By Mark Pszonak
Over the last couple of months, I had the fortunate opportunity to travel to both England and Spain. During these trips I made it a point to attend soccer games in both countries, because I’ve always wanted to, but also as a comparison to the college football experiences I’ve enjoyed for 30 years. Here is my breakdown of both:
England
There are a multitude of Premier League teams that call London home. My choice was Crystal Palace, as they hosted Ipswich Town. And this was more because I’m an Ipswich Town fan, which is an entirely different story. Anyway, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the “Tractor Boys” in person.
Crystal Palace plays their home games in the Selhurst Park section of London, which is approximately 10 miles south from the center of the city. This is a relatively quiet neighborhood, aside from the 25,486-seat stadium that is tucked into the middle. And I do mean it is tucked away. There are regular family homes directly across the street from the stadium.
Mark Pszonak
Crystal Palace was promoted to the Premier League in 2013, which means they’ve been accepting a huge check from domestic and international TV rights and commercial deals for a dozen years. However, it doesn’t seem like much of that money has gone to improving the concourse of the stadium, which opened in 1924. Even with a few renovations over the last 101 year, the concourse resembled a crowded frat party on a Friday night. Th lines for food, beer and bathrooms were all a chaotic mess. Also, you are not allowed to bring beer to your seat, so the chugging that goes on pregame and at halftime is quite impressive to watch.
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As for the game atmosphere, it met expectations. The crowd was involved throughout the game, and the singing/chanting is better in person than on television. The Ipswich Town fans were also very boisterous in the visitors’ section, which has a separate entrance/exit and is basically walled off from Crystal Palace fans. With all the history of hooliganism in England, they do what they can to keep the fans separated. And despite the chaotic concourse, which could easily result in frustration, the fans were actually friendly.
Spain
Visiting both Barcelona and Madrid in April, there were several options for games. Seeing Barcelona quickly became an impossibility as they make it ridiculously difficult to purchase a ticket if you’re not a member of their Club. And that includes through the secondary market. I turned my attention to Real Madrid, but considering upper deck corner tickets were upwards of $350, I decided to keep looking.
I finally decided on Atletico Madrid, which despite being a very successful club, is considered the forgotten stepchild in the city compared to Real Madrid. Tickets were very reasonable ($80) for a lower-level seat near midfield. The game was against Rayo Vallecano, which I didn’t realize was also based in Madrid until I bought the tickets. However, even though the two clubs are only separated by three miles, I could not find one Rayo Vallecano fan in the stadium.
Mark Pszonak
Speaking of the stadium – it is gorgeous. Metropolitano Stadium opened in 2017 but looks and feels newer than that. It holds 70,460, with the majority of the seats filled for this Thursday night game. Aside from looking and feeling new, it was also spacious, the seats were comfortable, and the atmosphere was entertaining.
There weren’t many negatives, but one huge one was the traffic getting to the game. I got an Uber, and while the ride was only about 11.5 miles, it took a little more than an hour. I had planned to explore more of the area outside the stadium but instead had to run to my seat. Another lesser negative was the area around the stadium. While the club sets up lots of food trucks and tents in the area, the stadium itself is in the middle of nowhere. So don’t expect to walk there or barhop on the way to a game.
Final Thoughts
I love college football, while also being a fan of European soccer. Being able to compare the two in person is something that I’ve looked forward to doing for years. And as I expected, the two entities are very unique. The passion from American college football fans and European soccer fans are similar, but they go about showcasing it in different ways. College football stadiums have a consistent buzz to them, while European soccer stadiums have more of a party atmosphere. As for the stadiums, overall, they are similar. There is as much good food as bad, lines are in abundance and if you plan to use the bathroom, think ahead. And traffic getting to a game is internationally a mess.
Even if you’re not a soccer fan, I’d highly recommend attending a game in Europe if the opportunity ever arises.
