A day early? - Oh no we're not!
Video in the making
By BrianC
November 2 2004
When I am at one of our big events of the year and I know I have tasked myself with writing a craic report one thing I am always on the lookout for is a headline.
The headline for this piece came to me early in the weekend and in many ways sums up what our Saint Patrick's weekend has become for me and many other supporters, a major event in our social calendars. One that involves a lot more than just coming along on the day and watching a rugby game.
Three of our family, Giles, Stu and John Raff, arrived at the hotel just before lunch on Saturday. Reading FC were at home to Sunderland, those of you who have been to the Madejski on a soccer day will not need me to tell you that the atmosphere is very different. Police crawling all over the place, bouncers on the doors, etc. As they entered the hotel one of the bouncers said, "Here for the rugby? Don't you know you are a day early?" to this the resounding reply was "Oh no we're not!" Thus was the stage set for one of those fantastic weekends that London Irish the club and we the supporters do so very well.
As with all such weekends there was so much happening in so many different places that I will have no doubt missed a lot. I can only report that which I saw and heard. In my case the first pint of the black stuff was being set up for me before I reached the hotel. It was about half four on Saturday afternoon as my taxi tried to negotiate the police cordon around the stadium that the phone went, where was I and what did I want to drink? As we arrived in the hotel hugs and kisses all round, friendships were renewed, the weekend was well and truly underway.
We made it to the Allied Arms by about six, the joint was well and truly jumping. A good part of the afternoon's rugby viewing crowd were still there. They were being augmented by numbers of suspects both usual and unusual, a few Bath supporters, some American LI supporters had found their way there, I had some LI virgins with me, all in all it was quite a mix. The craic in the bar was fantastic, in particular the rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. It was very hard to drag ourselves away for our pre-booked curry but we managed it.
The curry was excellent, the booze flowed, the company was, as ever, as good as it gets. Time seemed to pass by in a haze, before I new it we were back at the hotel meal finished and a couple more drinks at the AA taken in. Everyone in my party, knowing what a long day we had the following one, resisted the temptation to go to O'Neils and watch the band play, some only just. From those who did go there I understand it was a great evening, it's certainly now on my list of things to do.
Back at the hotel a healthy crowd had assembled in the bar. Being the age I am and lacking the stamina I had in my youth I called it a day at around midnight. Come the following morning various people were blaming each other but I understand things went on until about three. There was a good number of people starting off the big day with hangovers.
After breakfast but before most people had arrived I took myself out to have a look around the ground. Now I do not want to be critical of the club, they are doing a fantastic job, but there are still lessons to be learnt about handling and catering to such large crowds. I would ask that whatever observations I have here are looked at in that context.
When first I looked at the concourse area my feelings were very mixed. On the plus side the food part of the equation seems to be getting much better. Four or five different stands, offering different products. Whilst not utopia this is a vast improvement on what was on offer last year.
Where I feel things were not so well organised was the Guinness bars. There were two small ones, both positioned together and, whilst they had been moved back a little from the stage they were still way too close to it. As the post-match entertainment was cancelled this can only be conjecture but I am certain that had it gone ahead there would have again been conflicts between the queues wanting to be served and the crush for the stage. These bars need to be bigger, separated if that is feasible and as far away from the stage area as they can be put. On the plus side, the idea of having mobile Guinness vendors, particularly inside the ground, was a good one although the quantity that was going into glasses was closer to a half pint than a full one - AG doesn't travel well - perhaps some adjustment in price should be made to allow for this?
I will have one further gripe, again I do stress that my complaints are minor ones, before I move on. On such a big event day as this the shop should be open both earlier and later. The fact that is was not is costing us valuable revenue. At eleven in the morning, just as I had tried to last year I, along with many others, wanted to engage in some retail therapy. It was closed. By the time I returned from balloon blowing and duty at 12.30 there was a queue stretching 50m out of the door. The mobile merchandise van was right outside the shop (Where at least one of the AG bars should have been). Now call me stupid if you like, you wouldn't be the first or last to do so, but if you have two outlets selling mostly the same stuff doesn't it make sense to have them well separated? Perhaps there is a logic such as the mobile shop being close to the Megastore's stock room but it escapes me.
In the hotel bar, the car park and elsewhere the clans gathered, I had my first pint at around 10.30. What I didn't know until the small hours of the following morning was that at about that same time Mrs H. was at church, complete with green boa. Again I'm reminded that the day is special in many different ways to many different people. In the case of Mrs H. and I whilst our starts to the day were both very different, they both involved London Irish and we did end up in the same bar fourteen hours later.
