Obviously it was going to be tough if not impossible to top our day one Olympics experience, however, Mike had a special treat in store for me for day 2. Mike had scored tickets for the whole expat gang to head up to Manchester to watch some Olympics football at the legendary Old Trafford Stadium, home to the even more legendary Manchester United. The first game was the not-so-powerhouse matchup of Egypt vs. New Zealand and the second was the much more anticipated matchup of Brazil vs. Belarus.
We awoke at a fairly early hour to make our train up to Manchester. As you might imagine it was a tall order to drag ourselves out of bed after such a phenomenal first day, but once we were at the station excitement began to set in.
As I was a last minute addition to the team, my seat on the train was in a different car but I was lucky enough to score a non-reserved seat. The train was absolutely packed- there were probably 20-30 people standing in my car alone for the entire two hour ride up to Manchester. Off the platform in Manchester we were greeted with what I had expected to encounter the vast majority of the time in England- cool weather and a steady drizzly rain. Good thing I didn't wear sandals... oh wait. D'oh!
The town itself seemed nice enough but we didn't have a ton of time to sight-see as we needed to make our way down to the venue. Thankfully, the Olympic planning committee set up buses to run fans from the main train station over to the stadium so we didn't have to walk all the way in the rain. The stadium itself is an impressive and imposing edifice seating around 75,000 rabid fans.
I'm not sure if it was originally designed this way or if it was done in subsequent years due to the increasingly rowdy patrons, but ticketholders are assigned a particular entrance gate and you can only enter the stadium through that gate. In fact, the stadium itself is sectioned off so that once you are inside you can't actually walk around it into other sections- you're more or less confined to your ticketed section. I find it hard to believe that the stadium was originally designed that way but I'm too lazy to put in the research to get to the answer so we'll just assume it was modified.
Paradis and my seats were pretty far up and for the first game we were seated in the Egypt section. However, as Mike astutely noted, at least the concessions lines for beer should be relatively shorter than those on the New Zealand side.
Speaking of beers, therein lies another interesting difference about English football and sports everywhere else in the world: you absolutely cannot under any circumstances take beers from the concession area to your seats. Not only is it prohibited, but you will be arrested for attempting it according to the signs plastered all over the stadium. This rule is absolutely due to the outbreaks of hooliganism that plagued English football matches in recent years, and interestingly, they carried it over to the Olympic competitions.
So if you want a beer without missing much action, you have to acquire it at the concessions, drink it as fast as you can, and then head back to your seats. An odd rule to be sure, and when I think about it, I'm not sure how forcing people to pound their beers in any way helps to prevent overall drunkenness and thereby the later-game buffoonery. But when in Rome, do as the Romans. So upon entering Mike and I quickly employed this tactic and headed up to the seats for the first half of the Egypt vs. New Zealand game.
The first game was entertaining if not very well executed football. New Zealand got a surprise first goal which was ultimately equalized by Egypt. The last 5 minutes plus extra play were extremely exciting, however, as each team's poor defense allowed an onslaught of back and forth scoring opportunities that each came agonizingly close to ending the game. Alas, it ended in a 1-1 tie. Unlike most sportsfans around the globe, as Americans we tend to find ties extremely unsatisfying. But as a result of the past four months of watching numerous football matches, I'm beginning to come around to the allure of a well played well fought game that ends in a tie. Just don't tell anyone back home...
After the first game we retreated to the concessions to acquire some much needed sustenance only to discover that the stadium had, unbelievably, run out of food! But never fear- there was plenty of warm Heineken available. Or if that doesn't suit your fancy you can reach for a tall warm can of the worst beer known to man: John Smith's ale. Mike and I gave it a try and honestly, if this was the only beer available on Earth, I would stop drinking immediately. I couldn't even choke it down. After a few rounds of sad warm beers waiting for game two to get going, it was glaringly apparent that we were going to need coffee to survive the next 90 minutes of action.
Back in the stands we elected to try our luck moving down and were able to score some better seats about 25 rows closer to the field. Brazil vs. Belarus kicked off, and you could immediately notice the level of football was much higher than the previous game.
In the end, Brazil was just far too talented and proved too much for poor Belarus to handle as they pushed the lead to 2-1 early in the second half and began to control the ball almost exclusively. With a little time remaining in the second, we coordinated with the rest of our crew on the other side of the stadium and it was agreed that we should leave a bit early to catch the earlier (and hopefully not jam-packed) train. At the station Deana acquired sandwiches for everyone from Pret a Manger and I acquired us beers from... well I don't remember but the point is the train ride back was great. Poor Mike was all tuckered out and drifted off.
The past several nights I hadn't been sleeping very well (2-4 hours at best), so on the way back to Mike & Deana's flat I decided to get myself a bottle of red wine and see if a glass or two could knock me out. Well, mission accomplished. I finished one glass and had one sip of the second and literally fell asleep sitting up with my laptop still in my lap, in mid conversation with someone online, with Mike and Deana in the room talking, and with all the lights on. Clearly I should have followed Mike's lead and stole a nap on the train. I eventually did wake up and assume a regular sleeping position and knew I would be rested and ready for some more awesome Olympic action come day three.
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