We Are QPR! We Are QPR!

Nearly six weeks after setting foot in London, I finally managed to do something I've been dying to do since I got here: attend a football match (that's soccer for my American readers). It was Queen Park Rangers, better known as QPR for obvious reasons, against Ipswich, nicknamed the Tractor Boys because the town of Ipswich is mostly rural. It wasn't a typical match either. It may not have been a Premier League game, but the outcome determined which team would advance to the premiership. Needless to say there was a full stadium and a lot at stake.

The game was pretty good. QPR scored within the first few minutes and Ipswich caught up to tie the game by the half. Even though the Rangers had a strong start, they lost it after that. QPR was plagued by a sloppy defense, haphazard passes that ended up in the wrong places and a few shoddy calls in the second half. The game was loud and fascinating to watch, but even more so were the fans. Supporters here are hard-core, like nothing I've seen regularly in the states. It starts with wearing team colors to the match and ends with intense shouting and cheering matches between fans.

Nothing got out of control, but swarms of coppers in orange vests were ready if anything did happen. It's not uncommon for fights to erupt between fans following intense football matches. We lucked out and things ended calmly, but there was a group of fans sitting in front of us we had a bit of fun silently teasing for their constant chants of 'We are QPR, We are QPR!'.

If you ever get the chance to visit the UK, Football is definitely a must-see. It's a huge part of the culture and loads of fun to watch.