It is not always about the beer

As I had mentioned previously, beer has enhanced many of the best times I have had in my life. A beer can take me back to a place that is a happy memory and allow me to re-live it. So was the case last night when I was out to dinner with Margaret. Yes I do realize how many of these posts have a common ingredient of Margaret and I eating out somewhere. We are fortunate to have our daughters with their grandmother this week. No babysitter fees means more money for a cold beer. 

Margaret's favorite restaurant in town is a place called Pimon Thai. Any guess as to what kind of food they serve? Their beer selection includes several Asian beers, like Saporro and Kirin Ichiban, as well as a Thai beer called Singha (pictured). 

This beer is a light colored and light flavored lager, that would be unremarkable and not fitting my usual preference of darker more full flavored beers. However it has a personal significance to me. It was what I was drinking during one the single coolest experiences of my life.  

In the prior post regarding the beer that started it all, I came upon the idea for the blog while on our way to England in March. The main purpose of the trip was to see Margaret's cousin Betsy and her husband Ryan, who have lived in the UK for more than a year. Another of Margaret's cousins, Philip was joining us for the trip. 

That and the fact that I had never been to Europe sounded like great reasons to go there, and they were great reasons, however my number one reason was to see my favorite football (soccer) club, Manchester United play. For those who are unfamiliar with United, they are the 19 time champions of England. To American fans, they are like the New York Yankees of England. Being analogous to one of the most polarizing teams in American sports has lead to me getting dirty looks and questions as to how I came to like them. Truth is pretty simple, when I first started watching English football about 7 years ago, I would watch whatever teams were playing. Since United are typically near the best in the league, they are on TV every week. I watched them enough to know I like the way they play and winning does not hurt either. 

By the time we planned this trip, the only tickets available for the match against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford stadium were the VIP seats, which come with some amenities, as well as a nice price tag. Among the amenities included were lunch in the Red Club (United are nicknamed the Red Devils) and a visit from a former United player at our table. After some debate and the realization that this may literally be a once in a lifetime experience, we paid the price and bought the tickets. 

The whole experience was nothing but first class. The stadium is not called the "theater of dreams" by accident. Upon arrival at the Red Club, I was handed a bottle of Singha. I then walked through the team museum and trophy room. Decades of greatness on display and lots of stories that a newly initiated fan did not know. After another Singha and lunch we entered the stadium and watched the Red Devils win 2-0 over WBA and take first place in the standings at the time. Watching matches on TV could not do the crowd and the experience justice. These are real fans, standing and chanting songs for each player throughout the entire 90 minutes. This was a complete goose bump experience. I had made it to my Mecca, and while there had a Singha, two actually. For a few minutes I was taken back there. 

Cheers!