The purpose of our trip to London was to attend the Eagles/Jaguars game at Wembley Stadium, part of the NFL UK series. We arrived in London the previous Sunday, and have since spent the week exploring London’s top attractions. Our journey has been simply amazing! These experiences have been documented in previous posts—I encourage you to check them out.
It is now Sunday, October 28th—game day has arrived! Our week may have been spend discovering world famous attractions, many of which have existed for centuries, but today we would bear witness to something quite unique. The Philadelphia Eagles have been playing football games since 1933, but this would be the first time they would be playing a regular season game in London.
Our Journey
We chose to stay the Mayfair section of London, which happens to bear the same name as the section of Philly I am originally from. Ironic as it may be, this coincidence had no bearing on our decision to stay in Mayfair whilst in London. Rather, it was Mayfair’s central location which provided easy access to the various parts of London we would be visiting that helped make our decision. Green Park Station, served by three lines—Piccadilly, Jubilee, and Victoria—was just a short walk from our hotel. Not only did this allow us easy maneuverability throughout the city all week, it provided a straight shot to Wembley Stadium. Or, so we thought!
We encountered a bit of “Murphy’s Law” at Green Park Station. The tunnel to the Jubilee line, the one we needed, was closed off by a gate—apparently for maintenance. Now what? A sign re-directed riders to the Victoria line, then to Oxford Circus, where we would switch over to the Waterloo line, which would lead to Wembley Central. Didn’t sound so bad, but—there was much that could go wrong. I pictured myself ending up in Yorkshire.
We switched over at Oxford Circus, yet I was still unsure if we were in the correct spot. I noticed a group of guys wearing jersey’s—a few Jaguars and one Eagles—either way, a good sign! I fully expected this was an ally from back home, so I approached to confirm the next train was headed to the game. It turns out they were not from Philly, rather some locals with a passion for American football. The guys in the Jaguars jerseys tried telling us the next track over was the correct line—in good humor, of course. My man in the Eagles jersey just said, “follow me, I’ll steer you right!” It turns out I did have an ally in London after all!
Fortunately there was some space on the train when it arrived, however, within a few stops we would be sandwiched like sardines. Kathie and I got on together, but we were pushed further and further apart at each stop. I’m pretty sure she was in the next car by the time we arrived. Before long, we reached our destination!
Pre-Game Festivities
Following the crowds, we were led through the Wembley section of London. It seemed an unexpected place for a stadium. I’m used to stadiums that sit on large tracks of land, offer tons of parking, located just off major highways, etc. This was the opposite. At no point did I see a highway, nor a parking lot for that matter. The streets were two lanes (one each way), lined with shops, in what seemed to be a residential area. The only way I would attempt to get there is by train.
Shopping outlets surround the stadium, and there was no shortage of NFL festivities. The crowds were sure to be entertained before ever entering the stadium. My first stop was the gift shop, but I had to be careful as to keep myself in check, for it’s easy to get carried away with souvenirs. I could have easily bought everything they offered, but I figured it would be in my best interest to save enough money to get something to eat inside. But naturally, I got carried away, and ended up with far more souvenirs than I needed.
Wembley Stadium
London and Philadelphia share a deep rooted historical connection. During Colonial times, Philadelphia grew to become a principal trading port for the Crown. In fact, Philadelphia was once the second largest city in the British Empire. In recent times, Philadelphia and London shared the the world stage for one of the largest musical events to ever be held—Live Aid. This dual-event concert was held at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium and London’s Wembley Stadium. Ironically, nearly thirty five years later, a Philadelphia team—the Eagles—now find themselves playing at Wembley. Though I can’t say for sure, I do believe watching VHS tapes of Live Aid during my youth were my first introduction to Wembley Stadium. In the years since, the original Wembley has been replaced with a new venue of the same name, on the same spot.
- The first Wembley Stadium broke ground in 1922, and opened on April 28, 1923
- The capacity was 82,000, though it’s original capacity was 127,000.
- This stadium was renovated in 1963, and was closed in 2000. It was demolished between 2002-2003
- The New Wembley Stadium broke ground on September 30, 2002, and opened on March 9, 2007.
- It has a capacity of 90,000 (86,000 for American Football)
- It contains 2,618 toilettes, more than any other venue in the world
Upon entering, we worked our way to the top of the stadium, because that’s where our seats were. Before sitting down, we grabbed a beer and a quick bite to eat. If you’ve been following our London adventures, you’ll know how impressed I had become with cask style beer. Extremely rare back home in the states, I was able to get this at a concession line at the game. How different things can be! The hot dog, however, was a mistake!
The Game
We may have come to London to watch an Eagles game, but trust me, our week in London had been quite memorable in it’s own right. The game was just a good excuse to visit. I will say, however, that an Eagles presence in town made the visit quite unique. Should you visit London—at any time, it is sure to be grand. But this week was special!
