On Sunday 3rd of August we attended the Emirates Cup 2014. On this occasion we went along for fun, without counting people, measuring stair widths or looking at behaviour. Nevertheless, observing behaviour is not a switch that you can turn off easily. This time our aim was to focus on the visitor experience. Specifically – why do people watch football live and pay a lot of money for a ticket, instead of watching a football match on the television?
1.30PM – Thousands of supporters all queuing up to scan their tickets to enter the stadium via the turnstiles. We observe a lot of red/white t-shirts, seeing that the fans are proudly supporting their football team. Although we see lots of different people, from different backgrounds – the common Social Identity stands outs. It feels like we are part of a family.
2.30PM – The Goalkeeper is warming up. Upon entering the field, he doesn’t wave to the fans. He starts with his routine by walking to the goal, kicks both goal posts and touches the bar. The development of routines in sport has consistently been shown to be important in directing attentional focus to important cues, so aiding Performance and Mindset.
4.45PM – Fans are waving and singing . A five year old kid knows the lyrics and proudly cheers for Alexis Sanchez. His dad and his older brother and granddad are standing aside and you can see the joy from their faces. Three generations watching football and experiencing to be part of the crowd. It is the Exclusivity & Creating Memories that makes you want to be part of that.
6.00PM – Unfortunately, Arsenal lost to Monaco FC, but we were happy and satisfied to have watched two fantastic football matches and to be part of the Arsenal crowd. It was a great day out!
Do not forget – Premier League starts this weekend! Live or on TV?