A visit to The Theater of Dreams

Definition of Football :-  Association football, more commonly known as soccer or simply football, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball. These were “literally” the first laws of football, formed in the rooms of Cambridge University in 1848, even before the FA was formed. So along with laws of motion and evolution by Newton and Darwin, laws of football share the same birth place. Who would have thought that?

Coming to the present and as thankful as we are to those geniuses, what matters now is that football today is not only a multi-billion dollar industry but has also become a world sport in true sense. No other activity on the planet brings more people together than a 90 minute game of football. I am sure a certain Englishman Mr. Ebenezer Cobb Morley would have agreed.

The South Americans might play this game beautifully, but nothing quite matches the passion of football in the UK, especially in England where the first match ever was played in 1863. Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to see one of the biggest matches of the season in the English Premier League. The EPL is one of the biggest leagues in the world and Manchester United FC is arguably the biggest and most prestigious club in the World. With a fan following of more than 100 million around the world, the club reaches new heights of footballing glory every year. Although the city is on a football-alert every match day but when Manchester United plays their arch rivals Arsenal, everyone gets ready for a nerve wrecking encounter. In simple terms, this is the fixture both parties wait for the entire season. It is the battle of the biggest in England and I was lucky enough to have been able see the most recent one on May 16th 2009.

The tickets are easily available online and even at the stadium if booked at the right time, which does not mean that their availability is in abundance. A club of the size of Manchester United has ticket options in many different schemes and packages. Apart from normal ticket, season tickets is something most commonly heard off. It is a ticket for all the matches played at Old Trafford for the current season. Where the normal ones ranges from 27-50 pounds, the season ticket costs from 513 – 900 pounds which includes all the cup and league matches played at the stadium. Speaking of which, the Old Trafford stadium of Manchester United is no less than a fortress. With a capacity of more than 76,000 the stadium becomes an arena of hardcore fans supporting their club during the ups and down during the course of a season.  We shall come to stadium bit later, as first comes the matter of tickets.  Reaching there on the match day and buying the ticket is practically impossible as they are all sold out. Unless of course you are willing to pay 5 times the price and purchase them in black. One has to book them well in advance to ensure a seat in the stadium. The hospitality packages offer a wide range of elite viewing of the match. The executive boxes are located all across the stadium having private balconies on the top level where the Manchester United staff offers a first class hospitality. Plasma screen televisions & exquisite dishes make the already exciting experience quite unique. Just like the football team, the hospitality at Manchester united also has no upper limits. Moving a step further, located in the corner Quadrants of the stadium are the highly rated suites and lounges for supreme viewing and pleasure at Old Trafford. All of these dedicated to the history, glory and achievements of the club. Where tribute to the players and personalities like Sir Matt Busby, Sir Bobby Charlton & Sir Alex Ferguson is paid in the Knights Lounge, Captains Lounges, 100 Club & 500 Club, the history and achievements of the club is cherished in the 1966 & 1999 suites. A few more suites dedicated to the club ensures a full range of five star hospitality at this majestic stadium.

Arriving at Manchester United’s home ground Is far more easier than getting hold of the tickets. The stadium is located only half a mile away from the Manchester Metrolink station. And believe me, on the match day this walk towards the gigantic stadium builds up the excitement all the more. One can also opt for a coach which drops off at the Manchester Central Coach Station. This station is about 4 miles from Old Trafford and should the weather permit, it is also not a bad walk at all.
As I got closer to the ground the surroundings were becoming more and more about football. Banners and flags marked Manchester United’s territory at every corner.  Hotdog stands and stalls of funky apparels were buzzing of football and T-shirt prints were mocking the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool FC. Everything within the 100 meters of the stadium was about football. The supporters were clad in most expressive way to support their teams. T shirts, track pants, shorts, skirts, scarves, caps, you name it. Everything from head to toe was about their football team.

