A Summer to Remember

Wembley Stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium

Why am I not a pro football star?

The next day we visited Wembley stadium and Arsenal FC stadium. Those stadiums are both amazing! I loved that at Wembley stadium, I was able to pick up and touch the FA (Football Association) Championship cup and hold it like so many famous players had done before me. The stadium itself was massive but does not hold a regular football team. It holds concerts and huge sporting events but is not host to a particular team like the other stadiums we have seen. Holding that cup made me miss playing soccer more than ever. The thought that I would never be able to hold that cup as a winner made me sad and so did staring at the pitch without even being able to kick a ball on it, yet on the other hand, it made me happy knowing that a sport I love so much which isn’t big in our nation, is huge here in London and I felt apart of it for a moment. A true Bend it Like Beckham fantasy I had that day. We saw the locker rooms, the press/media room, and walked out of the tunnel at Wembley onto the field area to the soundtrack of a real game opener. It made me so nostalgic for the game and it was an awesome experience. Later, we took a train over to the Arsenal where we had a great tour of Emirates Stadium. I think this was one of my favorite stadiums we have seen this whole trip. It was beautiful, way more astounding than Wembley was. The locker rooms, the venues in the arena, the pitch, the arsenal canon in the seats, and even the emirates tunnel which the players run onto the field in was amazing. They taught us at this stadium that block shaped rooms give people a negative perception. Knowing this, the Arsenal architects made the Arsenal players locker room a nice U shaped design so everyone could see each other and the white boards in a relaxing room. Also, having this knowledge, the architects made the visitors locker room a very square shaped room with lots of square shaped objects in it. We learned that day that psychological warfare is simple yet effective and deadly. Not to mention I just love the Arsenal kits - they are so good looking compared to a lot of jerseys in the Premier league and the organization seems to know how to sell Arsenal so well. I would love to go back one day and watch a match at the Emirates stadium!