When traveling to another country, over three thousand miles away, you generally expect to leave all familiarities behind, immersing yourself in a new culture. Any common bond to back home is typically non-existent. This trip was quite different!
We were provided the luxury of exploring this magnificent city, all with the comforts of feeling like we were home. Eagles chants were heard at a majority of the attractions we visited. Eagles green was seen all throughout the city. It was just the two of us, but we were never on our own!
There was just one thing left to make this extraordinary week truly amazing—the Eagles had to win! It was a slow first half, but the Eagles took the lead just 29-seconds before halftime. The Birds took a greater lead in the second half, going up 17-6, but the Jaguars would make a game out of it. In the end, the Birds pulled it out, winning 24-18.
I know…not much of a game recap. The Birds won, what else needs to be said! I guess I can talk about how cool it was to watch the Eagles play in London, as the visiting team, in front of what I would call a home crowd. Obviously playing thousands of miles away from either teams home city, there were plenty of neutral fans. People were showing up to the game wearing jerseys from teams that have never played in London, let alone any team playing in the game. Many locals supported the Jaguars, as they have been a designated home team for years now. But—just as there were Eagles fans thought the city all week, they dominated the stadium as well. Such a great environment—that is, if you were a Birds fan!
Mass Exodus
Euphoria had set in! We were in London, one of the most fascinating cities in the world. We just watched the Eagles play a regular season game in this “once in a lifetime” setting at Wembley stadium, surrounded by fellow Eagles fans. And —they won!
Just in case you don’t know you’re way out, no worries! I assure you, it will be easy to figure out. We needed to get to Wembley Park station, and it appeared that everyone else did too! It wasn’t even a question of following the crowds. Rather, you were swept up by the crowds as they made their way to the station. In fact, I had discovered a friend from back home was in attendance at the game, so I shot him a text in hopes of meeting up. At this point, we were outside of the stadium; he was on the other side of the stadium. We figured we would make our way over—but no. There was no way. The crowds were so thick, all going one direction—there simply wasn’t any way to make it. Oh well, I guess we’d have to meet up back in the states.
I will give them credit: it was very well organized. We slowly made our way towards the station—the pedestrian traffic periodically halted as to not overwhelm the station. It took roughly an hour or so for us to reach the station, but once we did, it was smooth sailing. About 45-minutes later we were back in Mayfair.
Dinner: The King’s Arms
It was time for dinner! We hadn’t eaten since our gourmet hotdog at the stadium earlier—and trust me, that was no Hot Dog Tommy’s! We kept it simple and hit up a pub right by the hotel, The Kings Arms—a pub in Shepherd Market that we had drinks at earlier in the week.
The pub was packed! We made our way to the bar area, ordered a few pints, then proceeded upstairs. It was just as crowded upstairs, but we managed to find a table open in the back. One difference between a British pub and an American bar is the service. Back home in America, a waiter or waitress will do all the work. They take your order, then bring you your food and drinks. It’s a bit different in Britain. For instance, here at the Kings Arms, you place your order at the bar with the bartender. You let him know your table number, and when it’s ready, a server will drop it off for you.
This self service system is pretty interesting. This probably sounds inconvenient, but it’s really not that bad. Let’s face it, it’s really not that hard to get up and go to the bar. It’s important to note that most bars do not have stools, therefore…you will not be looking for an “impossible to find” opening at the bar between the crowds, as is the norm in America. It’s more like a counter. You just simply walk up and place your order. Though some establishments have waiter/waitress service in London, you will most likely discover them to be self serving.
Have you ever been to dinner with a group of people and struggle trying to divide up the bill? Or have you ever finished your meal and were ready to go, but you never even got the bill? That’s not a problem here! There’s no bill—you’re paid up before you get your food.
What did catch me off guard was the dominance of Eagles fans. Now, I’ve been going on about how the Eagles Nation had invaded London, and fans were spotted all over the city. While this is true, London is a huge city, and this was not a pub just outside of the stadium. I did not expect to find the entire room filled with Eagles fans, both upstairs and downstairs. It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.
They must not have been ready for the influx of Eagles fans, as it took quite a while to get our food. This was made known to me when I placed my order; the bartender informed me the kitchen was backed up, and the wait was over an hour. Well, where else would we go? As long as they were pouring glorious cask ale, I was ok putting down a few until the food showed up—which, by the way, was nearly two hours.
As the night went on, the Eagles fans made their way out, and they were replaced with locals. It was quite an interesting turnover. One moment the place was filled with Eagles fans from back home, the next, we were surrounded by locals out on their typical Sunday night—though I can assure you they weren’t there to watch Sunday night football.