For a lunchtime fixture, the gathering starts about 3 hours prior to kick off. The regular activities like chanting, singing songs & slogans, blowing horns were taking their toll as we were nearing the opening of gates. The sight of the stadium as one gets closer is quite surreal in its own sense. It falls no short of a fortress and gives you a feeling of entering a coliseum where gladiators are about to fight for their lives. It is well taken care of by the local police and official MUFC stands are all around for assistance. From these stalls you can also pick up the latest United Review Magazine which has all the details about the match, latest news about the players, staff and Sir Alex, clubs activities and the regular tit bits a football fanatic would want. Right outside the front of the stadium is the statue of the legendary Sir Matt Busby which never fails to grab attention from the fans. Opposite to this is the newly unveiled statue of the United Trinity. Sir Bobby Charlton standing alongside Dennis Law & George Best celebrating the triumph of the 1968 European Cup and were widely regarded as the finest attacking trio ever.

Another aspect which is to be considered, should you visit Manchester only for the match, is where to stay? The convenience of The Premier Inn Hotel being right opposite to the stadium was no good for me as I visited Manchester for that day only. But there was no harm in enquiring the details of this fancy hotel which was located a minute away from the ground. The premier Inn hotel offers fine rooms at only 63 pounds a night. With its unique location and the moderate price, this hotel provides just about the perfect place for spending the weekend if you are coming to Manchester to see the red devils in action. But just as the tickets, these rooms are also not easily available around big matches and are often booked by the supporters of the visiting teams.

In spite of much effort I could not manage to get the tickets for the executive boxes. The only sad part of going for big matches is that you might not get the seats you really want, but as luck would have it, I managed the next best thing. A seat in the north east quadrant right after the executive boxes, gave a superb view of all the action. I made sure to reach inside as soon as possible to have a look inside and one thing I can say for sure is that the five-star-UEFA-rated-all-seater-football-stadium is abslutrly fantastic to say the least. 76,212 seats, all clad in red color surrounded the lush green pitch. For an avid Manchester United fan for last 10 years, it was quite a spectacle for me. Every inch of the huge stadium was taken care by a very helpful team of the MUFC staff who would guide you to your seat. As the match kicked off, not a single seat was left empty. Several thousand people were singing the same song and a 50 feet flag was passed all around the stadium which made the whole experience electric. Everyone had opinions about teams, players and current league situation. We were having discussions at half time about what should be done as it went scoreless. It was like watching a live match with a few thousand football pundits crazy about Manchester United. The passion of the fans saw no limits. The cafeterias in the stadium had good stuff to munch on and a chilled pint of beer gave my hyper excitement a little break.

The match had its up and downs and sadly it ended in a goalless draw. Both teams sharing a point each was a fair result of the afternoon. Even this kind of even performance did not take anything away from the euphoria inside. I can only imagine the stadium exploding of cheers on the days when United are on a scoring spree.

Such is the devotion of the fans that even after the match is over, they leave the stadium with the same energy and celebration as they entered. Slogans and songs were still reaching the upper atmosphere as with this draw Manchester United were crowned champions of the English Premier League for the 3rd year running.

End of the match presents a tough time to get out of the stadium. As everyone is coming out at the same time, it cause major traffic jams on all sides. I got to know that sometime it can take hours to get back to the city. The best way to avoid this is walk it out. Majority of the fans park their cars about a mile or two away from the stadium so they escape getting stuck in the traffic. The walk back was also quite enjoyable as everyone was discussing the match. The Manchester Metrolink station adjacent to the old Trafford cricket ground also provides a sanctuary. It is only half a mile away and one can skip all the traffic.

The Old Trafford stadium is widely known as the “Theater of Dreams”. A nick name given by Sir Bobby Charlton, I can conveniently admit that it lives up to it. The thrill of watching a match in this stadium is like no other. And I don’t mean it only for a hardcore United fan like myself, for any football fan or for anybody as a matter of fact, being in this stadium for a high profile match adds a new dimension to your understanding of the game. I realized what football truly means here. It is bigger than any other sport or culture. With the new English Premier League season kicking off on August 15th the excitement has started to build up again. A new season mean at least 20 matches in the next 10 months and I can only hope to relive this dream like experience.



Ebenezer Cobb Morley (1931-1924) was a founding member of The Football Association in England. He is also regarded as the father of modern and organized football.