The England Fan Road Diaries | Ep 2: Grasshoppers, High Altitude & Facing Mexico

From a nerve-shredding late win in Atlanta to eating grasshoppers in Mexico City, Harvey checks in for Episode Two of The England Fan Road Diaries!

In this episode, Pledgeball’s Katie Cross catches up with Harvey right after he touches down in Mexico. They break down the incredible away-end atmosphere at the Atlanta stadium, the reality of high-altitude headaches, and the looming tension of facing the host nation at the legendary Aztec Stadium.

Harvey also takes us through some unexpected culinary adventures with his dad, and highlights the one stadium on the tour that is finally fighting back against extortionate tournament beer prices.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Part of me thinks it might be where our journey ends um because it's Mexico who's at home. You're playing at high altitude, like we've said, like in hard conditions. It's gonna be a really hard game.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Hello, Harvey. Welcome back to checking in uh live from Mexico City, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Yes, Mexico City at the moment, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

And uh how how long have you been in Mexico City for?

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Uh so we arrived yesterday, um, like around midday. Um, so then we just spent the evening, went to a bar and got some dinner and then um just been chilling this morning.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

And uh, what's it like in Mexico City?

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Uh it's cool, it's cool. I much prefer it to America, to be honest. I think like a place like this is a little bit more about it, and like you feel like you can really see the culture. Even just being in a bar yesterday, and they had like huge bottles of of Mescal, which were like super cheap, and they and like they were really passionate about which one they wanted us to try.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Really?

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Yeah, and then like even the um the food yesterday from their their normal guacamole um has uh grasshoppers in it in the place we went. No, no, so not all of us wanted to try the grasshoppers, so we didn't get it in it, but me and my dad did um we did get some grasshoppers just to try on the side.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Like fried grasshoppers?

SPEAKER_00 1:16

I'd never tried them before, um, so I did try them yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Were they were they deep fried? Like, I don't really know.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

I I I didn't there was a bit of a language barrier to be fair. They're not as good as English as the Americans are, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

So what what do they taste like?

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Uh they were just a bit like salty, almost a bit fishy. Like, I don't know. It was a bit weird, a bit weird. I probably wouldn't opt for them again, but um they weren't bad, so they weren't bad.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Well, so they're they're mixed in the guacamole, are they?

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Yeah, usually, but we didn't do that because not everyone wanted it. So I we I was just like, well I want to try one. So got one on the side.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Just the one, no more.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Uh I I had a few to be fair. Like this, they gave us a little bowl of them, so I tried a few.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

And uh what like what end did you start with? The legs?

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Just all in at once. They they were only tiny. They were all in at they were only small, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Is it like is it prickly when you put them in your mouth? Like the legs?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

No, because they had been like cooked and stuff, they were really soft and like they they were really tight. I tried just not to think about it, I think.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

I think I was just like really, so they weren't it wasn't something you'd like adopt in your diet in a while.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Maybe not, no, probably not.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

So yeah, tore me through from when from when you watched the game, like yeah, when you were when you were watching the Congo, the DR Congo game.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Yeah, well, obviously it didn't start very good, did it? Um I think the the whole stadium Yeah, we we were sat high up, but um the Atlanta Stadium was actually great, like it's the best stadium we've been to so far, in my opinion. Um, and it is like it's designed for football, so it's a football ground, it's not an NFL ground. Um, so they it felt like they understood it a bit more and they got it a little bit more. Um the the where the England fans were were were the England section was like a one whole tier. So um, even though there was I think 70 rows in that one tier, we were all in one tier, and it felt like a proper away end like you get at home. So it was probably the first game where we kind of felt that like away atmosphere. Um not because there were more fans, not because there were more fans, but the way that we were laid out.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Nice, and then yeah, go back to the game then.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yes, um, obviously we were a bit uh frustrated, and I think the away ends started to get on the players' backs a little bit, but um it was a tough game, and there were parts of the game which were a bit of a tough watch, weren't there? And then Super Harry Kane comes along and saves the day. Um and we all sing Wonder Wall and we're happy ever after.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

So that must have been amazing, was that?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, it was brilliant, and to be fair, the other thing about the stadium was it it was another air-conditioned stadium. Um so like while the um like outside in the day, it was a 12 o'clock kickoff, and still at 10 in the morning, it's like absolutely boiling. We're like we're all dying in the heat. Um, so lots of fans like got in the stadium early. Like it opened from 9 a.m. Um, which I think is the earliest people have ever gone to a football ground. Um and then yeah, the uh time?

SPEAKER_01 4:15

What was the kickoff for your time?

