An American’s Arsenal Journey; from Miami to Islington

Do you remember the first time you saw Arsenal play live? Maybe you were a kid going with your family. What feelings came over you? Elation. Belonging.

Being a football fan is about experiencing the story of the club you love in an intimate and connected fashion. Some stories may share certain motifs with other people’s, but in the end, they are all unique. This is mine.

Elwood’s; Where it all began

I have been a staunch member of the Miami Arsenal Supporter’s Club (lovingly referred to as MASC), since its inception. We used to watch our games at this outdated little hole-in-the-wall English Pub in downtown Miami called Elwood’s Gastropub. The owner of Elwood’s was an English expat, who was, ironically, a Chelsea supporter.

The beer was good and so was the food. The floor was perpetually sticky, and the bathroom door would not actually close, though. Regardless, it was our home and all its tenants shared in our triumphs and heartaches.

Tragically, Elwood’s closed down when the owner vanished back to England overnight. Despite that, my memories there are some of the best I have had as an Arsenal fan. These would spark the desire to one day make my spiritual pilgrimage to the home of the Gunners.

I was sitting in Elwood’s watching us play Manchester City at the Emirates. Whilst I try to search back in my memory, the score line alludes me – probably for good reason. What I do remember was that, for some reason, this match drew me into the crowd more than it usually did.

Watching the sea of red and white, juxtaposed against the greener-than-green carpet that is the Emirates’ pitch, I remember longing to be there more than I ever have. Thinking of how lucky all the local fans were. To be able to just jump on the underground and see the Arsenal in person whenever they wanted.

It was easy to lament that I had not heard the roar of the Red and White Army. How we sing about Arsenal being by far the greatest team the world has ever seen.

In truth, I felt incomplete as a fan because I have never seen Arsenal kick a football other than on TV. I will say it here and now; myself and the millions of others no different than any season ticket holder. Loving this club is all that matters as far as I’m concerned.

Football fandom is qualitative, not quantitative. It is not about how many matches you have been to; it is about whether you truly bleed red and white. Yet, it was only natural to have that yearn for that blood to circulate whilst being within the walls of the Emirates.

The journey

2015, Arsenal vs Manchester City. I had finally saved up enough and had travelled across the vast Atlantic to fulfil my dream. I had just started my podcast and, through some connections, was able to get a guest pass to watch the team bus arrive at the stadium before the match, in addition to a stadium tour with the iconic Charlie George.

First and foremost, the Highbury district is gorgeous. The quaint, tree-lined streets were littered with the scattered and colorful detritus of the previous fall. The feeling of Christmas was in the air and the tension of the impending match over the weekend was palatable.

The area was calm as I walked my way towards the Emirates, passing the residential skeleton that was once my club’s former home, Highbury stadium. The moment was surreal and, in a weird way, disconsolate having missed my chance to ever see a match there. Rather than dwell on it, I made my way from the past and into the present.

I will never forget seeing the stadium appear in the distance, the dizzying sense of derealization as I walked up the steps to look at the pitch for the first time in my life. I will certainly never forget looking down into the declining rows of empty red seats into the mezzanine and watching the Emirates ground materialize like a giant neon-green ocean against the dreary grey of the English winter sky. It was transformative.

For the rest of the day, I floated around like I was in a dream, waiting to wake up in my bed at any minute. Instead, I awoke to matchday in London. The tension was visceral leading up to the match given our relative league position and what a win could mean for us. I was seated near the left of the goal in the Clock End. Before making way to my seat, I was able to go through the media entrance where I met the mercurial Robert Pires and the then burgeoning cult hero Francis Coquelin.

The players started unloading from the bus and out strides Arsene Wenger. He shook my hand as he walked by and gave me a wink – utterly surreal. As I made my way to my seat, Ian Wright was standing twenty feet from me giving an interview in front of the premier league trophy. He waived when I sang his name like a crazed lunatic – no threat of turning heads would have ever held back the urge.

The roars and chants of the crowd began lining the stadium. Red Action had planned for us to hold up red and white plastic that made the atmosphere feel more like a Champions League bout than a Premier League one.

A Theo Walcott goal right in front of my position was encored with an Olivier Giroud strike on the stroke of half time. A Yaya Toure consolation came late on, but the Gunners held on to claim all 3 points. It had happened, I was part of it. The sensation was unrivalled.

What it meant

The trip changed me as a fan. It made me feel connected to this team in a very real and tangible way. I understand why domestic fans might think that you really can’t understand being an Arsenal fan until you’ve seen a match live; I think the reality is more that you obtain a different perspective once you have been amongst the crowd.

People have all different ways of supporting Arsenal, there is no one right way to do it. I would be disingenuous if I said that fans are not missing out on something truly special by seeing Arsenal in person, but I would also be naïve if I did not say those fans probably know that more than anyone.

A seat in the stadium is not to be taken for granted. If you are yet to find your time in the buzz of a matchday in North London, I truly hope you can one day experience it. It will change you, as it has done me.

By Jon @305cast