by Mark Vincent Lincir
Ten hour flight…one movie…four half movies…one hour sleep…approximately six hours of staring at the seat in front of me!
I’m getting that sleeper cabin upgrade next time I fly to England…hopefully they comp me the upgrade.
Flight home was smooth, but brutal…recirculated air…plenty of legroom if you’re 5 feet tall…the food was good though! But how else are you going to get there???
Now I’m back in the States and the Fortnight of Mayhem is in extra time. The jet lag hit me the last two days way harder than it did the day after I got back. I feel horrible. I could go for a jog, but my hamstrings are all messed up from when my rookie travelmate got us lost in Bath (that is the actual name of the town).
And just like all trips, I’m glad to be home…but now want to go back to England!
Now onto my favorites of the trip…this will run for many days so keep tuning in!
FAVORITE GAME – Man Utd v Bayern Munich at Old Trafford
The first time we saw Man Utd at Old Trafford was days earlier in a lackluster midday loss to Chelsea. After that we went on the Old Trafford Stadium tour (do it if you’re there) and realized how simple and understated the player’s lounge and locker rooms are.
A couple days later we returned to Old Trafford for the return leg of the Champion’s League quarterfinal and were treated to one of the best games I have seen in a long time.
I had predicted that Wayne Rooney would play and that was confirmed as we got into the stadium…many Man Utd supporters in our tour group were convinced that Wayne would NOT play (that’s why you’re not running an international soccer magazine)…I knew he would and wrote as such the day before in my blog (you can check it if you’d like).
Man Utd steamrolled Bayern Munich the first half…the crowd of 75,000 fans was going nuts…that is, until Carrick got worked right before the half and gave Bayern that glimmer of hope they needed.
Then Rafael got his red card (Howard Webb is extremely overrated) and Bayern’s Robben hit an absolute stunner to put Bayern through.
What struck me the most about the game was that even though Bayern was getting smoked in the first half, they didn’t panic. They just kept playing the way that they play and eventually, they worked themselves back into the game.
The level of play by both sides was so high and so intense that it was impossible not to be transfixed by what was going on before me. I wanted Man Utd to go thru, I thought they were the better side…but soccer can be a crazy game and all of us who were there saw it firsthand.
Thanks again to everyone in our tour group for making it such a fun time…also thanks to Nick, Dave and PSG Sports for putting on such a great tour!
NEXT TIME – FAVORITE PUB
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