Walking in a Winter Wonderland..in April?!?

This weather in England is crazy.

I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about how there was rain, sleet, snow, and sunshine all in the space of an hour or so in the Tottenham-Portsmouth game at White Hart Lane. I couldn't believe the drastic, sudden changes in weather but after today, nothing should surprise me.

It's the beginning of April, but you wouldn't know it if you were watching the Middlesbrough-Manchester United match today in the North East. I turned on the TV and thought I was watching an NFL game in Cleveland or Buffalo in the dead of winter. Snow was falling as hard as I've seen it come down in a while, and the condition of the field obviously reflected this. The ball was skipping, players were slipping and sliding, and yet the passion from them and fans alike was still evident.

I have to give Middlesbrough's supporters a lot of credit; I've criticized them harshly (but fairly) in the past for not filling the Riverside for a big game but today they came out in droves. The stadium was nearly sold out and the fans gave such a boost to the team. They played a huge part in spurring their club on to hold Manchester United, the defending champions and likely champions this season as well, to a 2-2 draw, and Tuncay almost won the game for Boro at the very death. Snow and cold didn't seem to bother the crowd in the least bit and they were singing and chanting and shouting for the full 90 minutes.

Good stuff as usual from England. Soccer can truly be played in all conditions, and we saw that today.

Middlesbrough's Fans Are a Disgrace

I turned on the Middlesbrough-Arsenal game this morning and was disgusted by what I saw at Riverside Stadium. I'm not talking about the quality of play; that was fine, and Middlesbrough pulled a shocker in earning a 2-1 win over the previously unbeaten Gunners. I'm not talking about a sloppy field or bad weather; the pitch was in good shape and it was a nice day by English standards.

No, what I'm referring to is another disappointing turnout at the Riverside. Arsenal are on top of the Premiership and you would think a capacity crowd would've come to see them and make it more difficult for them to pick up a victory away from home. You would think that the fans would want to create a hostile atmosphere and environment so that their team, who are candidates for relegation, would have a better chance to earn much-needed points from the game. As usual, however, the English seem to defy customary logic and what I saw today was a three-quarters filled (maybe) stadium.

Middlesbrough's official average attendance this year is 26,393, good for 13th highest in the Premiership. Their stadium capacity is roughly 35,000, but if there are only 9,000 empty seats in that stadium on a given matchday, I'm Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm sorry, that attendance figure has to be completely inaccurate and it's such a shame when the fans don't come out to see these afternoon games, especially when the best team in the league comes to town. How Middlesbrough pulled out a victory today with the kind of crowd they had today is beyond me. It's a testament to the players more than anything and I give them full credit for getting up to play this game, but come on, it's pathetic that the stadium wasn't full and seeing all these empty seats on a weekly basis is just sad.