An American to Watford to experience Premier League promotion

Last weekend I wrote about the experience of watching a team achieve promotion into the Football League when I went to see Barnet defeat Gateshead to clinch the Conference Title. A week later I was back in North West London to watch a team achieve promotion out of the Football League and into the Premier League. This time the venue was Vicarage Road Stadium, as Watford were promoted to the Premier League after a 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.

This was not my first journey to Vicarage Road this season. On Boxing Day, unable to get tickets to the day’s Premier League matches (Chelsea vs West Ham and Arsenal vs QPR), but wanting to experience the festive nature of Boxing Day football, my father and I made the journey to the end of the Metropolitan Line for Watford’s Sky Sports induced 5:30 kickoff against Wolverhampton Wanderers. We battled torrential rain, flooded streets, 40-degree weather, pitch-black streets due to poor floodlights and howling winds but we still managed to come away with a favorable impression of Watford and Vicarage Road. There was something endearing about the public address announcer coming out onto the pitch and directing the fans to sing various Christmas carol’s before kickoff and the very intimate setting of the smaller ground devoid of the tourists that infiltrate venues such as the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane. Watford lost the match 1-0 and my father and I had to battle the elements again to return to Central London but we figured that was all part of the experience of festive football. I vowed to return again at some point this season if my schedule permitted.

My second trip to Vicarage Road was also on a holiday, but this time the weather was much more favorable. With Watford closing in on the top two and a lunchtime kickoff on Easter Monday against fellow promotion rivals Middlesbrough, I figured it was too good of an opportunity to miss. I could feel the tension in the air as the match would go a long way to determining which teams went up from the Championship. Middlesbrough came in top of the league, but only two points ahead of fourth placed Watford. The atmosphere was fantastic – the Watford 1881 movement (basically a bunch of teenagers trying to create atmosphere at matches) sang for the whole 90 minutes, directed by a drummer who effectively served as their conductor. The opening exchanges of the match were greeted with chants from the Middlesbrough fans of “we’re top of the league”. Watford went on to win 2-0 and as a result they they led chants of “we’re top of the league”. By the end of the day, however, AFC Bournemouth were top of the league after defeating Birmingham City 4-2 in a later kickoff. That’s how tight the Championship was this season, full of all the drama that the Premier League lacked. The passion from the fans was a great advert for Championship soccer as all the fans in the ground were emotionally invested in the outcome of the game. After the match, I immediately bought my ticket for the final day of the season with the hope that I would see a tooth and nail final day scrap for a promotion place.

Unfortunately, Watford clinched promotion a week early after Middlesbrough and Norwich slipped up against Fulham and Rotherham (both teams that were fighting off relegation from the Championship, another example of how competitive and exciting that league is) respectively. So instead of witnessing a nail-biting affair complete with drama and scoreboard watching where every goal could possibly mean millions of pounds, I ended up witnessing a coronation and a party.

Exiting the London Overground at Watford High Street, I could tell that the whole town of Watford was joining in the festivities of their football club’s promotion. People were getting out of cars in full costumes carrying inflatable objects to bring to the match. There were signs all over town congratulating the team on the promotion, but it really started to sink in about 200 meters away from the stadium. Literally every shop was selling merchandise that said something along the lines of “We are Premier League” or “Back in the Big Time.” Special Premier League scarves were created as well as a special matchday program.

As I entered the stadium, the celebratory mood was enhanced as the public address announcer made comments like “are you ready to party today?” and the music played was all songs that would normally be played at a birthday party or a wedding. Before the players walked out onto the pitch the fans were greeted with a message from the club’s former chairman and famous musician Elton John (for whom a brand new stand at Vicarage Road is named after), who congratulated the players, fans and the Pozzo family on their incredible accomplishment. As the players walked out onto the pitch, every supporter in the Rookery End held up a placard which when combined read “WFC” and then beneath it “Going Up.” Meanwhile a lot of fans threw up yellow sprinkles in the air and they inevitably covered the pitch.

