Wed 15 Feb 06
A Glass Richly Two-Thirds Full
After round 26 of the EPL, there are some stories overlooked by the pundits. Among them are the amazing performances of newly promoted sides West Ham United and Wigan Athletic.
The Hammers have returned to historic form and are firmly esconced in a dramatically transforming London footie scene, marked by Spurs on the cusp of returning to Europe and Millwall sliding from an FA Cup final to crashing out of the Championship. BTW try to catch “Green Street” if you can. Yes, it’s about the Hammers’ hoolies but it’s still remarkable entertainment.
But the Cinderella story of English football has to be the Latics. Has anyone seriously analyzed how Dave Whelan pulled off a decade-long plan to take a side into the Premiership? Wigan only entered the Football League in 1978. In this season they have held their own admirably against all comers, only losing to the top four in hotly contested matches with narrow margins. Now they look forward to battling Man U for the League Cup and may have a UEFA Cup slot slide their way. This saga needs to be sung!
Paul Canniff
I read an interview with Elijah Wood and how he was hanging out in West Ham pubs before and after the games. He went to a West Ham/Millwall game (did they do any filming there?) and he said there were 1100 cops/security in attendance. Anyway, sounds like a must-see.
Mike,
The police presence at matches is considerable, judging from the footie tour that Neal, Damian and I undertook in spring 2004 that included visits to Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane, Anfield and Loftus Road. That being said, it was actually quite reassuring. The police kept things calm but did not suppress the fun. We asked a passing fan to snap a digital photo of us, pints in hand, in front of the Springbok Pub near Loftus Road. The presence of two mounted policemen nearby ensured that we got the camera back.
I also recall the great fun we had in buying some cans of Super Strongbow at an off-license near Loftus Road and downing them peacefully on the sidewalk before a Fulham-Birmingham City match, while nearby a mass of Brummies took up a lusty chant to mark some poor bugger upchucking onto the street. Even better than a tailgate party at a NFL game!
Now there is still plenty of trouble on hand if you go looking for it. But the match-day rituals are second to none: downing pints while listening to a pub full of supporters run loudly through the chant songbooks; inhaling the kick-ass superburgers from the street vendors near Stamford Bridge; and hoisting your scarf at Anfield and belting out “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with the Kop crowd.
Good times, indeed.