Football vs. Soccer: A Real Drinking Match

by SusanANSYupdated on May 5, 2024February 27, 2022

I still get annoyed when I have to call Football by its American term: Soccer. You think I’d get over it after over four decades of living in the USA!

Why mention this? Well, I’m from the UK originally, and I’ve lived in sunny central Florida for the past 40+ years. I just heard that my local football, er, soccer team, Preston North End, lost to Doncaster, 3-1. Our team is not doing so well this season.

Before I left the UK for the US, I’d only been to one “footy” match. I had to beg Dad to let me go with my older bro and his mates. The match: Preston North End versus Blackburn Rovers. My dad said to my brother, “But what about all the drinking and swearing?” My bro didn’t miss a beat. He replied, “Don’t worry Dad, we’ll ignore her!” Arf arf arf, funny guy, my brother!

Hours Before The Football Match

But Dad was right. What about the drinking? The pub right next door to the grounds was always packed with thirsty drinkers a couple of hours before all local matches started. Talk about a pre-game warm-up. The pub was that busy, you couldn’t park a car — you had to walk to the game — good job the football stadium was only a few hundred yards away from the pub.

Another good reason for the walking? You couldn’t get fined for drinking and driving. That’s why the Brits go on ‘pub crawls.’ You literally crawl from one pub to the next, downing a pint at each establishment. You can often find five or more pubs in a row, on any given street. (Sad, but true).

Soccer-Mad Rivalry Gone Bad

My gosh, the angst-filled rivalry is legendary between Preston North End and Blackpool. Not in a good way. In fact, the fans tend to get far too rowdy (read: drunk) so the cops have to step in and have the pubs shut their doors mid-to-late afternoon. No pre-game beers allowed.

How did the pubs react to their loss of revenue? When the pubs felt snubbed, the stadium changed the match’s starting time! They actually kicked off hours earlier to prevent early pre-game bar visits thus preventing (most of the) drunken brawls from erupting! The pubs still lost out but no doubt made up for it post-game either in a celebratory win or downing sorrows through a game being lost.

Safety First

You’re pretty safe if you’re sat behind the goal — but not OK if you’re down the side of the pitch — in the middle — where fans from both sides stand side by side, separated by nothing. Later, fifteen-foot chain-link barricades had to be erected to keep feuding fans from killin’ each other. Not a pretty sight. And that’s really what my dad was bothered about.

I guess Americans are more civilized. They politely tailgate and have football parties at home. Probably not a bad idea!

I’ll just stick to watching Soccer on TV. It’s safer that way.

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