Fulham vs Tottenham

So I finally went to my first English Premier League game and it is a night I will never forget. The game was at Craven Cottage in Fulham London, a small ground in which one of my favorite American players Clint Dempsey plays.  Fulham is located in West London, Tottenham is located in North London, so it had the added bonus of being a London Derby.  5 of the 20 teams in the top flight are from London! That would be like having 5 football team in NY, it is pretty nuts how competitive the games get.

So here is what my Sunday was like.

7:00: woke up early just due to the excitement of being able to watch some of the best footballers and my beloved Spurs play for the first time.  I managed to kill time by getting breakfast and in general trying to find things to do.

11:00: check to make sure I know how to get to the stadium and sure enough there is a route update.  The district line was delayed to a signal malfunction and possibly closed.  I took off right then knowing that if the district line was shut down I would be fighting tons of people to get to Fulham.

11:30: the district line is up and running, but touch slower due to the signal failure.

12:00: I arrive at Putney Bridge underground station with the only directions is to walk through the park and you will arrive at Craven Cottage.  I start walking, it is about a 0.7 mile walk.

12:20: After wandering through the park along the River Thames I see Craven Cottage. I have arrived!

12:30: I pick up my ticket from the ticket office

13:00: I decided to walk around and check out the stadium.  As I said it is on the River Thames as well as being in the middle of a posh neighborhood.  I really like the look of the outside of the stadium and keeping the original brick facade from 1905 when the stand on Stevenage Road was built!

 Stevenage Road Facade and original stand from 1905.

 On the banks of the River Thames, and a glimpse of the Michael Jackson statue.

A tiny walkway between the park and Craven Cottage.

A look down a street at Craven Cottage.

13:30: I am on twitter trying to figure out what pub the Tottenham supports are and I locate the pub.  It is packed and standing room only with at least 200 supports wearing jerseys, scarfs and other merchandise all with the Tottenham logo adorned.  I had a quick pint and sang songs for a bit.

14:15: I arrive into the stadium on the Putney End where my seat was located.

And yes those are some of the tiniest turnstiles you will ever go through.

The original Stevenage Road Stands, notice the wood seats! 

14:20: I get to my seat and take stock of being in an actual football ground about to watch my favorite team play.  My ticket was pretty good.  I was about 10 yards from the field on the corner flag behind the goal.

The pitch is elevated slightly so I will probably never sit so close to the field again, but pretty amazing either way!

14:50: I see two Tottenham players walk out of the tunnel (right next to corner flag) and it happens to be Gareth Bale and Kyle Walker.  Bale is a left winger and Walker is the right back, both only 22 and some of the best players at their positions.

15:00: I managed to get a picture with Gareth Bale, and to be honest I was completely overwhelmed just being at the ground let alone meeting a player that I have watched for the last 3 years every weekend and this is what happens.

A crazy look and a bad setting for the picture to be taken.  I can't help myself, I didn't know what was happening after shaking Bale's had.  The Spurs supporters have a song for Bale and it starts off as "Gareth BAAALLLLLE, He was born the play for the Spurs!" I didn't know what to do or think at this point

15:30: The Spurs where warming up directly in front of my seat.  I couldn't believe the size of many of the players, some could be tight-ends in American football with their size.

 The front line of players are the starters.

Doing warm up jogs.

15:45: The Fulham players are heading to the locker room after warming up on the other side of the field and I get a picture of Clint Dempsey (the American that currently holds the record for most goals scored in a season in Europe as well as the all time goal scorer in Europe) waving to his wife and kids.  He is also my favorite USA national player.

16:00: My first premier league game ever kicks off! It was a thrilling first half with Tottenham defending my end and attacking the other side.  Tottenham took a 2-0 lead heading into halftime that they didn't deserve.  Fulham had the majority of possession but the Spurs took advantage of their time on the ball.  2 great goals, the end I was sitting on couldn't tell they were goals until we say the players celebrating!  It is hard to tell from that distance when the ball goes into the back of the net.

17:00: The second half start with Fulham still controling possession and finally getting a goal 10 minutes into the second half.  The Spurs fans go quiet and we all start biting out nails and have looks of pain on our faces as Fulham continue to attack.

17:30: Fulham keep pressing and it is hard to tell if the Spurs are going to hold onto the win.  

17:45: Jermain Defoe scored a 3rd for Tottenham putting them up 3-1 and the full time whistle sounds seconds after the goal.  A great grinding result for the Spurs that would have been a loss in previous years, there is talk that Tottenham might be title contenders ( I don't agree).  The win means that the Spurs have 7 wins and 1 tie in the last 8 games!

18:00: After the final whistle the Spurs fans are in full chorus chanting and singing in support for our boys as they leave the pitch.  My favorite is for Ledly King, the Spurs captain and arguably the best defender in England but he has major injury problems that prevents him from training during the week. The song goes " Oh Ledly Ledy you only have one knee and are better than John Terry!" John Terry is the England National Team captain...no love loss between him and Spurs.

As the players left the pitch they were more than willing to acknowledge the traveling fans!








18:00: I knew that it would be pointless to try to get on the train so soon after the game so I decided to stop at the pub that I went to before the game with all the Spurs fans and sure enough we were still singing and chanting about the win while drinking a few pints.



I will never ever forget my first English Premier League game I went to.  It was one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had.  I might have been freezing and worried that the Spurs were going to lose but it was worth every second.



I love the Seattle Sounders and am impressed with the support that we generate at each home and away game, but nothing compares to what I experienced at Craven Cottage.  A true footballing display of which I have never known before.  The fans were amazing from both sides.  I had no trouble wearing my teams colors. 


I am now more excited for the next game I get to go to which is Spurs v Aston Villa at White Hart Lane.  I'm excited to know what being the home team feels like!  In the mean time I'm off to Paris to watch the USMNT play France with 750 other US supporters, should be another great experience.


I wish I was able to convey the excitment and how amazing this game was for me.  Hopefully you got an idea of what I experienced while I was there.