March 13, 2009: Boddington's

Being a football (meaning soccer, not American football. Although being an American football fan in Los Angeles is difficult in it's own way) in America is tough. Hardly anyone can possibly understand the lengths that we go to to follow a sport being played half way across the world. We wake up at ridiculously early hours to watch games, or sometimes just listen to them being broadcast over the internet. If you want to see your favorite team play in the flesh, it takes planning an epic pilgrimage that is sure to test the true veracity of your fanhood. God help any football fan in the states that doesn't support a major club like Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal or Real Madrid, because the chances of your team's games being televised in the states is beyond remote. I've always thought that you have to be a bit of a masochist to be a football fan in America, because you've got to be willing to deal with a lot of disappointment, loneliness and hangovers.

If you've ever had the privilege to be in a big European city on match day, then you know what an incredible experience it is. Here in the states, we football fans are used to waking up as early as four a.m. just to make it to kickoff. In England, for example, a football match can be an all day experience. You can wake up, hit the pubs with some of your mates and drink for a good three or four hours before they even open the stadium gates. If your team is playing on the other side of the country, no problem. You're really no more than three or four hours away from any stadium in England by rail, and there's really no reason that you couldn't see your favorite team play on any given Saturday if you're willing to spend a little extra cash. What did I have to do when I want to see my beloved Liverpool Football Club for the first time? I had to use my modest student loan money to but a plane ticket to England, stay in less than reputable hostels while pinch almost every penny I had, buy tickets from a scalper that I found on Craigslist.com for almost ten times the face value, and brave the swarming, unruly masses of rival fans that clogged the city streets of Liverpool near Anfield stadium, but for me it was more than worth it.

Ever since experiencing match day in England for myself, I've been desperate to replicate the experience here in the states. Towards this end, my friends and I came up with what I think is the closest that one can ever get to experiencing a match day here in the states.

The plan is quite simple, really. There's a certain pub in Santa Monica that is probably the closest thing to a proper British pub that I've ever come across in the states. One night we decided that if we were going to wake up early to watch the games anyway, we should just drink ourselves blind in the pub until it shuts down at two a.m., then head back to the car to take a quick nap before the pub opens again at four a.m. to show the game. This half-baked scheme has provided all of the intrigue, drunken rambling and sheer unadulterated that one could expect from the match day experience, for the past three seasons.

Tonight is the eve of one of England's most important and heated rivalries between Liverpool Football Club and Manchester United. I've come with my friend Travis who is a fellow Liverpool fan to abuse my body by drinking copious amounts of alcohol and depriving my body of some much needed sleep to watch the match at the pub. Since we're in a British owned and operated pub waiting to watch a football match, it only seems appropriate for me to drink one of the most quintessential British ales of all time; Boddington's.

If you've never treated yourself to a Boddington's Ale, then shame on you. You've been depriving yourself of one of the finest British style ales known to man, and there is no excuse for it. Whenever someone asks me to describe what drinking a Boddington's is like, I usually tell them to imagine drinking a Guiness, and minus the heavy taste of a stout, and you've got a basic description of what a Boddington's is like. What I mean by that is Boddington's is an ultra smooth and creamy ale, that has a mouthfeel that is very, very similar to Guiness. The taste of Boddingon's is surprisingly light for such a thick ale, with floral and fruity notes that are very subtle. For my money, Boddington's is the best example of what an English ale should be. I get why some people don't really care for this beer, and it's certainly not for lager loving little sissy boys (no offense lager heads!). But if you're the kind of guy who likes a good solid ale with tons of taste and substance, then Boddington's is a great choice for you.

Cheers,
Ian

P.S. In case you're wondering how the Manchester United - Liverpool derby turned out.... Liverpool beat the absolute tar out of Man U!!!!! Take that you dirty Mancs! We may not win the league this year, but at least we beat you both times this season. No offense to any Man U fans out there..... wait, what am I saying? Suck it Man U fans!!!!!!!

http://www.inbev.co.uk/Brands_UK_and_Ireland.htm