AN Islander following the increasingly joyous exploits of England at the World Cup has described the ecstasy, tension and amity of Monday morning’s epic game in Mexico City.
While most Islanders stayed up late – or got up early – to watch the memorable encounter with Mexico on television, Tony Rogers and three Jersey friends were at Azteca Stadium to witness the nail-biting encounter in real life.
Mr Rogers has watched every England game so far in the US and Mexico with his travelling companions David Houzé, Paul Starkey and Paul Wilson. The four amigos were in Mexico City for the last-16 match between the Three Lions and the host nation, wearing England shirts but also proudly waving a Jersey flag.
Describing the atmosphere in the huge ground, Mr Rogers said: “I’ve seen a lot of football matches, but that was the most amazing game I have ever been to.”
He added: “We left our hotel about 10am on Sunday and the streets of Mexico were just packed already with football fans.
“We had our England tops on, and we were treated like mini celebrities as we walked around: everyone wanted a photo with us, and everyone was so nice.
“We got to the ground early and found a nice little bar where we watched Brazil go out. Once again, all the Mexicans in there were amazing to us, chatting away, taking lots of photos.
“We then went into the ground, and there was already an amazing atmosphere in there. Although we were in the England section, there were a lot of Mexicans around us.
“It didn’t matter if it was their goal or ours, every time there was a score, we got covered in cups of beer from the upper tiers.
“We had been given ponchos because of the storms, but it turns out they come in very handy when it is raining beer.”
He added: “After the amazing game – that horrendous time between the sending off and the final whistle – we were greeted outside the stadium by almost every Mexican shaking our hands, telling us to bring it home and congratulating us.
“I’ve never sung so many renditions of Wonderwall. We were even singing it with [ex-England international] David Bentley in a bar afterwards.”
Speaking to the JEP while booking travel to Cancun, having secured flights from there to Miami on Thursday, Mr Rogers said that his tour – 22 days so far with return flights booked the day after the final – was “up there with the best ever” and “the trip of a lifetime”.
That voyage has so far covered five countries and almost 18,000 kilometres, with the quartet visiting cities including Boston, New York, Dallas, Atlanta and Nashville, where Mr Rogers had an impromptu outing to see Ed Sheeran in concert.
Next stop: Florida, where the friends will watch England play Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday, and then hopefully back to Atlanta to see the Three Lions face Argentina in a semi-final.
58-year-old Mr Rogers, a dedicated Spurs fan, is on sabbatical from his job at Canaccord Wealth. Mr Starkey and Wilson also work in finance, while Mr Houzé is retired.
Mr Rogers said: “England just seem to be getting better with every game, don’t they? Seeing them play Brazil would have been the iconic game in Miami, but I feel maybe we’ve got more chance of beating Norway; I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me.
“And then we hope the journey will continue all the way to New York. We’re all getting on famously, and it hasn’t all been about the football: we’ve visited Cape Cod and seen a rodeo in Dallas, baseball in Atlanta and the Human League in New York. There have not been many non-drinking days, sadly.”
Mr Rogers thanked his wife for her support and understanding.
He said: “I was supposed to get married in 1994 but I didn’t because I was going to go to the 1994 World Cup. But then England didn’t qualify so there’s always been an itch that needed scratching.
“Our wedding was a year later in 1995 and I’m lucky enough to still be married to that same amazing, considerate lady.”
