Newcastle United vs. Portsmouth

I have been told recently that it has been too long since I wrote a post. Trust me, I know this. I don't know if it laziness or that I just haven't had the time. I am barely at home and since my computer is at home I will use that as my excuse. However, the silence cannot last forever. I still have pictures to include about my trip to England.

One thing I was really privileged to experience was a football game. I have always wanted to see a game in England, because the fans are know to be so rowdy. I love the sport, which I have played since I was five years old so it is also meaningful to watch football for the personal enjoyment. Brit boy knew that I wanted to see a game, and since I had taken him to see DC United he decided to return the gesture.

Of course, being the an English football fan, he was picky about who he would watch. His favorite team is Leeds United, but they aren't doing well this year so he didn't want to watch them lose. And Manchester United was out of the question, because that is the rival team. So we made plans to watch Newcastle United play against Portsmouth. This was a good solution, since he had never been to the stadium and the Newcastle fans are known for being very supportive of their team, which I wanted to see.

Newcastle is about the most northern a person can go before then are in Scotland. It is a nice city and quickly growing into a trendy location. I also learned that they have their own dialect in Newcastle, called Geordie. There was a man sitting behind us who seemed to slur his words and speak in phrases that I didn't understand...I found out it was Geordie talk. I love that!

We had really good seats, thanks to Brit boy and his dad, because they bought the tickets. The air was cold, but on our way in we were given a free Newcastle scarf. It has thick black and white horizontal stripes with a Newcastle shield on one end. To start the game everyone swirled their scarfs in the air. It looked pretty cool. I think I even took a picture. After that I kept myself warm with the extra layer. In fact, the heat and excitment from the crowd was enough to warm me up.

The game was really exciting as Newcastle barely came out with a 1-0 win in the second half. Actually Newcastle dominated the whole game with many shots on goal. This was the most exciting part because everyone in the stadium was cheering like mad. It was so loud. I was also impressed by the fact that Portsmouth had a small fan base, but their cheers were heard. It riled up the rest of the stadium into even louder bursts.

I tried making a video to share, so you could all experience the adrenaline from the crowd, but every time I made a video, it was a slow point. At least you can get an idea of what the game was like. I must admit, the football game was probably my favorite part of this trip. I believe that from this point on, each time I make a trip to England I will need to watch a football game.