The Theatre of Dreams

Now that we are still here in Manchester, England, let's move on to the main event and as I mentioned earlier in the previous experience of the overall city of Manchester, the very reason as to why tourists from around the world pay a visit to this part of the country. We will be heading to one of the most iconic football stadiums in the whole world, and a place where local and international fans unite every week to support their club. This stadium is the one and only, Old Trafford.

Again, I would like to share this experience at Old Trafford as I feel that this is for everyone, regardless of whether you love football or not. I compare it as going to a concert or to a museum. You won't always necessarily be attending things you particularly love or care for, but the experience of being there, directly seeing what all the hype is about, and not to mention, soaking in the atmosphere of a packed stadium of almost 76, 000 people is something at another level.

Old Trafford is one of the world's top football stadiums for a reason, or should I say, for numerous reasons. Without stuffing all of these reasons together in one boring looking paragraph, here are just some of the reasons as to why Old Trafford is a must visit:

1. Just right after London's Wembley Stadium, the main stadium for premium show downs in England (~90, 000 capacity), Old Trafford is the United Kingdom's second biggest stadium. On a larger continental scale, it is also in the top ten of the largest stadiums in Europe.
2. Old Trafford has been home to Manchester United for the past one hundred and five years, although the rough times during the World War it's been closed due to damages from the bombings.
3. The stadium has hosted major international competitions, notably The World Cup in 1966, The European Championship in 1996, and The Uefa Champions League Final in 2003 between Italian power houses Juventus and AC Milan.
4. The average attendance for Manchester United throughout its seasons, for the past few years has consistently been at the very least 75, 000 spectators.

These four reasons should already give you all the inspiration to visit Old Trafford, but if not, let me share with you all my experience here, on a match day. My friend and I had bought tickets for a Boxing Day Show Down between the home team Manchester United against Premier League's rival Newcastle United. Needless to say, all the tickets were sold out and since it was the first game after a short Christmas break, the crowds from both the home and away teams were pumping to watch their teams perform.

It is suggested that you get to the stadium about an hour and a half before kick-off. This sounds like getting to the airport before your flight, but trust me, this period just before kick off will give you time to really soak in the atmosphere of what the place is like during a match day. To get to the stadium, you could easily catch the metrolink from anywhere within the region. The trip will take you only 15 minutes if you were to come from Manchester Piccadilly Station, and a five minute walk from Old Trafford Station will get you to the stadium. If you are ever unsure of how your trip is going, just look out for someone wearing red or a Manchester United shirt and they should be more than happy to help out a fellow red.

This brings about a very important part of the experience, which is the five-minute walk from Old Trafford Station to The Theatre of Dreams. The match day around here is very important and has been for over one hundred years. As much as the locals love their boyhood club, they also have a strong passion for mocking their rival clubs, namely Liverpool. Throughout your walk, you will see many shops and open stalls selling souvenirs from flags to match day scarfs to poster and postcards. Along with these regular items, you will also see printed tee shirts mocking other clubs, in which I find to be really amusing. I didn't buy any of the shirts, but it just shows that the fans are quite relaxed about the game around here, if we look at the positive side of the equation.

Once you get to the premises of the stadium, I would suggest that you get your tickets first before you do anything else. The ticket stand is located just next to the car park, on the right hand side of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. Once you have got your tickets in your hands and all sorted out, keep them in a super secured spot in your bag, since this is a make or break item for you. From here, we headed over to the mini futsal field just in front of the stadium to check out the activities that the club has organised for the pre-match festivities.

We first thought these activities are only for the young supporters, but no! We were greeted and welcomed by the super friendly staff here to join in for a kick around. There were three stations that tested your skills of the game. Needless to mention, we joined in the activities with much excitement. The first round of challenges was a target challenge, whereby you had to hit the circles on the other side of the field from a marked line. After attempting to hit the targets on numerous occasions, we realised that it was safe to blame our footwear for the day, and moved on to the next challenge.

The second challenge tested our dribbling skills, whereby we had to run with the ball in and out of marked cones. This is quite a standard drills for anyone that has ever played football for a team of any level, but it is easier say than done every single time. Once again, my shoes really let me down during this drill. Oh, to add on to this, we were also timed and this was used to measure us against our friends.

