Its not that often you get an opportunity to refuse offers of Cup tickets for 'glamorous' ties - involving Watford - because you've had a 'better offer' in this life. I chuckled when the away supporters promptly 'grabbed the lot' when the Chelski allocation went on sale ..... they put the effort in - they deserve them! Much time was spent in the ensuing days kindly thanking members of the 'away mob' for putting one aside for me as I had the fortune/misfortune to have secured the dreaded 'freebie hospitality' route to watching Watford at The Bridge. Now many say that this form of football support is "what's killed the 'working man's' game" .... and yup they're absolutely right! But for a miserable Old Git bought up getting soaked to the skin on Tuesday nights on the open terraces at some Godforsaken Northern ****-hole like Oakwell, or Brunton Park, in the 70s, maybe a day with the 'haves' was overdue. Having 'done one' from the pub @ Earl's Court just up the road from where the 1881 were having their singsong, Mine Host and I ended up in Canalettos (in the East Stand) .... lifts in football grounds, WTF is that all about? Being the only two Watford fans, we listened in intently as Rupert discussed with Tarquin on an adjacent table the extent of Messi's wage structure, should The Blues be bothered to sign him up. We also learnt from others nearby that "Watford are in League Two". And so the clueless banal conversations played out all around us as a load wealthy white middle-class ******s tucked into their sea bass brought to them by the polite working class Afro-Caribbean waitresses .... I think the irony was probably lost on them. OMR plus one just hammered down the free booze and avoided any form of contact with this strange breed of football 'fan' who seemed more intent on City/money talk than worrying about progression to Round Four. Sat in the packed middle tier - next to the gayest of Noel Gallagher lookalikes, who spent much of the match taking 'selfies' of themselves - I reminisced of a previous time in the 80s I'd occupied this level of the, then new, East Stand .... Watford 1-0 up, blocks of empty seats all around me - crowd circa 12k (where were all those die-hard Chelski fans then that now claim they've been going to The Bridge 'man & boy'?). After a good half time shant surrounded by the Nigels, the improbable became the inevitable on the pitch and the FA Cup was done & dusted for another year, as the 'great and good' of Fulham and Chelsea furiously fist-pumped away in the stands .... well done you. Fair play to the away support .... the only reminder that I was actually at a football match. Corporate hospitality? All very nice ... but really ought to be reserved for Wimbledon/Royal Ascot etc - nothing whatsoever to do with the 'beautiful game' ..... definitely attracting the wrong sort to our beloved stadia. On the plus side, if the right team win their 3rd round replay - those smug, arrogant, ******s I sat amongst will have to spend an evening with 6,000+ of South Bermondsey's Finest ..... a fitting reward for knocking 'League Two Watford' out of the Cup!
Great post OMR. Lucky for you that it's the skiing season and you probably missed a swathe more of their ilk still on their winter breaks. Living locally I know that most ordinary Chelsea fans feel Stamford Bridge is for day-tripping tourists, which explains the lack of atmosphere & passion. Thank God Watford will never be attractive to that sort of crowd and will always be a place the true fan can feel at home.
Good post OMR. Not all corporate hospitality is the same as your experience though. I think Chelsea is perhaps a little bit different from a lot of grounds, although, when I was fortunate? enough to see us get beaten from the corporate boxes in the West Stand (Champagne, Lobster et al) a few seasons ago, all of the patrons were proper football fans and we had really good discussions. I love coming back from away games with no voice and aching knees but but I've been lucky enough to sample quite a few boxes/restaurants in stadia and can definitely see there is a place for it. My particular favourite was a very relaxed Highbury(definitely Tarquin free), where i was allowed to wear my polyester and even chant along with my fellow 'orns below.
Superb read OMR. We 'met' some 'Tarquin's' outside the ground afterwards who complained because they didn't want their child (circa 12) to hear our bad language when we were observing that Jose was indeed quite right that their fans were not very good. The fact that some of their wannabe Danny Dyer's - you know the type, winter coat, flat caps to cover their follicle less heads, walking at ten to two - told us to fark right off, seemed lost on them. Never thought I'd hear myself say this but go on Millwall, beat Bradford and take your finest to the bridge....
Mine too. But why were they leaving the ground over two hours before kick-off? Were they worried their horses weren't tied to the rail properly?
I think it would be highly educated beasts swearing in front of their children. Most would just growl or woof or something.
