Villa! Villa! Villa! Villa!

Words to the wise, or not so wise--Not all fixtures are located in the kitchen, bathroom, or as sconces on the wall. In Britain, a fixture is a sporting event set for a specific date. Henry and I ventured off to suburban Birmingham to watch the Premier League "football" fixture (Brits also call it a "test") between the home team Aston Villa Football Club and the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, from suburban London. The match (rather than game) was played on the Villa Park "pitch" (rather than field). The stadium holds over 45,000 spectators, and the attendance was an impressive 35,000+ on a cool, rainy afternoon. Mercifully, a majority of the seats are covered by overhangs.

Little did I know when I ordered the tickets that I almost made the major league mistake of seating us in the rain! And, it was pouring at the start of the match!

It turned out our seats were about three rows up from the edge of the overhang in our seating area. To each his/her own, I suppose, as the price of the tickets in all of the rows ahead of us and behind us in our section cost the same, rain or shine!

Our seats were at the "Holte End", where we found ourselves in a sea of claret and blue, Aston Villa's colors,

as the "Villa" banner was unfurled in the section next to us, from the pitch to the back row.

Not everyone wore claret and blue. I found this fellow just a few rows away from us.

Although the team mascot is a lion,

the team is referred to simply as "Villa". We could not make out the words to the team cheer other than "Villa! Villa! Villa! Villa! cadencing up and down, more or less non-stop throughout the match. Interspersed were the usual epithets at the referees and some of the players, but we also heard some unusual and unrepeatable invectives from one fellow in particular. Had they been overheard by security at an American football game, I could imagine the person getting thrown out of the stadium! 

Interestingly, no alcohol is permitted in the stands, although it is freely available at the concession stands.

And, no smoking is permitted anywhere within the stadium walls--ah, fresh air throughout! However, what was particularly unusual for me is not only the open presence of betting windows,

but also that betting companies both advertise inside the stadium

and sponsor teams. Dafabet is an online gaming service provider based in the Philippines, and is an official sponsor of the Aston Villa Football Club.

I chuckled to myself when I first went onto the Aston Villa website to order tickets. The club politely advises those seeking tickets that the tickets sold on that site "are for Aston Villa supporters only", and that supporters of the opposing team should purchase tickets in the visitors' section through the opposing team's ticket office. It certainly was clear where that section was at Villa Park--police or other security guards surrounded the section, and made their presence ever more obvious after someone(s) in the section set off a smoke bomb after the Spurs scored their first goal of the match.

The hype for the fixture builds up all week before the match--having purchased tickets once, I now receive regular emails--and kickoff was precisely at the stroke of 4PM--no national anthem; just Villa! Villa! Villa! Villa!

We root, root, rooted for the home team, and especially for Brad Guzan (the Villa keeper who is a member of the U.S. national team), and it was a shame they lost, two to "nil". I might have to invest in a "home kit" (shirt, shorts, and socks; "away kits" and "third kits" are also available) for the next match. Maybe that will help the team win! Nah...!