From the stands of Old Trafford
Wednesday, 05 November 08, 11:43 AM · Comments(0)
I’ve been to some extremely fun stadiums in London so far, but there’s definitely a different feel around Old Trafford in Manchester. Maybe it’s because there aren’t so many teams in the city, or maybe it’s just the history of the club, but there’s a distinctive feel as you get off the tram and march down the hill toward the stadium. It’s something like walking down the Yellow Brick Road with Oz in sight. And even though Manchester is a big city, the stadium sits in a semi-remote area and gives off a small-town vibe, which is nice.
Heading up to watch Saturday’s Hull City game, I wondered what the feel of the stadium and the club itself would be. Manchester United is obviously a global brand, and you can’t escape that feeling when you enter the team megastore in next to the stadium. You can buy anything and everything with the United logo on it, and it’s impossible to get away from the commercialized aura.
Still, I was surprised to find that beyond the big nature of this club is a very homey feel – even if it is you and 85,000 of your closest friends on a Saturday. From all the people hanging out on the road enjoying a pre-game pint to all the fathers leading their sons (with a Ronaldo jersey on, of course) down the hill to Old Trafford, you really get a sense just how much this city cares about this club. It borders on religion, and the fanaticism obviously won’t be leaving family bloodlines any time soon......
read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m11d5-A-look-back-at-Saturday-from-the-stands-of-Old-Trafford
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