So Long Highbury, I’m Going To Miss You
I’m going to miss Highbury.
Not that I have ever been there. The closest I’ve ever been to the grounds has been via the 52 inch big screen TV at the pub down the street. But watching a televised game from Highbury evokes a certain feeling that I don’t get when watching a televised game from other stadiums. When you first flick on a match, it takes no time for you to see the game is being played at Highbury, mostly because it is one of the only stadiums where you can see people sitting feet from the sidelines.
Watching a game at Highbury makes me feel like I am there, and with a decent seat. I think this is simply a result of where the cameras are placed in the stadium – close enough to the pitch that you see the game from a whole different perspective than you do when you watch a televised game from Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford, whose camera placement is nowhere near as intimate as Highbury. Yes, you do get the bigger picture at other stadiums – the long balls and seeing how plays unfold over the length and width of the pitch. But it’s the small details like the one on one battles that often make the bigger difference determining outcomes. It’s those details that Highbury excels at.
So, goodbye Highbury. I know why Arsenal is leaving, but I am going to miss you. As posh as the Emirates Stadium will no doubt be, I don’t think I’ll ever get the same feeling watching a game from there as I do when I watch one from you.
