I set out on this trip expecting to just watch games without any hullabaloo, without the world knowing about my expeditions as I silently made my way from one stadium to the other, ticking off each on my list.
Well, things don’t work the way you expect them to be, and before I knew it, I had phone calls, text messages and Facebook messages from fans back in India and around the world; the BBC wanted to do an audio interview; the Premier League magazine show wanted me to be the fan of the day and I had requests for interviews from local newspapers in Birmingham.
Well, my blog went a bit viral in football circles and what followed, left me a little dizzy in the head. In my earlier post, I had mentioned that a West Brom supporter with close connections to the club had chanced upon my blog on the WBA FC India fan page and had forwarded it to the concerned people at the club. All I was expecting from that little bit of luck was a stadium tour but it turned out to be much more than that.
Also Read: Around the world: Setting up the trip to watch West Bromwich Albion live
I made my way down to the Hawthorns on the morning of 16th of October. I had arrived in Birmingham the previous night and jet lag was barely a deterrent to the excitement and emotion that I was going through. As with all first sights of dreams that you are about to realise, my first of the Hawthorns was emotional.
As I made my way down to the club, I crossed The Astle gates.
The Astle gates are a set of gates at the Hawthorns dedicated to the Albion legend, Jeff Astle, who died of a degenerative brain disease caused from heading the heavy leather football used in his days.
Over my fifteen years as a satellite fan of the Albion, the Astle gates have been a desktop wallpaper, a facebook cover picture, and printouts on the wall.
At the reception, I was greeted by Mathew Dainty, Head of Marketing at WBA. Mathew took me around the club corridors adorned with memorabilia from notable moments in the club’s 138-year-old history. We then moved to the stands and then made our way down to the ground.
The groundsmen were busy preparing the pitch for the Premier League game the next day, which of course meant that I couldn’t really walk on to the pitch. But nonetheless, being able to witness the pitch from such a close distance was an inexplicable feeling.
On my way back from the ground on Friday, I got a mail from Drew Williams, the media manager at WBA, inviting me to the ground a couple of hours before match day on Saturday. I met Drew at the Tommy Glidden Media entrance which was insane because it gave me an inside view of what it is like inside a stadium before a match.
There were reporters and cameramen coming in from all the big media channels like the BBC and ITV, signing their names, collecting their media passes and there I was, a no one amidst all the busy and important people in football.
Drew took me to the pitchside, and as we were discussing our love for the Albion, the first team players started walking in. Soon enough I was taking photographs and getting my jersey signed by the likes of Jonny Evans, Darren Fletcher and Nacer Chadli. All this and I hadn’t yet watched my first game. This day couldn’t get any better could it?!
But It did. While I was busy getting star struck by the pitchside, Drew got a call on his mobile requesting him to let me know that Tony Brown would like me to come meet him at the media box.
Tony Brown is an Albion legend, having played over 700 games for the Albion, scoring over 250 goals, an FA Cup and a League Cup to his name. He is also an ex-England international. They call him ‘Bomber’ at the Albion for the spectacular goals he scored in his time.
For a man of his stature to ask me to come meet him was as humbling as it could get. From what I was told later, Bomber had spotted me by the pitchside and had asked people in the media box “Who’s that kid down there?”. He was told my story. “Get him up here.” he said. I was meeting Tony “Bomber” Brown, Wow!
While at the media Box, Head of Content at WBA, came across and asked me “What’s your shirt size? I think you need an upgrade.” I was wearing the first West Brom jersey I had ever owned as I wanted to watch my first game in that shirt, but that was not to be; in minutes I was presented with a new home shirt. I was having a difficult time coping up with all the love that was being showered on me by the club.
To be honest I wasn’t really expecting Albion to come away with much from the game. The football hasn’t been the best to watch off late, and the fans weren’t in the best of spirit, despite this being a home game. We were playing West Ham, a team that had finished 7th in the league last season. To be up 3-0 at half-time against West Ham was as bewildering for me as it was everyone else at the Smethwick End. It almost felt like they did it for me!
As you would expect with football and associated superstition, it wasn’t long before I was being called ‘the lucky charm’. The game finished four goals against two to the Albion, I won’t be lying if I’m saying the Albion haven’t played such good football for months.
17th of September, 2016 was a perfect day. I thought perfect days didn’t exist, but that’s changed for good. What a start to the trip! My next stop is Scotland where I plan to watch a game at two of Scotland’s most famous clubs – Celtic and Rangers at their respective grounds – Celtic Park and Ibrox. More on that soon.
