England vs. Bulgaria: A Performance Nothingless

I know some of you went to the England versus Bulgaria football match with me a few days ago but I thought it was in all sense of the meaning a performance. While this may not be the trademark cliché portrait of a performance it did incorporate all of the necessary elements discussed in class. For example the players were organized by a producer in the owners who hire general managers who hire the players, coaches, staff, etc. The venue was rented by the Football Federation just as a playhouse may be rented to a theatre company. This was in all senses a business and in the spirit of any London theatre production. However what impressed me was the scale and proportion of the event which I will further go into.

Upon arriving to the stadium after taking a tube where the conditions were similar to a sauna I was amazed by the atmosphere. In the U.S. there is always an enormous parking lot and large areas set aside outside the stadium for tailgating etc. However here the stadium was simply on the outskirts of the town of wembley. Just a short walk lead me directly into the stadium where I presented my ticket into a booth that seemed as if I was entering a maximum security prison. Once in the stadium I found myself taking an escalator up 5 stories to my seats. As I exited the escalator I was welcomed by a familiar sight in the overpriced concessions and lack of water fountains. To me this was all the same as America in the capitalistic rewards of an enclosed space with hungry, excited, and raucous individuals. However when I walked in I was amazed to see the stadium in what I can only describe as a hockey arena of 10 times the proportion. The atmosphere reminded me of a small arena except it was 75 thousand people instead of 18 thousand. As the game moved towards the start I could hear the native England fans and Bulgaria fans cheer on their country mightily. To set the scene like many performances intense music the same kind you find before a battle scene from a movie was played for about 15 minutes. Next the national flags came out to an uproar from the fans anticipating the entrance of their teams. The national anthems followed but unlike the U.S. the entire stadium actually sung the whole thing. I can't say so much for the players... As the players left the anthem celebration and began to warm up one side of the field held choreographed cards to show the England flag. This move was purposely done by the people in charge to set the scene. Then the game began.



After only 3 minutes England scored their first goal to a riot coming out from the fans. The announcer stated the goal scorer to a chorus of cheers from the fans. However after this point there was not much action for a while. After about 10 minutes of not too much excitement the fans began to start their own cheers. It was as if the stadium was supplying a medium for cohesiveness. This was a place where people could pay to be together as one in the goal of supporting their country. There were fights between Bulgarian fans and English fans. There was a drummer, a wave, and of course halftime came through. At half time it seemed that people were trained like dogs. Half the stadium rushed up and headed directly for the concessions. Just like any theatre on Broadway or London there was no hesitation to spend money on overpriced food and beverage. The business was thriving. As the game progressed more goals were scored by England who would eventually cap it off at 4-0 with the help of a hat trick. When the game ended there was a unified cheer and then people left as quickly as they came. Looking in hindsight this event really was similar to all of the plays, concerts, and other shows I have seen. All of the elements were there it was just on a greater proportion. Many people look down upon sports as some lower form of entertainment for the immature or wild. However it simply is wildly successful at the same game that theatre companies play in making money and entertaining.



Best Regards,

Daniel (Danny) Seidel