BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDS

I’m in Wales, in the nice little capital city of Cardiff. When I said I was going to Edinburgh, people said “Cool!” But when I said I was also going to Cardiff, people said:
“Why?”
Two reasons. Castles- there’s two of them in the city. And soccer. Yes. See, one of the reasons I started to like the English Football Association was because of a semi-random site that I found whilst surfing the internet was a journal describing what it was like to route for a third-division team. That requires explanation. Third division would be roughly the equivalent of single-A baseball. The story was so compelling, the enthusiasm was so infectious, that I started to route for them in the States. As I continued to watch I noticed that they did in fact get better and better.
This is now where I make my sales pitch for promotion and relegation in the U.S. If you have heard it before, and/or don’t want to hear it again, then skip to the next paragraph. In the European soccer leagues, there are several levels like in baseball. Only when a team wins a championship in their level, they get promoted to the next level. Conversely, the team that comes in dead last in the level gets demoted (or relegated) to the level below. It gives everyone a reason to play harder- no one wants to get demoted, everyone wants to get promoted- and it makes every game at every level a little more interesting. San Francisco Giants come in last? They’re a triple-A club next year. The Des Moines Cubs win their league and prove they’re the best triple-A? Put ‘em in The Show! I don’t care if there are two clubs called the Cubs, you’ve earned your way in. Why should teams that perennially suck (Tampa Bay, Kansas City) always get to be in the top? Aren’t you even a little curious if a triple-A team is better? You could find out. It would radically change baseball, but I think for the better. What good is playing 160 games if you play over 30% of your season against four teams? “It’s tradition!” Not all traditions are good. (okay, I’m off soapbox)
First thing in the morning I went to the pharmacy. The price of OTC drugs were roughly the same, but vitamins were more expensive. I came back, had some breakfast and took the British-equivalent of TheraFlu. After that, I started to walk to Ninian Park- the home of Cardiff City’s Football Club- so that I could buy a ticket to the night game. I also bought a scarf and hat (a more-solid knit cap than the one I had on), and walked back. It was roughly a 25 minute walk to and from the park.
Once back, I went about trying to find the Cardiff Library. The tour book I have (which I should know better about trusting by this point) says that the city library has free internet. But, as usual, I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t where it said it was; unlike an internet café which could be closed, this simply was just not there. There was no building at the location on the map- the entire three blocks was razed. It pointed to a temporary library, but I couldn’t find that either, and the temporary library wasn’t on the map. Figuring I’d already walked about 4 miles, I just gave up. I decided to pay the fee to connect at the hotel (that’s why all my posts just appeared). Once I finished my internet business, I left for my sightseeing. Fortunately for me, that’s just across the street!
Castle Cardiff is a resplendent, almost ostentatious castle with a history that explains in a nutshell the existence of the city. As with many castles in Britain, it was originally a Roman fort. The Welsh were a people that lived between rocky shores and rocky inlands- usually limited habitable land means fighting. And the Welsh fought everyone that came here. The Romans didn’t really foray too far in, and eventually the Welsh respected them and traded with them. The Normans tried- they tried to conquer Wales so many times that had they not expended so much energy trying, they may still be in control of England. The English conquered by culture- and eventually by war. The English weaseled their way to the Welsh crown; one could argue that the current Prince of Wales is a weasel yet. Strangely, there’s a sign on the main street that says “Wales- the Happy Country.”
All of that history aside, the city known as Caer Dydd (translated from the gaelic Welsh to “Fort Didi,” a possible Roman praetorian) was only about 1,000 people as late as the early 1800’s. A noble from Scotland- the Marquis of Bute- was owner of the land from the mouth of the Severn and inland into Wales. The Marquis was an educated man, and he discovered his fortune under his feet… in coal. Welsh coal made that noble the richest man in the world. As a result, he had money to do eccentric things, and one of his loves was castles. So he went about restoring those on his land. The coal town of Cardiff boomed. The coal ran out, and the city began to shrink, but the city found a way to survive and now Cardiff is the capital of Wales.
Castle Cardiff is interesting, if nothing else. It could be described as a tourist trap. The parts of the castle one is allowed to tour are gaudy, and as the rooms were designed in the late 1800’s, there’s little historical significance to the living area. More interesting were the original remains of the Roman keep, which is being restored. I took pictures and visited the Welsh Regimental Museum, then went back for dinner.
