Chelsea, Tottenham, and free ‘champagne’: my football origin story

Location: The Green Man Soho, London, UK. The match: Chelsea vs Tottenham, November 26, 2016. The set-up: Two girls on a Thanksgiving getaway, catching some soccer in a bar before lunch reservations.

As a budding Premier League enthusiast, I was looking forward to watching a match in London, even if only at a pub. At this point in time, I had yet to declare my allegiance to any team. My friend, Emily, was along for the ride.

As I ordered two beers at the bar, a kind gentleman offered his card to me to pay for my order. We had a brief chat, I thanked him for the drinks, and I found my way back to my friend, Emily. With one of us (Emily) having been recently jilted by a Hotspur fan, Chelsea was our team for the night.

Tottenham go up in the eleventh minute, with a goal from Christian Eriksen. A few moments later, the server saunters by our hightop, says, “this is for you,” and drops off a tin bucket of ice, four glasses, and a bottle of cheap bubbly. As the confusion settles in, the gentleman from the bar and his accomplice, saddle up next to us. They had purchased the sparkling wine for us all to share.

I consider being bought a drink by a stranger a rare treat, as long as the strangers are well behaved. I believe that receiving a bottle from a stranger may be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Especially at your run-of-the-mill sports bar.

Our new friends worked in maintenance for The Underground. They had worked over the weekend for extra pay, and they wanted to celebrate. I don’t remember the details, but the conversation was light and fun, with a bit of a laugh at American politics (it was 2016, remember).

We chatted, watched the match, drank champagne and beer, and made life-long memories. In the end, Chelsea came back from a goal down, and returned to the top of the Premier League table. They would go on to win the league on May 12, 2017. Tottenham would finish second.

The final score:

Chelsea defeated Tottenham 2-1. I won free ‘champagne’ and a secured life-long team allegiance to Chelsea. Emily garnered a secret win over a dusty Spurs fan from Boston.