When it was announced that Arsenal were coming the Charlotte, there was never a question of If we were going, but where were we going to sit. Tickets went on sale early in the year so it was the perfect birthday present for the twins in April. We just hoped they could wait it out.
It was well over 90 degrees game day, so I can't tell you how happy I am how the day panned out. Thanks to a neighbor, we got a parking spot close-ish to the stadium and we walked through the Fan Fest at Romare Bearden Park, where the boys got a couple of fake tattoo's, and soaked in the atmosphere. The family got to pose in front to the 2004 Invincible's trophy. We were near the stage when they bought out Arsenal's Rob Holding and 2 of Leland's favorites, Hector Bellerin and Pierre Aubamayang. His head almost exploded. We then marched the 3 block to the BofA stadium with the Arsenal Supporter's club which definitely had the crowd pumped.
Unfortunately the atmosphere inside the ground didn't live up to the pre-game hype. While we had some excellent seats in the shade the whole game and near the air-conditioned concession area, we looked across to a near empty east side of the stadium, where folks must have roasted in the blistering heat. Also I'm not sure Fiorentina was a big drawcard for Charlotte. I saw more Liverpool, Man U and Chelsea shirts than Fiorentina's. Initially Arsenal was supposed to play Roma, but they had to withdraw to qualify for the Europa League. Though I'd not seen so many Arsenal shirts since we went to Highbury in 2005.
The game was entertaining with Arsenal dominating. Not sure how those players survived out there but I'm sure they were appreciative of the many substitutions that were aloud. While Arsenal looked shaky at the back at times, going forward was aggressive and fun to watch. A deserved victory for the Gunners.
I love that these games come to Charlotte each year, and already looking forward to seeing who'll play next year. Whoever it is, we'll be watching from the same shaded seats.
Crowd: 34,902
No comments:
Post a Comment