Preston North End plays at Deepdale stadium (which has 23,408 seats to get an idea for size), about a 15 minute walk from campus. Also known as the Lilywhites- or simply 'whites'-the club has been in the English Football League since 1888 and there is definitely some hometown pride in the team as a result. I jumped on the opportunity to see a semifinal match at Deepdale against Sheffield United with my flatmate and his friends. With swarms of other people, we flooded into the stadium and took our seats behind the goal. We were greeted with big cardboard clappers that worked brilliantly for the constant cheering- when I say constant I mean the entire game, and when I say cheering I mean singing. Between unintelligible chantings of drunk men and a shot on the PNE goal, I distinguish "Que Sera Sera/What will be will be/Our goalie's from Wembley/Que Sera Sera"- apparently our goalie is 'well good'.
The match that usually drags on at the pubs for what seems like hours on end is flying by at the actual stadium. My English friends keep checking on me and my fellow Americans to make sure we're ok and besides the constant flurry of ripped-up cardboard clapper that has been landing in my hood because of some hoodlum Preston 8-year-old, I'm loving it.
We end up with a draw, 1-1, and hope for a win at Sheffield so we can advance in the tournament. An interesting part of the scoring that I didn't know about is that an away point is worth double. So, if the teams tie 2-2 when Preston plays Sheffield at Sheffield, then Preston would advance because 2 away points is worth 4. After experiencing the madhouse that is a football stadium, I can understand how a hometown advantage makes a difference.
How long are you going to be there dear?! We miss you here at the lib!! Come back soon!
ReplyDeleteJust a quick correction - the goalie line in the song is actually "we're going to Wemb-er-ley" (Wembley is the home of football in London and all finals are played there). I've been to that stadium - did you enjoy a pie at half time? Enjoyed your blog, glad you had such a fun time and putting a Northern town on the map for your US friends. Philip.
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