Yesterday afternoon I went with my friend Mark, seen in the photograph on the left, to watch the Tottenham Hotspur play Manchester United for the Europa League trophy at Ester's Pub in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver. Although we arrived early, the place was already filled with Tottenham fans, and we were lucky to get a seat on the patio with a view of the television. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) sponsors three tournaments during the soccer season, pitting the best teams in Europe against each other. The top league is the Champions League, the second the Europa, and the third is the Confederations League. Amazingly enough, Manchester United is in 16th place in England's Premier League, Tottenham 17th, while teams 18 through 20 are relegated to the lower-level Championship League. In other words, neither team is very good, but still beat all those other European teams to get to the final. And although Manchester United seemed to dominate the ball, Tottenham won the game 1-0.
Since Tottenham was only one spot above relegation, the Europa trophy would be their only chance at glory this year, which explained the large crowd at Esters cheering them on. And cheer them on they did. The hardcore fans at the bar were leading everyone in the singing of "When the Spurs Go Marching In" (to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In") at frequent intervals, not to mention shouting British expletives when things went wrong. Curiously, those hardcore fans would also pound on the bar once in a while and then shout "Yeats," which I have heard before and still don't understand. What do the Tottenham Hotspur have to do with an early 20th century Irish poet - did he write poems about the team, inspiring them to greatness? I asked Mark to head over to the bar during halftime and ask those guys what it all meant, but he forgot to do it. And so, we'll sadly never know. In any case, when Tottenham won the game, the crowd went wild, cheering, waving their arms, and hugging each other. It was the first trophy Tottenham has won in 17 years. And it could be another 17 years before they win another, so everyone obviously wanted to take advantage of the moment while they could. Enjoy guys!
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