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A look back at Saturday from the stands of Old Trafford
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I’ve been to some extremely fun stadiums in London so far, but there’s definitely a different feel around Old Trafford in Manchester. Maybe it’s because there aren’t so many teams in the city, or maybe it’s just the history of the club, but there’s a distinctive feel as you get off the tram and march down the hill toward the stadium. It’s something like walking down the Yellow Brick Road with Oz in sight. And even though Manchester is a big city, the stadium sits in a semi-remote area and gives off a small-town vibe, which is nice.
Heading up to watch Saturday’s Hull City game, I wondered what the feel of the stadium and the club itself would be. Manchester United is obviously a global brand, and you can’t escape that feeling when you enter the team megastore in next to the stadium. You can buy anything and everything with the United logo on it, and it’s impossible to get away from the commercialized aura.
Still, I was surprised to find that beyond the big nature of this club is a very homey feel – even if it is you and 85,000 of your closest friends on a Saturday. From all the people hanging out on the road enjoying a pre-game pint to all the fathers leading their sons (with a Ronaldo jersey on, of course) down the hill to Old Trafford, you really get a sense just how much this city cares about this club. It borders on religion, and the fanaticism obviously won’t be leaving family bloodlines any time soon.
In itself, Old Trafford is a great place to watch a game. As I tried to be cheap when getting my ticket, I ended up in the third to last row, but from there I had a great view of the action from midfield even though the overhanging roof kept me from seeing the sunshine. A smaller place like White Hart Lane is certainly more intimate, but for how big it is, Old Trafford certainly does well. Perhaps the best part is the atmosphere, which was passionate and continuous throughout the game. Coming off of an Arsenal game a month ago that was a little lacking in that regard, I thoroughly enjoyed the change.
On the field, well, you saw the best and worst of United. They easily could have had eight goals, and Cristiano Ronaldo looks like he’s back in form at this point (the touch, turn and shot on his first goal was absolutely sublime). However, United barely put away an extremely feisty Hull team , and Sir Alex Ferguson had to be wondering where the consistency is. This team certainly has the talent, but will they produce enough consistent performances to live up to last season’s standards? Time shall tell, and we’ll see how they handle Celtic away tonight.
