Almost 2 years have passed since I first penned this piece. I never shared it before , but news of a “European Super league” means its probably as good a time as any to share it.
Sporting Tourist August 2019:
The last 9 weeks have witnessed football fans searching to fill the void with other summer sports. The women’s world cup kicked off the regular footballing post-season to encouraging crowds, but with much controversy around VAR & a deserved win for Team USA. The cricket world cup culminated in a “Super Over" where England came out on top in a dramatic day of sport. Wimbledon served up its customary fortnight of action, back hands & power strokes & the Tour de France has just been won by a Colombian for the first time & its youngest competitor since World War II.
As my wife will attest, I am a bit of a sport addict, so I put on my best tourist hat & t-shirt & ventured down to London to take in the “Biggest Rivalry in Baseball" as the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees slugged it out for 2 days at the home of West Ham United in the “London Series". The old Olympic stadium looked fabulous shining in the hot summer sun. The less said about the view from the very back of the stadium the better, at over £60 per ticket you expect a lot more for your cash. Day one of the series honestly seemed to be populated by corporate ticket holders more interested in inflated merchandise stalls & crazily price food & drink. I was fortunate enough to get better seats for day 2, still at the same price & the fans on day 2 seemed a little more focused on the ballgame. As a weekend of sport I thoroughly enjoyed it & the interaction with visiting fans is always a great experience. Trading stories & drinks into the small hours.
My son attends every Celtic match with me, but he has taken a shine to Liverpool over the last 4 or 5 years. The extensive accessibility of EPL football means he can watch highlights on a Saturday night, Sunday morning & maybe even on the Iplayer if it takes his fancy. So, when the European Champions announced a match at BT Murrayfield I promised to take him along to watch the match against Napoli. In truth the trip to the capital was great a wee change of scenery & again a chance to mix with fans from Liverpool & beyond. As a sell out crowd made there way to the stadium the flag sellers were making a roaring trade in the half & half scarf market.
The match itself was a typical pre-season friendly with Napoli exploiting the standoffish Liverpool midfield. The calm possession in defence when under pressure & the passing range from the Naploi midfield was the highlight of the day. Less so was the ooohs & aaaahs of a crowd happy to applaud a Napoli goal while trying to keep hold of their YNWA hat, scarf, t-shirt, poster & souvenir cup. At that point I realised I had become a football tourist, is it a low or high? - I just don’t know.
Footballing authorities have being toying with the idea of playing a regular season match outside the ruling bodies jurisdiction & we got a sneak peek of this when the 2nd leg of the Copa Libertadores was played in Madrid a couple of years ago.
The sell out crowd at Murrayfield would no doubt turn up again in the same numbers & probably pay more for a match that actually meant something in terms of league positions. The summer schedule for Europeans teams is turning into a world tour, world club Cup, with the club & organisers winning every time.
The associations that run Scottish football needs to rekindle its own love of the game, football fans across the country turned their back on competitive football to watch a friendly at the home of Scottish rugby. How does this happen in a country that holds the historic attendance records for domestic, international & UEFA matches?
With European qualifying taking part in the early weeks of July Scottish teams can no longer afford to play or even pay for big glamour friendlies against European elite. Our governing bodies & club owners need to work together & find a way to stop selling our game short & getting more investment in the beautiful game here before Scottish football is left behind financially forever.
