A Pilgrimage

I’m certain this is not a new idea, but it would seem appropriate to propose it now, what with the looming completion of the new Riverside Stand and the (fingers crossed) COVID-19 pandemic abated, if not obliterated.
How about a Fulham USA junket to London next season? And not just the national group (if we can even qualify for that moniker), but all the new city and regional groups that have sprung up like so many sidewalk crack weeds in recent years.
Even as I hunt and peck this out on my dumbphone, I’m thinking, James, you’re an idiot. You’re T-plus four days from knee replacement #2 THIS YEAR, with ankle reconstruction and hammer toe surgeries in the on deck circle, 60% disability pay for the foreseeable future, birthday #65 near the projected end of the carnage, the pending arrival of grandchild #1, and kids and their spouses who wanna go to the beach, ASAP, after arrival of said grandchild.
Screw it.
Maybe we can persuade our American owner to chip in with, say, a few extra seats on one of his Flex ‘N’ Gate private jets? Or a supporters’ only trans-Atlantic cruise on his yacht Kismet?
OK, probably not.
Yep, London’s expensive, as is getting there and back. But if, like me, you’ll be highly motivated after all the B.S. we’ve all been through the last two years, along with all of the usual life stuff that just happens, you’ll be ready for some memory making, SW6 style.
Anybody interested?

 

I cannot, but may these two pics from my pilgrimage many years ago serve as an inspiration to the rest of you.

 

I still haven't made the pilgrimage. Sadly the finances won't allow it yet. The MLS all star game many years ago was the only time I've gotten a chance to see them play. If this trip happens a few years from now count me in.

 

Me and Mrs. Thomas and I went in 2014 during our 30th anniversary trip…Craven Cottage vs. Norwich Sat., April 12th, Sheffield United vs. Hull City at Wembley Sun., April 13th, Eurostar to Paris for a couple of days on Monday, April 14th, our actual ann’y date. Fulham won 1-nil on a flick in by Hugo Rodallega off a Lewis Holtby free kick headed on by Steve Sidwell. We were 5 or 6 rows up from the pitch toward the Putney End of the Riverside Stand. We flew Delta from Louisville to Atlanta to Heathrow. Came back through JFK, which was interesting, but no major issues. Stayed at the Marriott Maida Vale, which was actually more in Kilburn, about 7 miles north northeast of the Cottage. A friend with numerous London trips under his belt talked me through the Priceline intricacies for the hotel, and my wife had a lot of Delta frequent flier miles banked from work trips, so we did OK saving some money on those two fronts.

 

I sort of counted us lucky that there just happened to be two FA Cup Semifinals at Wembley the weekend we were gonna be there. Arsenal/Wigan was the same day as Fulham/Norwich City, albeit 2 hours later. Hull City/Sheffield United was the following Sunday afternoon, and we had no trouble securing a couple of seats in the Blades’ end a few weeks before our departure. Probably lucky for us since the ticket demand was significantly less. We did the London Eye thing the morning of the Fulham match, had lunch at Bailey’s Fish & Chips on Dawes Road in Fulham, then walked the mile or so through the neighborhoods between the restaurant and the Cottage. I think Bailey’s was actually closer to Stamford Bridge than CC, but whatever.