The Boleyn Ground: More than bricks and bubbles
It’s amazing what some bricks and a patch of grass can bring you!
On 10th August 1999, a six-year-old boy travelled on the District line, from Hornchurch, a few stops to Upton Park tube station. That six-year-old, accompanied by his dad, got off at that stop for the first time and walked up Green Street to see one of the most enormous buildings ever. It was unimaginably large and got bigger and bigger with every step towards it.
Once that boy got through the turnstiles and walked up the stairs into the stand his jaw dropped. The pitch was huge! How can there be so much green?
Time soon passed and the building began to fill up with swaths of people adorned in claret and blue. Several players then came out onto the pitch to warm up. The boy had no idea who any of them were but he’d soon find out.
Kick off was approaching and suddenly the crowd burst into song – something about some bubbles. The noise kept going even when the game of football had begun. The boy eagerly watched his first live match, taking it all in for the whole 90 minutes of playing time. Final result: West Ham United 0-1 FC Metz. Some bloke called Louis Saha got the goal. Whatever happened to him?
As you have probably concluded that six-year-old boy is me, now 23 years of age. That game got me hooked even if they did lose it (something I have grown accustomed to over the years). I had to cover my ears because I found it too loud. The only other time I had to do that was at the Southend air show. That level of noise tends to stay with you.
The sights, the sounds and the passion led to an obsession with football and West Ham United in particular. I had no prior connection to the club whatsoever – I have a Scottish mother and a Canadian father after all. The only link I had was that I lived in the area. It was the Boleyn Ground that turned me into a fan.
I write this on the afternoon of May 10th 2016 – the day of the last ever game at the stadium and I find myself in a difficult position. There is sadness because I’ll never again be able to watch my team at the stadium that started it all. There is also joy and anticipation ahead for the future at the Olympic Stadium, an arena I saw being built step by step as I passed the area on the train. So if there’s a time to feel nostalgic it’s today.
The Boleyn Ground has given me so many highs and plenty of lows over the last 17 years. My dad forked out on season tickets, for the pair of us, on two separate occasions – the 2002/3 season and the 2010/11 season. Eagle-eyed West Ham fans will quickly notice that those are the two seasons we got relegated. I thought I was cursed and it does not get lower than that.
However, those seasons have faded away into insignificance partly because of where we are now (thankfully) but also because today, as I look back, the good memories far outweigh the bad ones.
Di Canio’s goal against Wimbledon in 2000 has a special place in the memory vault as does Carlos Tevez’s heroics in the great escape season. This year’s victories against the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool are also keenly remembered.
The ground has also allowed me to watch some of my absolute favourite players in action. The likes of Di Canio, Joe Cole, Tevez, Scott Parker, Mark Noble, Dimitri Payet, and the mighty ginger Pele himself. I have also seen some of the worst players possible pull on the claret and blue shirt with Radoslav Kováč and Savio springing to mind. However, that’s what I find makes the club special. Regardless of whether we have a cracking squad, as we thankfully do now, or if we have the biggest heap of rubbish, as we did under Avram Grant, the fans always turn out for the team.
The Boleyn Ground is always full and the atmosphere is unique. I’ve learnt a number of words over the years from the Upton Park faithful, most of which I’m not allowed to use in everyday conversation, but behind it all is a unique passion for the players that wear the shirt. If it’s channelled in the right way it’s a powerful weapon and if the players tap into it, and work their socks off, they will become one of us, regardless of talent. Let’s face it, no other club would have appreciated the skill set of Carlton Cole the way we did…
So now I come on to my favourite memory of all. Wednesday 20th April 2016: West Ham United 3-1 Watford. The last ever game I attended at the Boleyn Ground and it showcased everything I love about the club and that arena. A nighttime atmosphere that is second to none, a buoyant support and some cracking play executed in the way we at West Ham like the game to be played.
So as we say goodbye to the Boleyn Ground, we must not forget the place and what it has done for us. There will never ever be another Upton Park and, for me, it will always be the start of my greatest passion.
However, we must remember that, while there is only one Boleyn, there will also only be one Olympic Stadium. We can make it a magical arena just as we did with Upton Park. It’s time to start the next chapter and, who knows, there may be a six-year-old boy waiting to start his adventure next year after visiting the stadium where pretty bubbles reach the sky.