I went to Barcelona v AC Milan last night, and there were some interesting lessons to be learned for feverites. Here are a few thoughts.
1. It is possible for a crowd to hold the tune of Go West! Imagine that! I, like many others, had thought it literally impossible, but turns out it's possible. This is definitely something nix fans should aspire to one day (long term thinking I know).
2. The stadium felt a lot smaller than I expected. Sounds odd for a 98,000 seat stadium, but I kept comparing it to the MCG which is the only remotely comparable stadium I've been to, and that felt much bigger. I was in the second tier of seats and had as good if not a better view than I would from the fever zone.
3. Pretty sure I heard 'all we need is a team of Vinnie Lias' thrown in there. Just saying.
4. The crowd had a sixth sense for the game that was unlike anything I've seen. I should probably expect it but the crowd were one step ahead of me the whole time. Things like when an opportunity was missed to play the ball forward in to a gap they would groan en masse. It's not something you see in NZ where crowds aren't as football mad.
5. The 'fever zone' equivalent of singing and chanting behind the goal was only about 300 people. I expected it to be bigger. Turns out a good atmosphere doesn't depend entirely on the whole stadium leading chants in unison.
6. The players were all quite good. I'll leave it at that!
