British for Soccer

I knew I would need something to fill the void left in my life moving so far away from the Canucks and soccer seemed the obvious choice. There's no denying how big soccer is over here, and really what I was looking for was something to get caught up in, to buy a jersey and go to the pub and yell at the TV with a bunch of hooligans. I was able to watch every Canucks game at home online so it wasn't the hockey I was missing so much as the social aspect of it. Which is what drew me to watching the Canucks in the first place.

Before arriving I started looking into a few London based teams to follow, Chelsea and Arsenal first, then maybe Fulham or Tottenham. I was leaning towards Chelsea initially just because I was under the impression they were the best London based team, and if you're going to pick arbitrarily you may as well pick a good one. I figured I would find out where we ended up living when we got here first though, and pick the closest team.

When we ended up in Wimbledon I figured the decision to pick Chelsea was made. Problem was with so many choices in London everyone we met followed a different team, and every other team was shit by default. In BC it's quite easy to choose the Canucks but over here it's not the same at all. We lacked any real persuasion towards a team and it just stayed in limbo for a while

With no salary cap in the Premier League teams are essentially buying success, which in my opinion ruins a lot of the fun (Although if the Canucks could buy the Stanley Cup next year I'd still go to the parade). So with that being said people don't just pick the best teams to follow because there's not a lot of merit to that. If you follow the good teams you just expect them to win and get mad when they don't, there's not as much to get excited about. At least that's what I'm told by loser followers. It kinda makes sense though, and a lot of people follow lesser teams and just lower their expectations. Scoring a goal against Man U is a victory, getting bumped up to the Premier League is cause for major celebration.

In England the Premier League seems to be most important, and winning that is the main goal, but all through the season there are other games sprinkled in between for other tournaments, the Carling Cup, the FA Cup and the Champions League. I think the first 2 are between British teams of different leagues and the last one is between the best teams in Europe. It seems really strange to me to have games of differing importance and intensity scattered through a season. It also means a failure in the Premier League can be offset by winning a couple other games and being winners of the FA Cup and Champions League like Chelsea did this year.

While Chelsea was playing those big games we went out to a couple pubs in Chelsea and Wimbledon and got caught up in the excitement enough to say Chelsea is our team, which should mean next to nothing in the coming years. It was a lot of fun to be out in the celebrations though, reminded me of the playoffs last year.

As luck would have it the Euros, which happen every 4 years, just took place so we were able to see what London was like during international play. It was cool to get behind England on the whole and go out anywhere knowing who to cheer for. No matter who was playing it was a relatively big deal at any pub, and the Spanish fans stole a bit of our thunder on Canada Day when they won.

Funny thing about fans here though is nobody really wears jerseys or even shirts, I was given an England shirt by a coworker and figured I'd wear it out to fit in and was very much the odd one out. Maybe 1 in 4 at a big Chelsea match is kitted up and well under half that had England gear during the Euros. Quite a contrast to a sea of Canucks gear at a local pub for a preseason game

We went to a game back in March when Michelle came to visit at the nearest team to us, Crystal Palace, which is in a lower tier. Despite not being in the Premier League the stadium holds 25,000 people and was very nearly sold out. It was cool to see a game live, because all sports are more exciting in person, but the highlight was easily the fans. They were so loud and so into it and their chants and songs were so vulgar it was just too funny. The songs are a huge part of soccer over here which is something you would never get in hockey. My favorite chant was the one about an opposing player being a sex offender, classic.

The level of celebrity that players get here is massive too. On top of all the coverage the sport gets there's also pretty intense scrutiny on their personal lives. They're included in all the sensationalized celebrity gossip, which seems normal here, but can you imagine seeing photos in the province of Kesler out with another woman and the caption 'Kesler Pucks Around!'. It's weird. There's also a lot of attention paid to the WAG's (wives and girlfriends). They're always shown on TV during the games and a lot of them are pseudo celebrities themselves, starting music careers or launching fashion or make-up lines.
 
As far as actually watching the sport, I definitely enjoy and understand it more than I did, and I could see watching the occasional big game back home. It falls in the middle ground of sports I can watch, far below hockey and well above baseball and basketball. It's easy enough to follow and for the most part there's enough action and athleticism to keep in interesting, although some games have been pretty slow. My biggest problem with soccer, and it's what kept me from getting into it before, is the diving. The more I watch the more pathetic I find it and I really can't help but think that these guys are actors and underwear models first and athletes second. I know not every sport is like hockey or rugby and I appreciate that, and if most contact in soccer is a foul that's fine, but it's the faking and rolling around on the ground wincing and then jogging off 10 seconds later that is just so disgusting. It's not like there has to be injuries for a sport to be enjoyable, but if you are slumped on the ground like you're paralyzed until they finally stop play and then hop up and jog off you are a liar, a pussy and not exactly the best role model. Of course it's not just the players though because why wouldn't they, it works, it just takes so much away from the sport. I know there's diving in the NHL and it bothers me there too, but even then it's usually something like dropping to your knees when a cross check to the back wasn't quite that hard, and at least it's called occasionally. Most people here don't seem particularly bothered by it, so I guess it's just part of the game, like having no video replay and countless blown calls that decide games. When I do manage to get over this part of the game it is actually pretty enjoyable to watch.