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Uh 12 o'clock for us. Um midday. So people kind of got in the ground a bit early. And then yeah, it was it was quite nice, similar to Dallas, to uh to walk into an air conditioned stadium and actually cool down all of a sudden. Although I I probably wouldn't want to pay their electricity bill.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Yeah, exactly. And wasn't it I mean over here it was not I wouldn't say it was a comfortable watch. Was it was it enjoyable to watch it?

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Do you know it's like it's not um it's not enjoyable. Like it is uh it you do want to pull your hair out when you watch games like that, but it does get it does get that feeling of like winning going. I think if we had just won like 2-0 and like just cruised the game, we'd have all been like, yeah, great, nice, happy days on to Mexico. But because we did it in the most English England way possible, um, it was like everyone left the game buzzing, people were like having such a good time, everyone was singing, dancing, um, like being happy with each other. Um, and that only really comes because the emotion went all the way down there to then spike back up the top right at the end. So it it is it's hard to watch, but like if you know you're gonna win and it turns out like that, it is it is always good fun. And uh do you reckon the players, because you said you were laid out differently, could the players would they have heard the way end, or would Yeah, I I'd I'd like to think so because obviously if we're all together in like one kind of tier, then like chance can get going a little bit easier um because everyone's in one space. So the players probably yeah, they would have heard it a little bit more, although for a lot of the game I'm not sure how positive a lot of the the stuff they would have heard would have been. So um, yeah, it it was much better to be all together. Um, and the other thing is at Lanza, their stadium um really pushed back on the pricing. Like England fans had a great time, I think. Compared to the $20 beers in other stadiums, it was $11 for a beer at Lanza, which isn't too bad. Like it's a World Cup game, you you're gonna pay slightly more anyway. And I got a refillable um Coca-Cola for two dollars two uh two dollars fifty it was.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Who makes the decisions around the stadium prices? Is that the stadiums themselves?

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Yeah, I think I think it's the stadiums itself. I'm not sure exactly, but but because everywhere else has been so expensive and Atlanta have really pushed back against it, um yeah, that they they're the only one which has done so, I think.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Okay, and then how long were you there for before you then flew over to Mexico?

SPEAKER_00 6:45

We just stayed for the evening and then woke up early the next day and flew to Mexico. So we had already pre-planned our flights um and headed over to Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

And so apart from the grasshopper zone, Isko's amazing, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah, it's really really cool so far. Like I've not had a chance to properly um go and explore everything yet. Um we're gonna do that this evening and like go and see a bit more of the city, but just the area we're staying in seems pretty nice. Um it's got a lot of culture to it and a lot of like um like a bit of a cool atmosphere. So um I'm really looking forward to to getting to see it more.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

And you were saying when you first arrive, well, when we first joined the call, that obviously it's really high, it's over 2,000 metres, and that's noticeable, you said.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Yeah, it's funny because like scrolling on Twitter, I see um like everyone's talking about like oh the game's at altitude, like how the players are gonna cope. And I think people are starting to get fed up of hearing the fact that the game's at high altitude, but being here, like you can actually you can actually tell you you're like you you're not as low down. So like um I had I've had a headache since I've got it, which sounds sounds stupid, right? But um after realising it probably wasn't the Mescal I had last night, it was I searched stuff and it it's the most common reason, most common thing from uh high altitude, um little things like that. And I I had to carry a big um case of water back from the shop for all of us, like it was however long it was down the road, not that far. Um, and I got to the hotel and I was a bit out of breath, and I was like, Oh, should have not out of it. Like, I've been going to the gym while I'm here, but um I'm gonna blame it on the altitude, I think.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

I wouldn't be surprised. And uh the others are also suffering, are they from the attitude?

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Yeah, it seems so. It seems everyone's like can notice it a little bit. I mean, for us, it's it's not it's not too bad because all we've got to do is walk around a bit. The actual players who are gonna have to play it at it at that altitude is uh I wouldn't want to be them.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Yeah, so I wonder how they're prepping. Because also if you stay at altitude for I mean, I I I'm I'm guessing here, I feel like it's a fact I've heard, but you have to stay in altitude for a good number of months to start generating more red blood cells.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Yes, I I think I think you've got to stay over like two weeks before you can start to acclimatise. So I'm I'm pretty sure the England plan um is to to not be here for that long because um you I think they wanna they'd wanna like dip in and out and just get on with it. Uh because as much as they could be here, they could have flown here straight away. It's too short of a time still to acclimatise. There's no point of of being here for that long. So yeah, I'm just hoping that the they manage to keep the hotel they're staying in quiet because you see the videos of the Ecuador TV being bombarded with fireworks all night.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