The last challenge was a control challenge. This activity required us to be on different sides of the field, standing a little circle. With this, we had to pass the ball, or kick the ball to our friend with any level of speed, and the goal is for him or her to control the ball dead within the circle. Should the player keep the ball in control with the circle, that would be one point. My shoes once again got in the way, but this was the best drill out of all.

After a bit of sweat to get you going, head over to the facade of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. Be sure to take loads of pictures here because Sir Alex Ferguson is a living legend of not only Manchester United, but world football. He has now retired from his official position as Manager of the team, and has now taken a more office-related role at the club. Either way, he is one of the most iconic faces in world football, which makes this section of the stadium very iconic and famous.

We all love a bit of shopping, or at the very least, some window shopping action. Let's get our shopping on at the Official Manchester United Megastore here at the stadium itself. Notice how it's referred to as a ''mega'' store and not just as a store? This is because you can find everything Manchester United-related here. I love football fashion and am a massive fan of the sporting brand, Nike. I must say that this store really impressed me since it has all the Nike merchandises of Manchester United from this current season.

Everything you can name from Polo shirts to socks to the official jerseys, shorts, jackets and raincoats; you have everything here at the megastore. There is also a section with items on sales with appealed to me greatly. If you're just an average tourist, there are also other souvenirs like key chains, magnets, coffee mugs, coasters, tee shirts, shoes, blankets, sleepwear and many more. The store is always packed on match days like this, and is definitely worth a stop over.

The store is also one of the few places that I know of for those that are looking for retro and classic jerseys of the team. They do have replicas on sale here, with some jerseys so old that I have seen them before in my whole twenty years of existence!

Let's now get inside the actual stadium for our match day experience. There is no other feeling that being in the actual stadium, watching as the 75, 000 plus seats take their space, and the green glass shiny in your eyes. We got to our seats about 30 minutes before kick-off and got to see the players warm up. Within about 15 minutes of the warm up, you will see the stadium go from red seats to black as all the supporters start packing up the house.

With this, the echo of songs sung by the supporters is something completely different and on another whole new level. I have been to concerts and all that and people do sing, but it is this type of chants and club songs that really give you goosebumps. I should be ashamed in admitting that I am a Manchester United fan but I only know of one song. I was just soaking in the experience the whole time, just mumbling words out of my mouth and pretending that I actually know the lyrics to the song. Shame on me.

Just wait until the home team scores and the whole stadium goes wild. There is no other experience that can be compared to a house of almost 76, 000 people cheering, screaming, shouting, laughing and singing out of their lungs when the home team scores a goal. This is again a strong reminder that football and this stadium should be experienced by everyone!

If you are interested, there is also an option to purchase the official Old Trafford Stadium Tour along with your tickets, should this option be available. This stadium tour option will give you exclusive access to areas of the stadium that are off limits to normal supporters. I was quite disappointed since we were so close to doing the tour but our tight train schedule to London meant that we had to avoid this activity. Some of the highlights of the tour would be being the very locker room that the players would be in before and after every single home match, as well as going pitch level to the field and the famous home and away benches. A part of the tour will also see a Manchester United legend meet and greet you and welcome you to the stadium. At this point, you can have a chat with the legend and ask him about anything football-related. I can't remember the exact price for this, but this is an experience that is super valuable. The stadium tour is available every day at a designated time, except for the day of the actual match! For more information on the official Old Trafford tour, check out the link to their main page down below.

There is nothing else for me to say about my life changing experience and visit to the world famous Old Trafford. My advise to you is to wear something red, make sure that you have sufficient battery on your phone and camera, and also, don't scream too much because you won't be able to speak the next morning. Also, head over for a beer or a drink after the game and chat with the locals, who are super friendly, and so will you, after a few of the local beers.

The Official Manchester United Old Trafford Stadium Tour:

http://www.manutd.com/en/Visit-Old-Trafford/

A quick profile and history of Old Trafford:

http://www.stadiumguide.com/oldtrafford/

The Official Megastore - Online Version:

http://store.manutd.com/stores/

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