Wigan vs. Liverpool

So I went to the Wigan/Liverpool football match last night, and had a blast and a half. It was another one of the trips/events that I signed up for through the university travel agency, with a coach leaving from campus around 6 o'clock. I say leaving 'around' because despite the pre-departure email warning everyone to be there waiting 15 minutes ahead of time or they will be left, that absolutely never happens. We pulled out around 6:20 amid excited cheers and pre-gaming shenanigans from everyone on the bus.

Wigan is about an hour south of Lancaster, so fairly close to Manchester. Of course it took the coach about an hour and a half, but that was to be expected. I didn't really mind because I met two American girls before we departed-and by 'met' I mean heard them speaking in American accents and did a very un-Shelby-like and actually walked up and started chatting with them (shocking I know). We totally hit it off in a way that only our mutual love of America could've brought about, and before we were even on the bus they extended me an invite to travel to London with them next weekend. Ummm...yes yes and yes?!!?! I didn't accept their offer right away, just in case we actually grew to dislike each other in the span of a football match, plus I was surprised by how quickly it happened. But fortunately no falling-outs occurred and I'm planning to go! We'll see if I can make arrangements in time, stay tuned for details!

Anyway, back to the match. We get there and the stupid coach decides to park before letting us all off, so we walked about a mile back to the entrance of the stadium. Considering our buzzes were waning and it seemed to be about 30 degrees outside, this was not ok. However, we made it in, passing through a weirdly narrow turnstile that evoked thoughts of cattle, and arrived at the bar just in time to grab a pint before it closed. Yayyy! Unfortunately you're not allowed to take any alcohol into the stands, so we had to drink it uncomfortably fast and the find our seats with stomach aches. Side note-I realize the practicality of disallowing alcohol in the stands, but all the same, it's an English football match! It's supposed to be rowdy and semi out of control right?! I guess this is why I'm here, to grow informed against the stereotypes of English society and culture, sigh. But I still won't mask my disappointment.

Getting back on track, again, the match was a lot of fun to see in person. We watch it on the tele (I don't actually think they say that, haha) all the time, but the epicness of English football is so much more tangible when you're actually there! And these guys are so good! The girls I was sitting with also used to play soccer, and so we had a lot of fun swapping stories and commenting on the game. It's refreshing to understand something beyond just the rules when I'm watching this sport (which I should be well conditioned to do with all the other sports watched/played in our family, but whatever...yes I still don't understand second blue line passing...super fail). My favorite part was halftime when instead of the usual stadium food (pretzels, burgers, popcorn), all that was offered were meat and potato pies, and chips, excuse me, crisps. Words cannot describe how badly we Americans wanted a salty, mustard-covered pretzel after pint #2 was slammed. Tragic.

The match ended in a draw 1-1. We were positioned on the Wigan fans side, so I guess we were rooting for them ultimately. Nobody really cared, we were just there for the experience, the atmosphere, and the pints we couldn't take back to our seats. Before we trekked back to the bus we cajoled an extremely reluctant security man to take a picture of the whole group in front of the pitch. Memories! And so goes the story of my night at a real English footie match.

I hope everyone is doing well! I'll keep you updated on the London trip, and look out for a post following my day trip to York this Saturday!