In the 2nd part of the latest 'Spurs with a Side of Barbeque' article, James Pike continues his trip to NYC and the famous NYSpurs Supports Club to take in the Everton Match.
Darren seemed pleasantly surprised by my story, but he also seemed like he enjoyed it. We proceeded to talk a little during the first half, but didn’t say all that much to each other since we were both focused on the game. The only bits I was able to get out were about how I was surprised at our non-lack of width that I thought would come without Bale and Lennon on the pitch, and how we still lacked creativity in the final third, even with all of the possession we had in the first half.
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Before I realised it, the second half had started, and I found myself in the heart of the pit of fans standing before a T.V. on the other side of the bar. It was during this time that Mirallas made his dazzling run to put Everton up 2-1, and that I began to realise just how pitiful the referees were this match. I wasn’t near as vocal as some of the other supporters in their displeasure (there were more than a few F-bombs sent the referees’ way), but I certainly didn’t disagree with them. It wasn’t like Andre Marriner and his crew were giving Everton questionable fouls (although they were, for a large part of the game)-those will always be arguable for either side. No, these were balls that were clearly deflected off Everton players, yet were still given decisions that were in the Toffees’ favour. Calls that by the book, should have been given decisions that benefited us, and are absolutely inexcusable to miss when you are referring at the Premier League level. I wasn’t that vocal about it, but inside, I was just as pissed off as the rest of the group. It was, without question, the worst refereed match we have been a part of all season long.
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By the time we hit the 85th minute, we were all at a fever pitch, hoping and praying that someone would punch in one of the numerous chances that we had had over the course of
the half. Then came Ade’s shot off the post, and Siggy’s cool rebound into the back of the net. At long last, we had our equaliser!
Naturally, the whole bar erupted. Just about everybody went jumping around like mad, and the clean white shirt that I had purchased only minutes ago promptly fell to the floor and picked up all sorts of dark-brown Guinness stains in the process. But I didn’t care much- it isn’t like I can’t wash that out, right? This was all followed by a grand chorus that sang the opening to Chas ‘n Dave’s “Spurs Medley” (you probably don’t know the song by its name, but better by the lyrics of “It’s a grand old team to play for…” and the like).
With our equaliser in hand, everyone began urging the side on to try and get the winner. The last 6 minutes of the game were just as nervy as the last 30 had been, but it all came to no avail, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. At match’s end, about half of the crowd took off; having had little time to meet many of the New York Spurs before the match, I was slightly disappointed that I wouldn’t have much of a chance to meet the people who were leaving.
To my delight, there were some New York Spurs that stayed, and I was more than happy to meet them and tell them more about my little project some 900 kilometres to the south. I had the presence of mind to create some cards to hand out if by chance any of the folks in attendance were headed our way soon and needed a place to watch Spurs, and I left all of them to everyone who had decided to stick around. In the meantime, I spoke to folks like Noah, whom with which I agreed that Dempsey has little future in AVB’s system, and Zach, who fed us updates on Sunderland’s collapse at Stamford Bridge, and one fellow whose name I can’t remember at the moment, but was visiting from Boston, played in a band that travelled down the East Coast and figured to be in North Carolina at some point, and was all excited about heading to New York Giants’ stadium later that night to catch WrestleMania 29 (you’ll know who you are when you read this- my apologies for drawing a blank on your name)!
As I looked at my phone, I realised that it was 11:30 A.M. now, and that I would have to return to the apartment that I was staying in if I was to get a decent meal for lunch and pack up before catching my flight from JFK to Charlotte-Douglas later that afternoon. I met a few more folks, including Irish Dave (@IrishDaveNYSpur), took some pictures of the place where we had spent the past hour and a half, left my cards with Brett (like they would serve any purpose to me- they would be far more handy in the hand of New Yorkers!), and said my goodbyes to the remaining crowd.
As I left, I told the New York Spurs the following, and I want to repeat it for the rest of the world:
That you all have been fantastic folks who have a fantastic group of Spurs supporters and a fantastic home bar in O’Casey’s, and that I want to thank you all for being so gracious and letting me come visit and watch the game with you all, even if I didn’t get to meet everyone like I had hoped. Should any one of you happen to be down in the Tar Heel State, shoot me a line of contact, and I will do my best to set you up with a group of Spurs supporters down here for a match the same way that you all did for me. I can only hope that our groups in Raleigh/ Durham and in Charlotte are as successful as this one in a few years!
And with that, I proceeded down the stairs, out of O’Casey’s, and back towards Grand Central, confident that I had made some new brothers and sisters in Spurs, and delighted to have done my small part in connecting Spurs fans across the country.
Some part of me was bright enough to get video of the celebration right after Siggy’s goal to tie the match. That can be found here: http://on.fb.me/10HHj43
I also was able to get a panorama shot of the bar at O’Casey’s where we all watched the game. That can be found here: www.on.fb.me/Z74fKi
New York Spurs’ site: www.nyspurs.com/
O’Casey’s site: www.ocaseysnyc.com/
Provided nothing crazy happens, I’ll talk to you all after the Basel match. No Bale, no Lennon...what's the worst that could happen. right?
James
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Part 5-2?
ReplyDeleteNot a combo of numbers we want to see ever again!