Go, Chelsea!

Some time back I blogged about baseball and trains, and how they're related. Well, being here in London has driven that point home for me even more.

Today, Amy and I went to Stamford Bridge in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to try to get in to see the Blues play Machester City. To get there, we naturally took the Tube, and from the area of Westminster that our hotel is in it took only two trains and about a 20 minute ride. However, as most Blues fans also take the Tube, the trains were completely packed in. It was a very tight fit, but no one pushed or shoved and everyone was quite polite. Seems that it's a given that the trains to the stadium on match day will always be packed to the gills, so people just go with the flow. And it conveniently lets out at Fulham Broadway station, which is a mere block from the stadium. It couldn't be more convenient.

Sadly, the match was completely sold out. Instead, we went to an Irish pub two blocks up the road from the stadium where we met a couple of fun blokes named Roger and Wayne, who were just a hoot to hang out with. Wayne in particular is a die-hard fan Chelsea; he had on him, among other things, a Chelsea wallet, lapel pin, scarf, away jersey and a tattoo on his calf of the club logo. (Your picture is on its way to you, Wayne, once we get back.)

Disappointingly,  the Blues lost 4-2, but as of this writing are still at the top of the table with 61 points, if only by a point. So while I was glad in the end not to have spent money on tickets into the stadium, we had a great time watching the match in the pub with our new friends. And our journey to and from Stamford Bridge was a good deal less hassle than driving into and out of Dodger Stadium. Not that it'll keep me away, but still...