We started off on Friday morning meeting at the station to catch the 8.42 train to Glasgow to start our WorldBowl adventure. Im a veteran of three WB's and John has been to two but this was Scott's first trip to the championship game.
Conversation turned to the game and the disappointment about last week, the various merits of the Cowboys (me), Bengals(John) and Patriots(Scott) were discussed as well as the decision to try to form a Flag team in Aberdeen. Soon we were arriving in Glasgow Queen Street Station and it was a taxi off to the hotel.
One minor hitch when Scott discovered that he should have been there on the 10th!! was quickly resolved so we dumped out bags and made the short(ish) walk to George Square to see them prepare for the party that night. A quick visit to tht (poor) merchandise stand and a bit to eat while we waited for our American friend Allen to call then we caught a train to Hampden with the purpose of visiting the WB exhibition......only when we got there we were informed by a bunch od Fire fans that the exhibition had been cancelled due to "technical difficulties". There was a Scotland v England flag game just round the corner from Hampden so we took off to watch that.
The flag game was excellent with the Carluke predators winning in an exciting game that went right to the last play, we met Jim one of the guys from the TDC site and he kindly offered to run us back to the hotel as well as giving us copies of the Evening Times WB pull out
Back to the hotel and we changed and headed out again, hunger was begining to bite and Scott spotted an Indian restaurant so it was off for a curry before the George Square party. When we got to George Square the party had started but there was no drink allowed at it which kinda put a damp squib on the proceedings, there was no merchandise stall either which was kinda hard to believe. There was still no sigh of Allen but Heather from the "East Meets West" fan club told us that he had been held up. To be honest the party wasnt great, the McCluskeys didngo down well and swearing to the crowd didnt help. Highlight of the party was Lesley and the Cheerise doing a version of Girls Alouds "Sound of the underground"....believe me it was better than the original.
With no drink available the crowd started to thin out so we took off to the HogsHead and sat there for a couple of drinks, TDC, FTP and Zanzibar also arrived then it was off to the student union for the TDC party.
This is what NFL Europe is all about, 500 punters from all teams in the league having fun!! Karl Bryne kept the music going helped in no small part by The Mad Hatter and it was great to meet fans from all corners of Europe. We met up with Mike, one of the Berlin Thunder Mad Drummers and chairman of the Thunder #1 fan club, and promised hei mwe would be over to sample his hospitality in Berlin next season.
Allen then showed face!! he and Jim joined us as the drink flowed and the atmosphere increased...some of my memories are a bit hazy but I was pulled up to do the Rhein Fire "Follow The Leader " dance which was great as well as the conga chain later on. A big thanks to Steve Dalglish, John Myles and Andy Lennox for putting together a superb evening.
Leaving there a bit unsteady on our feet we made our way back surprisingly easy to our hotel.
Saturday morning and it was Game Day, a quick shower and it was into town as the sun beat down, a bite to eat then we watched the Lord Provosts parade and it was time to head to Hampden. We got there about 1.30 and headed straight for the merchandise stall, it was busy even at this early hour but Scott got his cap and T shirt then it was off to the Gold Tent for out free beer (typical Aberdonian eh?).
It was really hot on the Saturday so we just sat on the grass, took in the sun and watched the crowd stream into Lesser Hampden.
We headed off to the Gold Lounge and sat and had a beer while Gorgon arrived, Chris was intent on watching Mystique so we took out seats and watched the build up to the game.
The pre game show was excellent, the Cheeries put on a superb show and Fish's rendition of Caledonia made the hairs on your neck stand up, The WB trophy was taken into the Stadium by "The Clan and placed on the podium in the South Stand. Hats off to the NFL and Rocksteady who allowed people to get close up photos of it...myself included..
The German and Scottish national anthems were observed then the Red Arrows flew past...well flew past the carpark....hey at least we saw the shadows!!...The One O'Clock gun from Edinburgh Castle then signalled the start of THE GAME
Another superb post game show as Frankfurt won their third WorldBowl with tickertape and fireworksthen it was off to the lounge for the last time this season. Allen appeared again and we gave him a Claymores shirt, a CD Rom with photos and a Claymores Booster pin badge to remind him of his time in Scotland and he promised to return, this time a trip to Aberdeen was on his aganda! We left the lounge thanking the FO for thir help throughout the season and with Ian and Maria joining us we headed back to the city and ANOTHER Indian meal.
We sat chatting about football and making real plans for the flag team and the time slipped by, a stroll through Glasgow (all life is here) and back to the hotel to end a long and tiring day.
On Sunday we packed and Gordon and Chris set out early to head home in the car, we had t hand about Glasgow till 3.40 so we did a bit of shopping and sat and had a drink in the Station before catching the train home.
We arrived back on Sunday night, tired but happy.It was a great weekend, we met countless fans from different teams and it was a superb experience...................roll on next year cos you can be sure....we will be doing it all again
Dave
