Jacko
Moonrise over the Johnny Haynes Stand
The SSN staff's trip to England is about more than watching footie- we came together across the pond to witness as one of our own, staff contributor Alec "Tracksuit Bottoms" Thomson entered the joyful confines of matrimony. We staffers decided that a bachelor party was in order and because drinking, gambling and nudity are frowned upon in England we determined that taking him out for a bit of Europa League action was our only option. FC Twente were in town and because early round Europa League isn't actually considered scintillating action by many tickets were cheap and plentiful. Fifteen minutes on the Fulham website 2 weeks before the match found us sitting in row 4 next to the benches for the bargain price of £15. Sanford and I rode the tube down and enjoyed a couple of quick beers at a pub aptly named the Temperance then wandered through the park to Craven Cottage as the sun set. Beautiful. We found the groom who'd come from a quick visit with his mother, grabbed the tickets and headed into the ground.
After a quick visit with Al Fayad's insane Michael Jackson statue, smartly located inside the ground thus requiring all pilgrims to buy a match ticket, we got to the seats and enjoyed a rather static 1-1 draw. I won't get much into the details aside from saying that Twente were slow to break but well organized and Fulham's concentration seems to come and go. Both goals were well taken, Andy Johnson showed he's still got something left to give, Fulham's new #10 Patjim Kasami is a long way from integrated into the team and Danny Murphy's scrappy organizational game is just as fun to watch in person. We spent some time at the half watching the boaters paddle by on the Thames then took in a second half which was fairly devoid of excitement. After the final whistle we took the Thames path out of the stadium which led us on an over-long walk though residential Fulham before hailing a cab and getting the groom to bed with plenty of time to spare. On the ride home we saw a fox ambling down the sidewalk of a major London street; I'm not sure if it was a good omen or just plain weird but it certainly provided a nice final memory of a wonderful evening.
Fulham throw in. We were this close all match.
View from behind the Riverside Stand
The Editor, The Bachelor, The Bobbie
The Groom signs a lifetime deal as the Club Chairman smiles.
