Away Days

After much procrastination, I am finally posting the Away Day of our sojourn to see the Bantams take on the Bees of Brentford, at Griffin park. I had been looking forward to this trip since our ignominious fall from the Premier League. Why? Because it is the only footie stadium in the country to boast a boozer on every corner. Don't catch the tube, but go on the overground train, as it is a damn site closer, and within a short stroll of the first of the pubs. The ground itself is a peach, smack in the middle of the place it represents. The pubs are all worthy stops, but my favourite was the New Inn, which had a flat screen set up outside, behind a perspex shield, so all the poor smokers could watch the football without missing a kick. The ground itself is actually known as Griffin Park because of its close ties with Fullers brewery. Inside, the away end was two tiered, upstairs is seating, but in the spirit of this old stadia, we decided to do something that you can no longer do in the top two leagues. We stood. On a terrace. A trip down memory lane. The first half was dull, but the second half was a stormer, and being stood on a terrace made it all the more memorable. I even managed to start a chant, lauding my hero doppelgänger Super Barry Conlon. Kev hung his head in shame. After the match the locals seemed friendly, but the Paulcano, Hefner and Stevie V might disagree, as the high tailed to the train station after getting some bad vibes off some local ne'er do wells. Stuff the Premier Leagues, I am beginning to enjoy this division.

The picture below features the pubs on each corner of the ground. You will have to trust me on the last one, I was getting a bit fresh by the time we got to it.


Statistics

• Capacity-12,763
  
• Concessions- They had pies, and unbelievably they were cheaper than Bradford's, by a whole 10p! Who said everything costs more down sarf. But now the bad news. Not only did you have to queue up in a small lake to purchase your half time treats, but they didn't sell beer! A ground surrounded by pubs, with strong ties to a local brewery, and they didn't sell beer! For shame...
  
• Built-1904
  
• Did You Know?- The ground is directly under the flight path to London Heathrow, and the roofs of the stands are hired out for advertising. The space is currently used by Qatar Airways
  
• Visited By- Euro Bri, Shouty, Crespo, Paulcano, Hefner and Stevie V
  
• Rating-Mount Olympus- In a similar vein to Grimsbys ground, this place is a diamond. Yes it is antiquated, the roof leaks, and there is a stream running past the concession stand, but this is the kind of place that real football was built for. Not some vast out of town abomination, built to get away from as soon as the match ends, but to represent the community that gave birth to it. I know I am coming over all left wing, but I am enjoying my trips to away games more over the last two or three seasons than i ever did when we reached the pinnacle of the English professional leagues. I will take a trip to a ground like this over a million Reeboks, Pride Parks or Riversides any day.