Between Chelsea winning the FA Cup and Champions League, and then the Euros it was a pretty good year here to try to get into soccer, and we had a lot of fun checking out a few pubs in Chelsea as well as a really good sports bar here in Wimbledon. It was nice to be in a crowd of people really excited about sport, but it fell far short of filling the void left behind by hockey. It was an adequate substitute for the time being, but I can't wait to go out and watch a Canucks game!

It should be noted that I have no idea what I'm talking about, this is just how I saw soccer this past year and I'm likely wrong on a number of things. I also choose to call it soccer because even though football makes far more sense I am a proud Canadian and it annoys Europeans.

-Justin

When in Wimbledon

The one question people would've asked for years to come after telling them we used to live in Wimbledon would be 'did you go to the tennis?' To save face we almost had to go.

We both actually really wanted to but with how busy we've been missing a days work to queue at 5am and be there all day was a stretch. We figured we'd just try our chances after work one evening. I walked in at 6pm with no queue and was given a Court 2 ticket for the same price as the grounds ticket I intended to buy, £10. Bonus. Went over and watched about half an hour of men's doubles.

Tennis is actually a lot more entertaining than I gave it credit for, even watching a bit on TV the last few days was alright. What I enjoyed as much as the play though was the ball boys and girls. They have a very strict routine steeped in tradition that while being interesting is also hilarious to watch.

After damp grass delayed play on Court 2 I wandered the grounds a bit watching a few games on the outer courts. There about around 15 of them so there was a lot to choose from. If one game was a little slow I could just wander to where a more entertaining person was screaming and moaning or yelling self congratulatory 'Come ons!'.

Gen got there a little after 7 and got in for a fiver, but was also told there was an extra match that night on Centre Court and to go to ticket resale. When people leave early they let someone know so their seats can be sold for charity. The resale booth is conveniently located next to the giant screen at the grass viewing area so you could get a grounds pass and just keep checking. We got great seats for £10 each.

We grabbed some food and rushed over just as a match between Tamira Paszek and Victoria Azarenka was starting. I was a little surprised they let us in with food but they did so we munched away and took it all in. At a break in play we were told there was no food allowed and we shouldn't have been let in, so I had to go back out to finish up and remember why I don't fit in anywhere posh.

Centre Court was cool to see, the level of play was quite obviously higher than the outer courts, and there were some proper looking people in the royal box, but I didn't see any Middletons.

After the first match we got to see the last half of one that was rained out earlier between Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Kirilenko. Their match was a lot closer with a more reckless and entertaining style. We ended up getting close to 3 hours of play at Centre Court which was pretty awesome.

Chances are if we didn't live about a 15 minute walk from the grounds we never would have gone but I'm really glad that we just decided to give it a try after work because we got to see a lot and it's quite an iconic event.

-Justin

Canada Day in London

I remember coming across the Canada Day in London website way back when I was researching this trip, billed as the largest celebration outside of Canada and in a setting like Trafalgar Square it looked like the place to be on July 1st. Somebody from Canada must have some serious connections and be a paperwork ace because turning Trafalgar Square into a massive beer garden and concert is pretty unreal, all for quiet unassuming Canada.
Australia day was just at a bunch of Walkabout Pubs, pfft.

We started off with some Caesars Gen whipped up with some Clamato and spicy vodka from the Canadian store. Then it was on to the familiar over priced Molson Canadian common at all beer gardens, just like home.

I haven't felt homesick too much over here but seeing all the hockey jerseys (mostly Canucks!), the street hockey and the Canadian flag capes did choke me up a bit. Being outside of Canada makes a Canada Day celebration take on a whole new meaning and being surrounded by fellow Canucks singing along to The Good Old Hockey Game while in the heart of London was an amazing experience.

We were treated a personal video greeting from Stephen Harper, who enjoyed a hearty booing, as well as a painfully forced live speech by Canada's high commissioner to England, Gordon Campbell, who got to take the boos in person. A proud moment.

We basically just wandered around drinking Canadians in the (mostly) sun all day, running into fellow Canadians we know over here, and meeting some new ones. Talking shit with Maple Leaf and Oilers fans in the toilet line was a good time. We also got a couple Brit friends out to have a poutine and see a little taste of what we call home. We tried to get the party started before Our Lady Peace took the stage by shotgunning a couple Canadians but I regret to say nobody joined in, perhaps the £4.10 price for a can put people off, but I think we were just next to the wrong Canadians, likely from Toronto.

Canada Day in London was definitely the most moving I've ever had and made me very proud to be Canadian. We enjoy a pretty good reputation abroad and we owe that to all the Canadians that came before us. I feel very lucky to have that privilege and try to pay it forward while we are traveling. It was a real treat to spend a day in the company of thousands of like minded Canadians on the other side of the world.

-Justin