Recently he's organised to come and visit the North-East to come and see us in our fixture against York, he's also bringing a friend who writes for a Dutch magazine about ground hopping around the world, so he's coming to see what we're about at Blackwell. After talking a bit, he showed me an article he wrote about his day at Stockport I never knew existed, so thought I'd share.
Keep in mind this article has been put through Google translate so the grammar will be a little bit off, but thought it would be fun to share.
Thought some people on here might enjoy the read.Question 12 A: What cultural experience do you want to share or would you recommend someone who is also going to study in the city where you lived?
This question was presented to me for the evaluation of my study in England. If you have lived in Manchester for three months, you would expect a response to this question as the visit to 'the Printworks' or the fact that you went to see Albert Square. If you are talking about football then you have certainly also looked at United or City for a while? Yes, but which cultural experience was most beautiful in England? The tour on Anfield Road where the tour leader from the height condescending did about that little blue stadium in the distance? The fact that you were far away on the third ring of Old Trafford between the selfie-making Americans who went home during the rest? No. The most beautiful cultural experience that I would like to share on that questionnaire is without a doubt Stockport County against Darlington FC.
I quickly became friends with someone from the university who came from the area of Darlington and he proposed to visit the out-market of Stockport County the coming weekend. Stockport, just outside of Manchester, has a bit of a sad look on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Exactly as it should be. Here no hordes of tourists rush to the stadium, but rooms that come to encourage their club. On internet forums, Darlington fans chose a pub where they would gather before and after the game. The name: 'Ye Old Vic'. A pub with a fireplace, lit by a man who in my eyes had been retiring for a long time, but still cheerfully tapped the beers. We arrived at the pub around 1 o'clock, the race started (as it should be in England) at 3 o'clock, just like the other game in this competition. In the Conference National League North you do not have any Friday night or Monday night matches. Gradually the supporters come in who have traveled 114 miles (183 km) in just over two hours. Fortunately, the (probably equally old) woman of the pub boss jumped on and the beer tap remained open until about half past 3. The first supporters followed their way to Edgeley Park and we decided to join us in this row.
The supporters had their own entrance where you paid 'a tenner' (ten pounds) and you could continue your way to the pits. A cold Saturday afternoon at the end of January where you have ended up between football supporters who sit in the car for about four and a half hours to see their club play. What a great experience this was, and for no gold at that time I had been to United or City. The game started and it soon turned out that Darlington would have a difficult afternoon, Stockport took the initiative and quickly reached 1-0. The scolding on the referee started from the outing and as a joke one of the supporters asked what you say to an official in Dutch if you do not agree with him. The following minutes I heard the joker with a typical northern accent called 'hondelul' to the referee. Not neat, but I can not imagine anyone understanding anything. A lot of reason to swear at the referee was no longer there, because after a cheap free kick, Darlington managed to get the same score. The goalkeeper was certainly not open, but the hard cheer in the profession where I stood was no less. Soon I learned some interesting facts about Darlington. The supporters around me reacted very angry when the announcer announced a change on the side of 'Darlington 1883'. The forced name change from FC to 1883 was not yet accepted and fortunately for the fans in the name now recovered to Darlington FC. Twice came after Stockport took the lead, but in the 86th minute Darlington managed to score the 3-3. This was no longer a cheer, but an explosion. Wonderful to experience how people around you can become so crazy about that liberating equalizer. Stockport managed to hit the bottom of the crossbar in the 90th minute, but it remained at a draw.
After the game we decided to go to 'Ye Old Vic', before we would go back to Manchester. In the meantime it had become dark and the streets were wet with rain. The pub slowly drained and this football afternoon came to an end. In the time that would follow I visited United, City and Everton as big clubs. In the National North competition I went to FC United or Manchester and Salford City FC. It was nice to be at the Manchester City - As Monaco match for the Champions League, but my best cultural experience really took place on the 21st of January. Stockport County against Darlington FC on a rainy Saturday afternoon. A late equalizer. Nothing goes above.