England/ASFC flag - Page 3

ukcowboy · 30-05-2005, 10:34

Superb job M.R..................got goosebumps just lookin at the photo..................and Im bloody Scots!!!

KiTChener · 30-05-2005, 18:59

Only just caught this post.... saw highlights only of the game, but, tell you what, that picture of your flag brought a tear to the eye!!! Any more, let's see!!

Wynonie Harris · 31-05-2005, 08:23

Brilliant piece of transatlantic promotion. Does this mean that when I'm walking around Chicago in my Stanley shirt next week, I'll have people coming up to me saying "Oh yeah, I know who Accrington Stanley are!"

Willie Miller · 31-05-2005, 09:12

Cool flag any idea of cost? & carriage to UK?

cashman · 31-05-2005, 12:24

great bit of p.r. for stanley in the states,well done.

MichiganRed · 02-06-2005, 03:31

What a wonderful weekend! So many things happened that I hardly know where to begin.

Our hotel was located just across Grant Park from Soldier Field and when we arrived Friday afternoon it was overflowing with England supporters. I would be willing to lay odds that of the one hundred seventy odd guest rooms ours was one of the few occupied by people who hadn’t needed a passport to make their way to Chicago.

We saw plenty of England <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[img] /><st1:country-region w:st=[/img]England</st1:country-region> shirts (of both the football and rugby varieties) and a plethora of club shirts including Liverpool, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = " /><st1:country-region w:st="[/img]England</ST1[img]"></st1:country-region><st1:country-region w:st="[/img]England</st1:country-region">shirts (of both the football and rugby varieties) and a plethora of club shirts including Liverpool, <st1:PlaceName w:st=" /><st1:PlaceName w:st=" on?>Manchester</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">City</st1:PlaceType>, Burnley, <st1:City w:st="on">Norwich</st1:City> and <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bradford</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">City</st1:PlaceType>. I found it a very pleasant change from the usual hip-hop NBA and NFL jerseys seen on our streets.

Saturday morning found us in the back room of The Globe Pub near Wrigley Field watching the Scottish FA Cup final while the front room was packed cheek-by-jowl with people with funny accents watching Southend and Lincoln City fight it out in the Division Three playoff final (I’m sorry, Coca Cola, did I just say that? I meant to say League Two, honest I did). Then it was back to the hotel to grab our stuff and join the throngs heading toward Soldier Field.

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Our <st1:City w:st="on">Stanley</st1:City> shirts were the source of quite a few comments on the way across the park and up to the stadium proper. People seemed to be more than a bit surprised to see them and were universally positive in their response.

As we were posing for the picture with the flag in front of the stadium (the one posted on the “fishy” site), a man passed by and then did an almost cartoonish double-take. When the picture was done, he said, “I love the flag but next season Altrincham are going to walk all over you!”

“I doubt it,” was my reply. “But even if you do, you can’t have Craney back!”

He laughed and said, “Too bad, that.”

We arrived at our seats in plenty of time to hang the flag and sit back to enjoy the spectacle ahead of us. This was a first for me and I wanted to soak it all in. I don’t know what perspective the Sky Sports feed used (ESPN shot opposite the benches with the England goal to their right in the first half) so I don’t know how much you were able to see of the stadium but it was positively brimming with England flags and England shirts and England songs. The lower sections behind each goal were covered with flags as were both tiers of the west stands with clubs of all levels represented. Almost all of the Premier League clubs were displayed along with a fair number of league teams but I was pleasantly surprised to see a Dagenham & Redbridge flag just down the way from one promoting Leigh RMI. I’m probably biased, but I think the S<st1:City w:st="on">tanley</st1:City> flag was the best of the lot! While my camera skills are terribly lacking, I do have some pictures of all the flags that I will try to re-size and post here a little later.

All things considered, it was a fantastic day. The atmosphere in and around the ground and on the streets was brilliant and it was unfortunate that the product on the pitch couldn’t match up. I understand that this trip wasn’t exactly popular with some of the powers-that-be in English football, but I, for one, will be eternally grateful for having been able to share this experience.
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Tin Monkey · 02-06-2005, 08:26

Sounds as though you had a great time M.R. I was in Chicago 2 years ago, but never went to Soldier Field as I didn't have time.

Thanks for the report.

Henry Morton · 04-06-2005, 01:15

What a marvellous report from Michigan Red !

Thanks, Mark. I must confess, though, that I saw the Leigh flag but not the Stanley one

I frequently worked in Chicago between 1980 and 1991, and it's my favourite American city. However , just like Tin Monkey I never went to Soldier Field. My excuse is that I preferred to watch baseball (the Cubbies, of course) at Wrigley Field - but mostly on TV unless I could cadge a ticket. I idolised a pitcher called Dennis Eckersley (how's that for a good North-of-England name ?) who later moved to Oakland. Remarkably, my family and I ran into Dennis Eckersley and the great Roger Clements in successive weeks at a shopping mall in Orlando, Florida in 1985. They were down there for winter training.

Re: the Giants' Stadium, Noo Joisey , for the Colombia game, I was flabbergasted to see that the top tier was unoccupied by spectators. Then, I understand, as the International came to its close the fans streamed in to these higher seats for the MLS game (involving the Chicago Fire, if I'm not mistaken). Beckham & co should take a reality check !

Michigan Red has performed a great service, not only for Accrington Stanley Supporters but for all lovers of the game who wish to strengthen transatlantic ties with fellow "Soccer" enthusiasts.

Well Done !

Bottletop · 04-06-2005, 12:19

Excellent report M. R. strained my eyes trying to get a glimpse of the flag every time cameras panned round the ground, but to no avail. photo's of the flag are excellent well done M.R.

Sparkologist · 05-06-2005, 09:41

Top quality work on the flag, MR.

Your write-up of your time in Chicago and the day's events leading up to the game are a damn good read. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

zayno14 · 05-06-2005, 09:53

quality stuff! top effort! :engsmil:

MichiganRed · 05-06-2005, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Morton

I must confess, though, that I saw the Leigh flag but not the Stanley one

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bottletop

strained my eyes trying to get a glimpse of the flag every time cameras panned round the ground, but to no avail.

Unfortunately, our seats were just above the area shown during the normal run of play. When I watched the tape of the game, I was able to see our flag twice but only because I knew exactly where to look.

As promised, here are a few pictures of the flags around the stadium during the build-up to the game. The last picture was just before kick-off. Not wanting to miss any of the action, I put the camera away after that so you'll have to find the action shots elsewhere.

The images have been resized by half to fit the board requirements so if anyone wants to see the full size versions please PM me with e-mail details.