My team's new stadium

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:32 pm

I'm not just a Washington Redskins fan. My first sporting love is Brighton & Hove Albion, my local football team. This season, starting this very Saturday, they will be playing in The Championship. One league down from the much vaunted English Premier League, one good season could see them mixing it with the big boys like Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and all the rest.

But the reason that this season is going to be special (and why I am counting down the hours until 3pm this Saturday afternoon) is that for the first time in 14 years, we will have a home. Imagine if the owners of your local team sold the club's stadium, with no plan to build a new one, but simply to pay off some creditors and pocket the surplus funds for themselves. That is what happened to my beloved Albion. As a result, the last 12 years have been spent playing in a rented athletics "stadium", which you can see here:

http://www.runtrackdir.com/uk/pics/brighton/brighton-wi-c640.jpg

I never saw my team play at this venue - the last game I saw them play was on 26th April 1997, and I vowed that I would not go to another game until the club had a real home. And now, finally, with new owners in place who are true fans of the club, and after a long campaign by the club and it's fans, we have a new home. And it looks like this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/brighton/9544703.stm

And like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Falmerstadium-may2011.JPG

So, please excuse me if I'm not thinking of the Redskins at 3pm on Saturday 6th August. My head will be in the clouds, there'll be a tear in my eye, and I'll be roaring on the boys in blue and white. The anticipation is too much to bear, so I just had to share, lol.

Thank you for listening.

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:50 pm

What a great looking stadium. I wish the concrete bowl the Skins play in had half that much charm.

Hope you enjoy the new home and your team's rise to the top.

welch · Post by **welch** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:21 pm

Great story and a beautiful stadium!

Warmother · Post by **Warmother** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:12 am

That's a nice looking stadium. Good luck this year. Win The Championship!

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:14 pm

Thanks guys - less than 48 hours to go now :-)

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:16 pm

welch wrote:Great story and a beautiful stadium!

Hey welch - am I correct in thinking that you follow Spurs? Or is my memory getting worse?

langleyparkjoe · Post by **langleyparkjoe** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:06 am

That stadium looks tough!!!!!!!

Just watching it I feel like a dolphin is gonna jump out from the field. LOL..

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:44 pm

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:25 pm

And we won :-)

Brighton came from behind to win 2-1, with the winning goal coming in the 7th and last minute of time added on for injuries. Could not have wished for a better script on the pitch.

Off the pitch, well, what can I say? For reasons I mentioned in my opening post, this was an emotional day. To see 20,000 Brighton fans ALL waving flags and singing in full voice before the game was a sight and sound that made my bottom lip tremble, I don't mind admitting. It was one happy crowd. Brighton fans have been through a lot in the lost 15 years, and as we all sang during the second half: "BRIGHTON ARE BACK!"

It had been 14 years, 3 months and 10 days since I last saw my team play, and I don't think I'd realised how much I'd missed it. Any true sports fan will understand me when I say: it's not JUST a game.

welch · Post by **welch** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:15 am

Hooah, that!

Warmother · Post by **Warmother** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:14 am

Congrats UK, there's nothing like a win to get things started right.

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 10:40 am

Beautiful story. Something to tell the grandchildren.

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 12:27 pm

Plenty of videos on You Tube from fans inside the stadium yesterday. Trying to find one that captures what it FELT like to be there is impossible. Unlike others, this one doesn't include singing from the person holding the camera, lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT9CVQmNT2c&NR=1

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 3:41 pm

G'day Trevor - BIG congratulations to you and the SEAGULLS

great stadium and the video was fantastic

langleyparkjoe · Post by **langleyparkjoe** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:16 am

Congrats on that win UK!!!

Wow, that's awesome how everyone dressed accordingly for each section, you folks really know how to have a good time!!!

NO RIOTS!

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:23 pm

Thanks LPJ. The blue and white flags were given to fans by the club, for free. I wish I COULD say that we all coordinated ourselves, but the fact is that the club placed the appropriate coloured flags on the seats, all ready for us to wave. We just had to wave them and have a good time.

Normally, I would say that this kind of flag waving at our football matches is quite artificial, but to celebrate the opening of the new stadium, it was just right.

Next home game is this Saturday, against Blackpool - can't wait. On Saturday, Brighton earned a 1-0 victory on the road against our great local rivals from Portsmouth - lovely :-)

After two games, we are 4th in the Championship table, but our next two games are against the teams in 1st and 3rd.

And as for riots, well - that's a whole different story!

langleyparkjoe · Post by **langleyparkjoe** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:28 pm

Well I wish your team the best my friend!

.. and if you lose, at least you'll be used to it. (insert Redskins joke here)

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:51 pm

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:18 am

4 hours and 42 minutes until kick off today. We play host to Peterborough United, who won 7-1 last week. Taking one of my best friends along to the game, and can't wait to show off our fabulous new stadium, and mighty fine team.

Come on The Albion!!!

Amberion · Post by **Amberion** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:08 am

Good Luck UK - may your wins be plentiful except when playing my team - Leeds United

Having played in a team that had to play away from our home ground just for one year I can only imagine how good you are feeling.

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:40 pm

Amberion: an honourable 3-3 draw between our two teams last Friday at The Amex. A great game of football played in a wonderful atmosphere.

In the early hours of tomorrow morning (UK time), the Redskins will play the Cowboys - a rivalry like no other in the NFL. And then, tomorrow evening, my Brighton & Hove Albion will do battle against our hated rivals - Crystal Palace.

A remarkable coincidence that my two favourite teams should both be playing their bitterest rivals on the same day.

Hail to the Redskins, and Come On Brighton!

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:59 pm

Just because so many of you have asked for an update (well, actually, none of you, but I don't care), here is the league table for English football's second division, as it stands this evening:

http://www.skysports.com/football/leagu ... 87,00.html

That's my team, in 4th place and right in the mix for the race to the Premiership (top division). This Saturday, we play Middlesborough in a vital match at home. The stadium will be rocking :-)

SouthLondonRedskin · Post by **SouthLondonRedskin** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:18 pm

COME ON BORO!

Only kidding, hope you stuff 'em!

One of the first games I remember watching as a kid was the Brighton v Man United FA Cup Final in '84 I think it was. 'And Smith must score!' - such a shame.

Hope you get up to the Prem, beat West Ham to it and keep them down! It'd be nice to check out your new stadium, I hear they change the away end for the visiting fans each time, quality!

SEAGULLS!!!!!

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:59 am

Our cup final appearance was 1983, but you were pretty close my friend ;-)

Nearly won it, but great memories. I've had a feeling for a while that we'll be playing West Ham in the playoff final - today's game will tell whether that is realistic or just wishful thinking.

The club make great efforts to make visiting supporters feel welcome, it's part of our "ethos", I suppose.

And dare I ask what your team is?

SouthLondonRedskin · Post by **SouthLondonRedskin** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:29 am

Indeed you may dare...

I'm of Irish descent so my first love is;

But as I was brought up in London, so my English team has always been;