Sport
From Reddit London wiki
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[edit] Watching Sport
London is a great place to watch sport. Football is probably the most popular spectator sport, but others have similarly dedicated fans.
International or overseas sports, such as NFL games, NBA games or MMA fights, are growing in popularity but tend to be centred on large events. Accordingly, some large games/events have been held in London venues, but you'll probably have a hard time watching sports that aren't popular in the UK.
Watching matches in person is an excellent day out and often worth the £££. London is home of several world-class venues so it's never difficult to find a good matchup. The two major stadiums are [www.wembleystadium.com/events.aspx Wembley] and The O2. Dozens of mega-sporting events all year long as well as massive concerts and more... good stuff.
The Sports Cafe on Haymarket is your best bet for major American sporting events. Superbowl, World Series, Stanley Cup can all be watched at this venue (usually live for the dedicated fans). Note that as the name implies, the theme is SPORT so don't expect a countryside pub atmosphere..
[edit] Football (Soccer)
Football is the most popular spectator sport in the UK, and London is no exception. Football is traditionally a winter sport, with the season running from August to May each year. Clubs increasingly play exhibition matches during the summer months, but you're far more likely to find a game to watch in Autumn, Winter or Spring.
Almost every pub in the capital will have several televisions and most have big screens. Domestic football matches (ie not international games or games played against other European clubs) are usually played on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Depending on the importance of the game, or the size of the teams playing, certain matches can be very popular and can lead to very busy pubs and bars.
Violence and hostility are largely things of the past - with a few notable exceptions - but as a general rule you should probably avoid expressing strong support for a particular team unless you're confident of your surroundings and the attitude of other patrons in whatever establishment you find yourself in.
Club loyalties in London are roughly distributed along geographic lines but, ouside of strong inter-club rivalries, no-one will usually cause a fuss one way or the other if you wear a particular shirt. In the centre of the city, no-one cares at all and these days it's just as common to see a Barcelona shirt as it is to see a Chelsea one.
[edit] Major clubs
All of these London clubs currently play in the [ English Premier League], which is the top flight of English football.
- [ Arsenal] - Play at the Emirates Stadium in Holloway, North London. Rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur.
- [ Chelsea] - Play at Stamford Bridge Stadium in Fulham, West London.
- [ Fulham] - Play at Craven Cottage in Fulham, West London.
- [ Tottenham Hotspur] or Spurs - Play at White Hart Lane in Tottenham, North London. Rivalry with Arsenal.
- [ Queens Park Ranges] - Play at Loftus Road in Fulham, West London.
- [ West Ham] - Play at Upton Park in Upton park, East London but will move into the Olympic Stadium in Stratford after 2012.
Other popular London football clubs include:
- Charlton Athletic
- Crystal Palace
- Millwall
[ Wembley Stadium] is widely seen as the home of English football. Major games, such as finals and international matches, are played here.
Wembley is probably London's premier sporting venue. Other major events for different sports, such as Rugby and the NFL, take place here.
[edit] Rugby
Rugby is widely perceived to be more of a 'posh' game than football and enjoys a much lower proportion of fans. It is widely played, however, and is particularly popular at an international level. Again, it's a winter sport, so don't expect to watch much rugby if you're visiting London during the Summer months.
The biggest events are the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations.
Not all rugby is the same. Rugby Union is (probably) more popular and (probably) more common, but Rugby League is good too. They share some characteristics, but are fairly different games. There's also Sevens, but it's not worth going into too much detail. Look, just read this.
[edit] Major teams
The following major rugby clubs play in London (or near enough):
- Harlequins - Play at Twickenham.
- London Irish - Actually play in Reading, but it's close enough and they have the word 'London' in their name ok leave me alone.
- London Wasps - Play in at Adams Park in High Wycombe.
- Saracens - Play at Vicarage Road, Watford.
Twickenham Stadium is the home of English Rugby and is located in the London suburb of Twickenham (duh). Twickenham is easily reached via train from Waterloo Station. It takes about 30 minutes.
[edit] Cricket
If you're reading the cricket section, I'm going to assume you already know something about cricket. I don't, but I can tell you that it's a fun way to spend a day drinking and spending large amounts of time waiting for something exciting to happen very briefly.
[edit] Important Cricket Places
- Lords - Home of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and, apparently, cricket itself. Centrally located in the St Johns Wood area. Jubilee Line on the tube.
- The Oval - Another big cricket ground. Located in Vauxhall, South London. Served by a tube station on the Victoria Line and an overground station.
[edit] Tennis
The biggest tennis event is the annual Wimbledon tournament, which takes place at the end of June each year. It is one of the four Grand Slams, and as such features all of the world's top players. Getting tickets happens in three ways:
- The Ballot. Half of the tickets are allocated to a ballot, which is always oversubscribed. Pick up a leaflet or apply online in the autumn before the tournament, and you'll find out if you were successful in the New Year. Prices range from £20 for a day pass to the outside courts, up to £100+ for a ticket to a final.
- The Queue. Wimbledon is unique in making available some of the best tickets to those fans who turn up on the day. You can buy Centre and No. 1 Court tickets on the day of play throughout the 1st week of the tournament, and ground passes for the outside courts during the entire duration. Of course, this is equally oversubscribed, to the extent of people camping overnight in Wimbledon Park to reserve their place in the queue. This has become one of the traditions of the British summer, and is very well organised nowadays. Alternatively, turn up first thing in the morning and join the queue, but be prepared to wait, and be warned that you probably won't secure a ticket for one of the main show courts.
- Returns. After 2:30pm each day, the tickets of people who leave the venue are officially resold at half-price, on a one-out:one-in basis, to those still in the queue. Even if you arrive at 6pm, you can still see a good 2-3 hours of tennis on the outside courts before the light fades, for only £10. But you may still have to queue for a while to get in, even later in the day. I've arrived at 5pm before to find a queue of 2+ hours, but equally I've arrived at 5pm and walked straight in. It's pure chance.
[edit] Important Tennis Places
- Wimbledon - Home of Tennis! Other than hosting the eponymous tournament, Wimbledon also has a fantastic museum showing the history of the venue and of tennis itself. The guided tours are also worth doing, but obviously try to do this when the tournament isn't on! Oddly, the nearest Tube station is actually Southfields, not Wimbledon, although buses go direct from both stations. It's around 10 minutes walk from Southfields, and probably closer to 40 minutes from Wimbledon. Both stations are on the District line, and Wimbledon is also on the mainline rail network from Waterloo.
- The O2 - They hold the ATP finals here, I think. An oustanding venue. Accessible via Jubilee line tube trains to North Greenwich.
[edit] Olympics
The Olympics are being held in London in Summer 2012. They should probably have their own page on this wiki. If you haven't already applied for tickets I'm afraid you're out of luck!
See this site for more details than you'll ever need.
The main Olympic park will be in Stratford, which is in East London.