Despite all this congratulating and celebration, there was still a soccer match to be played. A soccer match that Watford needed to win if they wanted to go up as champions of England’s second tier. The opponents were Sheffield Wednesday, a team neither in danger of going down nor in the running for a promotion place, who brought down 2,000 fans from South Yorkshire. The travelling support, despite the fact that their team had nothing to play for, really brought the noise and greatly contributed to the atmosphere. After the first three or so minutes the Watford fans got bored of singing and the Sheffield Wednesday fans filled in the gaps. They constantly sang a song that went “We’re not going down, we’re not going up, we’re Sheffield Wednesday and we don’t give a f*ck” which led to many Watford fans laughing. Other songs included “we all hate Leeds scum”, “we’ll never be mastered by you Southern bast*rds” and “Oh Wednesday away,” amongst others. Their support of a team that had nothing to play for was yet another example of where the Premier League has gone wrong. The Wednesday fans tried to make things as uncomfortable as possible for the Watford fans by mocking their support with the typical jealous chant of “where were you when you were sh*t.” These particular chants were replied to with sarcastic waves from the Watford supporters sitting around me. When Watford did sing it was usually something along the lines of “we’re going up” or “we are Premier League” but also their classic song of “When I was young, I followed them, Watford F.C., the team for me la la la la la la la la” etc.

The actual match itself was relatively boring. The Wednesday goalkeeper was wearing a baseball hat which was quite comical as he often had to hold it in his hand as he attempted to head the ball. Watford played through balls through a Sheffield Wednesday defense that was worse at playing the offside trap as a Sunday League team, but somehow Watford failed to convert on a lot of their opportunities, while Wednesday created almost nothing. Around the 20 minute mark, the Wednesday fans started singing “they’re top of the league, they’re top of the league, AFC Bournemouth, they’re top of the league” which clearly meant that Bournemouth had scored in the other corner of London against Charlton at The Valley. I had a feeling that that chant would come back to haunt them as their side were being hopelessly outplayed by a Watford side that just lacked the quality to punish Wednesday for their woefulness. And on 26 minutes, they did. Superstar Watford striker Troy Deeney was through on goal the keeper saved it and the rebound was headed in by on-loan Udinese striker Matej Vydra. 1-0 to Watford and surely on their way to the title. The party atmosphere was back on as the Watford fans sang “We’re top of the league, we’re top of the league, we’re Watford F.C. and we’re top of the league.” The rest of the first half was also pretty boring as the game idled towards halftime.

At halftime there was a penalty shootout featuring little kids (final score 1-0), interviews with injured players and a presentation of an award to a Watford fan who continued attending every match despite the fact that her young daughter died two years ago. To me that sounds a bit nutty and misguided, but this is a sport where the fans are intensely loyal. The second half was just as boring as the first, with Watford continuing to dominate and the Wednesday fans doing all the singing.

That was until around the 80th minute when things started to become very interesting. First, some people in the Family Stand at Watford in the Vicarage Road end adjacent to the away supporters started “the wave”. This was most likely done out of boredom and it was the first time in 30 or so matches I had seen this done at an English soccer match. This was immediately met with a “what the f*cking hell is that” chant from the Wednesday fans. In around the 85th minute a fan from the Rookery End threw a flare onto the field well away from any of the players, which exploded into yellow smoke. As the match stopped, and a steward went to pick the flare up, another was thrown onto the pitch. A few minutes later the fans around me started to get out of their seats and move towards the pitch for the inevitable invasion.

But there would be more drama. Just into stoppage time, Wednesday won a free-kick deep into Watford territory. As the referee went through the ordeal of putting down the vanishing spray and pushing the players 10 yards back, a Watford fan jumped out of the Family Stand and onto the pitch. He started hugging the Watford players who were having none of it and physically tried to remove the fan from the pitch. They moved him about 10 yards before letting him go and letting the stewards deal with him. They failed and he got free for a little bit before he was arrested and both sets of supporters chanted “you fat bast*rd” at him. While everyone was watching this go on, the Watford supporters at the opposite end of the pitch had ended up going over the barrier and were almost at the touchline, such was the sheer force behind the surge towards the pitch. I thought to myself “everyone is so distracted Sheffield Wednesday are going to score from this.” And sure enough, after a couple of missed efforts and failed clearances, Wednesday were level. The Wednesday end erupted as the players went to celebrate in front of their fans, the noise was the loudest I had heard all day. Despite finishing mid-table, this would be the enduring memory of their season, a last minute equalizer to deny their opponents the Championship. The Watford fans around me gasped and I wondered if the pitch invasion would even take place given that they had just lost the title. And the Wednesday fans reignited the “AFC Bournemouth they’re top of the league” chant.