Pre-game for me was spent in three locations. The comfort of the hotel bar, the conviviality, despite the cold and rain, of the car park party and a spell inside the stadium wrestling with balloons and banners in the wind. Concerned about pressure on seating I was in situ an hour before the game.
Over the course of the weekend people will have heard me say several times 'This is what it is all about'. No more was this the case than in the period in the stand prior to the game. Everywhere I looked there were happy, smiling people. This was our day and we knew it. People were greeting each other like long lost friends as they came into the stand, others were standing up and waving at those they knew across rows of seats. There was food and booze flying all over the shop. It was amazing. I had brought some rugby virgins with me for this game. Their faces at this stage were a delight to see, they were really enjoying themselves, I know they'll be back next year if not before. If the look on someone's face could say 'This is fantastic' the one on theirs did.
As I was travelling back yesterday it occurred to me that I have only once before experienced anything like this in either club or international rugby. That was when on my Operation Rose trip to Toulouse last season I sat with Subtel up with their drummers. We have come such a long way in the 18 months since we first say the Toulousains in action. We still have some way to go to match them but we are heading in the right direction. In his report on the Bath site their editor Glen writes that he felt an excitement he would normally only associate with a cup final. This is how I'd like everyone to feel about the London Irish experience, at every home match. I firmly believe we can do it.
RichardNP has written an excellent match report and many have had their say on the messageboard so I will not dwell on that save to say that although we lost it was a decent performance. If only that last drop kick of Barry's.......'. As Rob has mentioned on the board I was initially disappointed with a crowd of 20840, there appeared to be a lot of gaps. In the ticket office the morning of the game I was told that 'We have less than 500 sets left, we'll be sold out by 1pm, it will be 23,000 something'. The question then is where did these two thousand odd disappear to? Kids go free tickets not used? Weather deterring people who'd bought tickets? Misinformation fed to us before the game? A combination of all those? Truth is we'll never know. Again as I was travelling back yesterday, having read Rob's post at the airport and agreed with it, I found my train of thought saying 'Catch yerself on Brian, we've broken the ZP record, almost 21k. What on earth are you disappointed by?' One special word for Digger, the naughtiest of naughty dogs, he had me and others in stitches mooning into a press photographers lens.
When it was announced with about 15 minutes of the match remaining that the craic had been cancelled it was a huge disappointment. Once I walked out of the stadium and saw what was left of the stage I fully understood why. Even now I shudder to think what might have happened, we could well have had serious injuries or even worse on our hands if the storm had hit us when there were ten thousand people in and around the stage. Given the circumstances they were quite right to cancel the music and I fully understand that they were unable to provide an alternative. It is crushingly disappointing that this happened but sometimes, as they say 'shit happens'.
The weather again making the conditions outside inhospitable I headed for the hotel bar. Being a resident I was able to walk past the crowds who were struggling to get in. Amongst these was Amanda (Sorry but he already knew you weren't my wife). In general I think the hotel coped well but, like others, I was a bit uncomfortable with the bouncers and their occasional officiousness. They are more used to big soccer crowds than rugby ones, I'm sure a part of this stemmed from that.
As one would expect it was a very long evening. By our very high standards it was in fact a quiet one. When I left the bar at about three there was only a dozen or so people left in it. At a similar stage last year there were perhaps forty or fifty. No doubt this was partly due to the events outside being curtailed. One particular highlight of the evening was Joe Moran from the band being joined on the spoons by Spud Murphy. It was the first time I've had a chance to speak to Spud, he really is a lovely guy. Spud aside there was little or no sign of the players in the hotel post match this year, not that it really mattered.
On a personal note it was great to meet so many of you again and to get the opportunity to put new faces to names however briefly. For me at a big event such as this it is almost embarrassing. There are so may people I know and like that I get such little time to chat with. Such is life at London Irish once you get sucked into this community as Aly and I have.
Some of you will know that I have done a lot of work looking at attendances not just those of LI but also of other clubs. I'll publish detailed figures and my interpretation of them this summer. For now I cannot begin to explain to you just how excited I am about the direction our club is moving in. If we maintain just our average growth from the last seven years we will in three years time be challenging Leicester as the best supported club in the country. In five years time we will be the best supported one. I have no doubt that, regardless of what happens on the field, we will get there. If we actually start winning things goodness knows what will happen.
A very special weekend at the heart of a very special club. We are lucky people indeed to be a part of it.