I did, although I heard that Tuchel's got uh got some special sleep techniques.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Yeah, yeah. They all have noise cancelling headphones, I reckon.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

So how are you feeling about the game then?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Uh part of me thinks it might be where our journey ends, um, because it's Mexico who's at home and like there's so much energy around their team is at the moment for from a home team's perspective. It's a host nation. You're playing at high altitude, like we've said, like in hard conditions. It's gonna be a really hard game. Um but like we're a better side than Mexico, even though we didn't play like it for a lot of the the Congo game. Um we're we're a better side. We've got we've got players like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. So I think we should still be favourites and we should still go into that game like with a real uh like desire to win it. Um whether or anything it's gonna be easy. So hopefully we're off to Miami, but I'm not I'm not as quite as confident as I was against Congo.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

So what's your uh what's gonna be your game day routine then? Because how far are you from the stadium this time?

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Uh we're a bit far, so we're gonna have to be uh near the stadium, we're gonna go there early anyway, and then around, and then as soon as we can, I think we're just gonna go into the stadium. Um there's been a lot of talk about like how chaotic you can get uh in Mexico City for their games, and not because the people are out there trying to like fight everyone, but just because of the crowd control side of things, there all of a sudden can be like 800,000 people in Mexico City celebrating um like a goal or excited that they're about to place. So um don't want to get caught in any big crowds. Um, and I think it's just wise to to get in the grounds early and stay in the grounds um for as long as possible, as long as one of the wall goes on.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

And so is this the advice like the fan embassies and the FSA are giving to fans around visiting Mexico?

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Yeah, I think so. I think it's like um it's one of those cities where if you're sensible and you do all the right things, you won't face any problems, you'll be absolutely fine. And there's a lot of um like support from like the British embassy to to make sure English people out here like don't get into any trouble and have a good time. So as long as we can be sensible and like go to the right places, do the right things, then there shouldn't be any problems. Um and I think the the biggest thing is that crowd congestion outside the stadium or in the city if crowds get big. So um yeah, it's just about doing things with a bit of um a bit of time before and leaving yourself a bit of time to do things.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Nice. Okay, so final question before you quick fire round. Um do you is there a shift in how you perceive like how football is perceived in Mexico? Is there a notable shift compared to the US?

SPEAKER_00 12:17

Yes, yeah, it definitely we walked down the street to the place we went yesterday um and all the bars had the football on, and like people are sat there watching it with their um beers and their tequilas, and that's that's Mexicans. We've actually not really bumped into any much English yet. But in America, we had to like find a bar which had the World Cup in a lot of the time because you go in a bar and it's got the baseball on or the golf on, you're like, Oh, do you have the World Cup channel? And they're like, What? So I mean it did depend where in America you were at. Like New York was easy to watch it anywhere, but then um places in like Dallas. So nice.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Okay, you ready for your quick fire? So some of them are overlapping and some of them are brand new. Right? So, best food since we last spoke.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Since we last spoke, um, I'm gonna go for the Mexican we had last night. Um, it was like I I couldn't even tell you what it was, it was just like all these weird things. We couldn't even read the menu properly, so we just ordered a load of stuff because it was cheap. So whatever I ate last night from a random Mexican, tiny little Mexican place.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Uh best fans so far.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Uh the the England fans, that from from what I've seen, what I've actually witnessed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Best thing about travelling with dad.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Getting to get into experience like moments. I'm I'm really looking forward to being stood in the Azteca with with my dad there as well, and like getting to to kind of be part of that bit of history um and experience that with him.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Nice. Worst thing about travelling with dad.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Well, my sister got away with not uh buying a Father's Day gift, so uh best goal?

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Has it changed since last time?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Uh my favourite goal since last time uh probably be I think Panama's goal just because of the like the fact Panama scored um like against Germany, and it was just like we were watching it and we were like, oh that is this is brilliant. So that that was probably my favourite goal so far since since then.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Amazing. And last question then, you can't answer the same as last time. Your biggest clanger since the last time, one thing you'd change.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

I would have had my grasshoppers in my guacamole.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

That's amazing. Thank you very much. Um I guess we'll check in with you Monday.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yeah, hope hopefully, hopefully we're uh we're we'll uh we'll go through, but not sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

We might see you anyway, even if we don't get through, I'll be. Yeah. Hopefully. Well, thank you very much. It was a pleasure seeing you again and enjoy Mexico City.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Thank you very much.