Seeing as how it was game night, I wanted to be fed, but not break the bank doing it, so I committed a tourist sin and ate at McDonalds. I needed speed and certainty in my meal, and they offer that. Fed and ready, I began the trip to the park.
Ninian Park, named after the 4th child of the 3rd Marquis of Bute (who actually, instead of sounding like a simp, brought great honor to his family in the military and died leading a charge in the Battle of Ypres- that’s WWI) is about a mile outside of the city center, and I recognized I was heading the right way when the mob started growing on the same route. I eventually found the right door, and went to enter the stadium. I noticed a few fundamental differences between American sporting venues and this venue.
First fundamental difference: Entry into this stadium was through a doorway no more than 30” wide, and the ticket taker was in a highly secure booth. The turnstile was industrial, and was backed by a policeman. However, the rumors I had heard about searches were false, or at least they were at this place.
Second fundamental difference: The concessions were under the stands, but there were no windows, and the concessions weren’t even visible on a cursory look. No smoking in the stadium meant the people were drinking and surly…
Third fundamental difference: The fans are as rowdy, if not more rowdy, than American fans. Penn Staters are proud of their “Zombie Bounce.” Wisconsin has it’s 4th quarter “Jump Around.” Illinois does… whatever the hell it is they do to stimulate their brains to some form of activity. The hooligans- the top fans, for whom cheerleaders are an insult- sing. Actually, it’s more accurately described this way: They sing, in unison, the first verse of a fight song, usually pointing and taunting the opponent’s (other side’s) fans. The second verse follows on time, and they start swaying while maintaining the tempo, pitch, and clarity of the singing. Verse three they sway at quadruple time while maintaining the song. Verse four they are jumping at the quadruple tempo, waving scarves, and punctuating their zeal with a highly emotional final chorus. I watch the fans trade this back and forth, not continuously, but half the match at least. As I understand it, these fans are considered tame compared to the other leagues.
The game (match) was a considerable challenge (test) to the home team (side), the visitors (away side) were acknowledged as a quality organization (club), and the current players (lads) were struggling. The teams were the Cardiff City Blue Birds (royal blue uniforms with white and yellow) and the Wolverhampton Wanderers (also the Wolves, and they are orange and black). The action was quick right off the start.
For those of you that don’t like soccer for any variety of reasons, I would suggest you need to let go of your sports ADD. These guys beat the hell out of each other just going for the ball. Offside in soccer is actually quite easy to understand, like it is easy to understand in hockey or football. Ties are considered quite honorable everywhere in the world but the States, which only goes to reinforce the stereotype of spoiled, whiny rich dullards.
The constant motion of the game done by real pros is hypnotic, and halftime in this game came at a time that just felt right. The Wolves scored first, but the Blue Birds scored within 2 minutes to tie up and got a penalty kick 5 minutes after that, which turned the place electric. It was awesome to see and hear 14,000 lose their minds. The home side hooligans didn’t shop shaking and bouncing for a solid 5 minutes after the second goal.
Halftime was a flurry of activity that was almost carnival like. In one place on the field (pitch), there was the 6-7 year olds playing a mini-match; in another, a man and woman that had won the “you have the special program” contest were eating an Italian meal, being serenaded by four Italian men, while they ate; in another portion, they had a “Score-O” Shed wherein if you kicked the ball into the shed, you won 20 pounds and an autographed jersey (I wonder if they got the shed from Arthur “Two Sheds” Jackson (Ack! Another Month Python reference!))
The second half proved that, no matter what the sport, when you play not to lose, you inevitably lose. The home team played a tepid second half- for those of you that know or understand soccer, the midfield slowly broke down over the half- and the other team eventually put two in the net to take the lead. Of course, that’s when the home team started playing with energy. And I saw in soccer something I’d never seen except in hockey- they pulled the goalie!!! Except instead of leaving the field, he ran up into the offensive zone!!! And took a shot on net!!!
The game ended, a disappointment for the home team, and leaving the stadium was like walking into a giant smoking lounge. I eventually made it home and started typing this.