from the Arsenal fans around me was commendable. They didn't care that the players couldn’t hear them, they’d still scream from the top of their lungs. I heard things like: ‘Don’t keep the ball too long!’, ‘He’s playing like he wants to leave’, and ‘Don’t give it to Alexis’ quite a bit. There’s also some random swearing thrown in to the mix.

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5. You will 100% end up getting involved in points 3 and 4.

6. Referees have to do a lot of jumping. Don’t be getting in the way of that ball mate!

7. Time flies by! The first time I looked up during the first half there were only 8 minutes to go.

8. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is a decent footballer. (One of our group was an undercover Chelsea fan who told me Hazard’s name when I pointed out how skilful he was).

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9. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. That moment when the home team scores is priceless. But, as I learned when Chelsea received a penalty (undeserved in my opinion) and scored, that feeling can disappear in seconds.

10. I quite like football.

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Football is unexplainable....the passion, I don't know where it comes from. Even from TV, you will see the organization and attention to details are out of this world. You just experienced one of my dreams - to watch a big match at the Emirates.

Very true, the passion is unreal..! Sometimes I found just watching the crowd fascinating. I had no idea I would watch a Premiership game at the Emirates - that's life! So who knows the future, your dream may come true some day! Hope so!

Woow good post your fren

Thank you

hi @ak2020
i think both teams are good but Arsenal has a bad luck to draw against Chelsea..

Welcome to the club! I've seen a short part of that match myself on TV, I'm from Italy but I like international football from time to time.
One question: what did Sanchez ever do to the fans? I thought he was pretty skilled!

I'm not too sure about Sanchez!? He didn't seem to do too badly, and he definitely showed some skill during the game. I thought perhaps he'd not performed well in other games lately. I actually thought Alexis was his surname until I Googled it! Lol

hahaha Very Funny post.Like it !!!

Thanks! Lol

Last football match I went to was in the 90s! Chelsea and QPR games. Amazing atmosphere. Glad you had fun. Enjoyed reading your post :)

Lol. It was very entertaining ; )

When I alighted at Arsenal station I quite frankly expected a to see a crowd of loud, drunk hooligans. But nope. Instead, there were cute couples, old people, young people, and all nationalities.

I think this experience was definitely affected by the fact that it was an Arsenal game. The Emirates is like a library in comparison to most grounds! If you liked it I'd highly suggest going to another game as an away fan. The away section of ground almost always has the best atmosphere and it's definitely something to experience!

Ahh ok, that's an interesting point. The Chelsea section was definitely lively to say the least, lol. Fascinating to watch them celebrate a goal!

Funny post. I am glad you enjoyed it! I am sorry I can not join you @ ak2020, I am still not interested in football. :)

I'm not fully converted to football but my interest has increased slightly... Happy you found it entertaining ; )

awesome!!

I dont know much about football but think it will be a draw

Wow. What a game it was. If you're getting into football, there won't be many games better than that to make a stadium debut. I still remember my first game in a stadium. Didn't sit for the whole time. The atmosphere was just electric!

Among all sports, from my own perspective, i can say football is the most interesting, believe me it connect millions of hearts all over the world.

Welcome to live games Sis! It’s the best. I wanted us to win (Arsenal!) we needed the points lol

Football is a great day out, albeit expensive. You've now visited and experienced football at it's highest form in England, would you now be willing to visit it at it's lowest? Trade in the padded seat for 90 minutes of standing, trade in the birds-eye-view for ground level, switch the person next to you for somebody's dog, but keep the same electric atmosphere, the same chanting and singing and the same jubilation of a goal.

Points 3, 4 and 9 never change even when you're in a 'ground' as opposed to a 'stadium'. Visit your local football club and compare your experiences and revel in the money saved and new perspective gained. Non-league football is a new world waiting to be discovered.