FanPost

City in the Big Apple

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I can't remember the last time I was in NYC. I guess I should get out more but after driving to Pittsburgh and NYC, I'll take driving to Pittsburgh any day! The drive north along the NJ turnpike wasn't bad. The Lincoln Tunnel was even ok. It was after coming out of the tunnel when you really see first hand how much traffic there is in NYC. But why were my brother and I going to downtown Manhattan when the match was further north in the Bronx? To visit and have lunch at the Mad Hatter which every City fan should be required to do! What an awesome place. It's a decent sized pub and if you want to be surrounded by fantastic NYC Man City fans, this is the place to be. I can't even imagine the crowd this place must get on match days. We had a really good lunch, I ordered a Blue Moon of course, and we sat in their outside beer-garden which has a couple tv's and banners everywhere. There was a good crowd on hand and they were all chanting and singing praise to the boys in sky blue. Seriously, if you are ever in NYC, go the the Mad Hatter. It's so worth it.

On now to Yankee stadium. The driving had been going ok so far, meaning we had not gotten lost....until now. A wrong turn somewhere and we ended up in Queens instead of on the FDR Parkway that would have taken us basically right up to the stadium. Long story short, we finally made it. But holy cow, Liverpool fans everywhere. I mean, everywhere. City fans were greatly outnumbered but there was no trouble as far as I could see. Everyone was just excited to see their favorite teams live.

We went inside and while getting some money from an ATM (damn NJ/NYC tolls) a man and his son were standing behind me with Liverpool shirts on. We talked a little and the boy, about 4-5 years old, said "boo City" to me. I turned around and asked him if he could read the lettering on my City shirt which said, "Champions". Take that kid. We laughed and went our separate ways.

We got down to our seats and the views were incredible. Twelve rows up from the field. Awesome. It was a good match, but I just really enjoyed seeing more of the regular starters in the lineup. Jovetic had another outstanding match. If he's out to prove something, he's doing it! I'm also really liking Bruno Zuculini a lot! This guy has attitude on the pitch and he's not afraid to mix it up and take a shot. This was a great signing by City. Big Willy continues to impress me to no end. He had a huge point blank save in the first half. He reads the game so well. Seeing Milner and Dzeko out there as well was really exciting for me.

The big, big moment in the second half was when Yaya Toure came on. City fans went absolutely nuts! I jumped up and started yelling "YAYA" over and over. It caught on because I could hear others around me saying it too. Well, I'm taking credit for it anyway. I didn't expect to see him play. What a thrill to see the best midfield in the world just feet away from you. Incredible. Even though we lost on pk's, just seeing Yaya was worth the trip alone. I guess City need to practice the 'ol pk's a bit more. Of course, leave it to the 17 year old wonder kid, "Nacho" to score the only one. Did I mention in my previous post that he was going to be something?

Well, to wrap it up, it was great seeing City in Pittsburgh and NYC. I know a couple other Bitter and Blue members were at the match last night and I'm sorry we didn't meet up. Probably be easier to do so before the match-next time! Oh, one more quick story. As we were driving home south on the NJ turnpike, we stopped at a service center off the turnpike. As I was going in, I noticed someone coming up behind me. I held the door and it was a man in a Liverpool shirt. I smiled and said, "good game". He said, "yea, but you guys won the big prize". Damn straight. Champions!

Again, I took many, many pictures. There is a link below of a video-photo slide show I put together for you to watch. Thanks!

City in NYC.

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