But it was not over yet, Watford still had three injury time minutes to find a winner. Soon they won a corner but there was a slight problem. The fans had spilled out past the touch line in that corner and the stewards had to push all the fans back so that the corner would be taken. No luck, Watford won another corner. Keeper Heurelho Gomes came up for this one as Watford pushed for the goal that would win them the title. Watford are known for these types of endings as in 2013 they conceded a stoppage time equalizer against Leeds when a goal at the other end would have seen them promoted and then in the playoff semi-final against Leicester, Watford saved a penalty and then scored at the other end to win 3-2 on aggregate in the 97th minute. Could we see similar heroics here? The corner came in and it was cleared. Suddenly, Wednesday were through on goal with no Watford players back to defend and a wide open pitch and goal for Wednesday to win the game. Things were about to get really awkward for Watford fans, as they were about to lose their promotion party match with two goals in stoppage time.

But no, as the Wednesday player started his march down the field, the referee blew for full time and suddenly the pitch was enveloped with Watford supporters. Fans were letting off smoke grenades and suddenly the entire stadium was a sea of yellow. I soon joined in with the pitch invasion but the whole thing felt very awkward. Watford had just conceded a late equalizer to destroy their main goal of the day, which was to win the championship. As the fans spilled out onto the field, the police surrounded the Wednesday end to ensure there would be no trouble. Many Watford fans still tried goading the fans by singing “We Are Premier League” right in front of the police barricade. This was replied to with chants of “AFC Bournemouth they’re top of the league” and a comical chant of “We’re not Premier League”. I must tip my cap to the Wednesday fans who were fantastic and a perfect representation of the beauty of supporting a soccer club.

After some standing around on the pitch we were ordered off so the players could come back. The usual march around the pitch with interviews of the star players and manager, most of whom were disappointed that the team did not win the title, which added to the slight awkwardness of the situation. I had the opportunity to shake the manager’s hand as he came to applaud my section of the ground (something I would never experience at Spurs) and the players were allowed to bring their loved ones onto the pitch. It was scenes of pure happiness at Vicarage Road (despite the failure to win the league which the fans did not seem to care about).

I then went into town to eat lunch and kill some time before my evening activity for the day (which was to go visit the Harry Potter Studios which are near Watford). Before heading to Watford Junction to get the shuttle bus to Leavesden, I decided to make a detour and walk down one of the busier streets in town out of curiosity. Despite the fact that it was a full three hours after the full time whistle, there were still many fans celebrating and singing the Watford songs. I went up to a police officer and asked why they were celebrating in these specific locations and after a couple of generic responses most likely triggered by my American accent, one of the police officers said it was because “all the pubs are here and a couple of the Watford players are in that one over there”. So I walked over to that pub and sure enough two of the players were signing autographs for fans and drinking champagne. I slipped past the security guard, who was preventing a mass entrance to the pub, and took a selfie with one of the players. To have this opportunity the next day when Chelsea clinched the Premier League, I would have had to pay thousands upon thousands of pounds.

The fact that players were celebrated with fans really hit home with me and made me realize how special this occasion really was. Watford have traditionally spent most of their existence in the lower divisions (with the exception of a two-year period in the 1980’s in which they finished second to Liverpool and lost an FA Cup Final to Everton under the chairmanship of Elton John) and have only been promoted to the Premier League twice before (and both times they finished 20th and immediately went back down). Watford is a small village which is sort of part of London (it’s inside the M1 and M25 and the London Transport Network reaches there) and sort of isn’t (it has its own postcode, its own bus system, is 20 miles from Westminster and the inhabitants do not identify themselves as Londoners). Their fan base almost entirely consists of people who either grew up in Watford or people currently living in Watford. The club is the identity of the town, the one opportunity for Watford to show the outside world what the town is really all about. As a result, everyone in the town rallies around the team and lives through the team’s fortunes, which creates an indelible bond between the natives and the club. Promotion to the Premier League means a global audience will be tuning into Vicarage Road next season when Watford host the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool in front of what will hopefully be a raucous atmosphere.

This is what soccer is all about, passionate loyal fans who follow their team no matter their status as opposed to a vast fan base of fans from all over the world who feel no real connection to their club, which we often see at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea etc. The fans feel a strong connection with the players, the coaching staff, and the ownership. Watford’s success really means something to the people of the town; the economy will thrive when large Premier League away followings come to a sold out Vicarage Road next season. And even if the team go straight back down, the people of Watford will still be able to hold onto the memories of the promotion and battling against the big boys. I look forward to following Watford’s progress next year and I will never forget the scenes when Watford went up. If only there was promotion and relegation in the United States so fans could get similarly excited, but that’s a completely different debate for a different day.