England 2016

It’s Villa Match Day!

Ever since he saw Villa Park and was pitch-side back in 2006, Andrew has wanted to attend a match in person. When Kathy, LeAnn, and I did this last May – his passion for wanting this grew again!

John and Marianne insisted Andrew and I come back as soon as possible, so with this week being his Spring Break from teaching – we were able to make it happen sooner than we all thought!

With our matching Villa club ties on (and a requested “Andrew and Charingworth Manor” photo out of the way), we head out to Birmingham!

Arriving at Villa Park, we head over to the Club Shop – picking up a few items for us and the girls back home (!). I’m wearing my new Villa t-shirt as I write this particular journal! 🙂

We store our goodies in the back of the Edwardian vehicle and head into the Trinity Road Entrance to go upstairs. While walking down to McGregor’s (our VIP restaurant destination!), Andrew and I duck out into the stadium itself and just “take in” Villa Park before the fans get there.

He really notices the difference between Villa Park and The Britannia immediately.

We go into McGregor’s and enjoy a quick glass of champagne and a pre-dinner appetizer (and saying “hello” again to our friend Adel, who waited on us last May as well!).

Before the pre-match meal, though, it’s time for a personal trip pitch-side!

Walking alongside the famous Villa Park pitch really enforces how much the reputation is deserved. It’s almost like velvet – but we’re told that we can’t actually step foot onto it… yet. 😉

There “just happens to be” an official Villa photographer nearby, so we get a great shot of the four of us with the famous Holte End behind us. It looks like a promotional shot for a new BBC comedy series “The Holte Enders”. 🙂

As we were walking towards the player tunnels to peek down them, we hear a voice from the stands calling out to Marianne and John. It turns out to be Jack Woodward, Villa radio commentator, who is friends with them. He comes out pitchside and we share a few laughs with him. Of course, we get a photo, too!

He has me tweet the photo to him, and he retweets it to Villa Nation!

Like we did last May, we got to sit in the Villa home dugout. I made sure Andrew got a solo shot in the dugout, too… the look on his face expresses how much fun he had and how much this day meant to him (and to me, too!).

On our way back up to McGregor’s, we have an “unplanned surprise” as the lift stalls out about 1/3 of the way up to the proper floor. It’s a tiny tiny lift to begin with, so we’re glad when the “rescue crew” opens the door and I can (literally) turn around and sit on the floor to get myself out – and then the rest of our group follows. Another memorable experience… Ha! 😀

Before we can get situated at the table, though, Marianne and John have *YET ANOTHER* surprise for us. Their friend, Carol, high up in the Villa membership management team, has arranged for some special “goodies” to be delivered to me and Andrew… and what “goodies” they are!!!

The Villa plush throw will definitely go to the girls back home (they both love their blankets!), but the champagne plus the signed ball *AND* kit (and a few other items) are just AMAZING! Before we can get over this amazing set of gifts, our table is approached by Villa legend and Captain of the 1982 European Cup winning Villa team, Dennis Mortimer. Andrew and I, of course, immediately get our photo taken with him and have him sign our programs. Total fanboy moment, but I regret nothing! 🙂

Carol whisks us down the hallway, where we’re introduced to two more Villa legends, Kenny Swain and John Deehan. The photo to the left is of Marianne, me, and Andrew holding our signed kits up with Kenny and John with the pre-match Villa Park behind us!

We haven’t even caught our breath yet, and we’re off again!

It’s time to return to McGregor’s and enjoy our awesome lunch (and spectacular desert!) before the match actually starts.

The bell rings announcing it’s near kickoff, and everyone starts filing out from the restaurant to our seats… and they’re every bit as amazing as I remember, but Andrew’s really really impressed!

Even though there are some noticeably empty seats, seeing the Villa banner unfurl in the Holte End will *never* get old… after all — THIS IS VILLA PARK.

The match starts, and Andrew and I are following every move both on and off the ball.

We pay particular attention to USMNT and Villa goalkeeper, Brad Guzan. While Brad hasn’t had the best season with Villa, a lot has to do with the line in front of him – and neither goal today could really be faulted to him.

Villa has another rough day, coming up on the short end of a 2-nil defeat to Tottenham. It’s a very sad state of affairs here, as Villa look like they’re going to be relegated to the Championship League (2nd level professional league) at the end of the season. The fans are, rightly, disappointed and disgusted – some laying the blame directly at the feet of Villa’s American owner, Randy Lerner.

Post-match, we return to McGregor’s for some more “refreshments” (!!), and while we’re enjoying those, Dennis Mortimer comes by our table and tells me and Andrew to “follow me and bring your programs!“

He takes us down to the “private” former players’ lounge where he has Andrew stand with him in front of a huge photo taken in 1982 of him and the team manager holding the European Cup — of course, he and Andrew recreate that moment (photo to the right!).

Dennis is an incredibly gracious host, walking us around to multiple team members — introducing us as “visiting Texans!” and having them sign our programs. Since Villa had recently done a pre-season tour of the US (including playing in Frisco where Andrew and I saw them!), several of these guys had fond memories of Texas — with one player signing “Don’t Mess With Texas!” with his name!

Before we were done, Dennis and Kenny took a great picture with Andrew in front of another 1982 photo (of the two of them!). Again – a tremendous experience that we thought would’ve been the icing on the cake … little did we know.

When we got back to the table, we were taken down pitch-side again … and this time, our escort (Alan) spotted the head groundskeeper. Alan told him that we “were visiting Villa fans from Texas” and asked if we could actually step *onto* the pitch!

Much to our pleasure, we were allowed onto that amazing velvet pitch! 🙂

Andrew steps into the net and is immediately ready to defend the Villa goal with the Holte End behind him!

John and Marianne join Andrew, and suddenly it looks like a Keystone Kops routine in goal… which some disgruntled Villa fans might have said would have been appropriate. (ouch)

A more formal portrait of the four of us in goal later, and a few more photos, we reluctantly leave the pitch.

As we return to Oakleigh House and enjoy a “farewell drink and conversation”, we reflect on *yet another* perfect English vacation. We’ve done things that we’ll remember forever, and we will be indebted to our “English family” for the amazing memories that we’ve shared.

Until the next time we’re together (planning the next English invasion of Texas?), we exchange our hugs and farewells – we’re heading down to London in the morning and a return home with full hearts and overflowing memories (and luggage!).

Hope you enjoyed these journals… I enjoyed remembering the details to write them!