Since we’ve moved away from the Boleyn Ground, I feel like we’re now known for not having the best atmosphere. In some cases that is true but it doesn’t mean we haven’t created some of the best atmospheres out there.
I am going to rank my top five of the best atmospheres that I have been to and why they felt so special to me. The fifth best atmosphere for me was Lyon away in the Europa League. It was the second European away game I had been to after going to Sevilla in the previous round.
With many fans meeting up at the pubs before the game, with their flags and in full volume, the atmosphere had already heated up before we got to the stadium. The slight lack of belief before the game made Craig Dawson’s opener even more memorable, even when us fans were unsure if the ball had actually gone in.
Then as the game went on, we just got louder especially when Jarrod Bowen concluded the tie just after half time. As fans, that was when we started to believe we were going to win this, we were all very shell shocked.
I do think after this game it showed how happy and overwhelmed we were, as we were trapped in the ground for two hours, and the players and staff stayed and continuously walked over and us fans were still in full volume. It was a night we will always remember. The next best atmosphere for me was the last game at the Boleyn. I was only 12 at the time but I can remember thousands of fans were there hours before kick-off. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who left school early that day.
Everyone came in colours, brought their flags and scarfs, and were blocking the roads that even the Manchester United bus couldn’t get past. It just felt so homely and everyone was very emotional. In the ground, everyone was given t-shirts that no one took off until the end, and the lines of claret and blue just made it look magical.
The icing on the cake that day was also the fact we came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 against Manchester United. It felt meant to be that we ended up winning so late on. Even though I was young, I remember the whole day so well and I know I’ll never forget it. The third best atmosphere for me was our most recent and potentially last European game for a while, Bayer Leverkusen at home.
This game was one of the loudest games I have ever heard at the London Stadium, everyone was standing up, singing continuously, you could feel the nerves but also the excitement. When Michail Antonio scored it was deafening and it was that point where the hope started to kick in.
But the whole way through we kept making our voices heard and pushed the team to keep going even when we could tell they were knackered, everyone was together, everyone believed and they showed that throughout. Even when they scored their equaliser and the game was complete many stood up and clapped for the team, everyone was proud to support West Ham and respected what the team were trying to achieve for us. This game could have been a little higher on my list if we had a miracle and got through.
The second best atmosphere for me was Sevilla at home, another game when going into it no one was too hopeful. But we all said: ‘if we get an early goal’, which we did when Tomas Soucek got onto a cross from Antonio to level the tie.
This was the first game in the London Stadium where fans were all standing, singing before the game and got to the game early. Also the Bubbles before kick-off was the loudest I think it has ever been and everyone made sure they were in early to sing it.
It showed that this stadium could create a deafening atmosphere and we wanted more of it, which we clarified in extra time when Yarmelenko scored to win us the tie and the celebrations were chaotic everyone jumping about, no one could believe that ‘little old West Ham’ had just knocked out one of the European giants.
The best atmosphere for me was Prague and I’m sure many people can agree with me on that one. West Ham in a final really doesn’t come around a lot and the atmosphere proved that. The square was rammed from about 9am, with so many of these fans who made the trip without tickets, everyone just wanted to be there to live that day.
The plane that I was on, the passengers were all singing West Ham songs continuously. It was magical and this was well over 12 hours before kick-off. The whole of Prague was West Ham, there were only a handful of Florentina fans before the game. It was like a home match for us.
The West Ham end was rammed over two hours before kick off as everyone wanted to make sure they got in, even the players were surprised when they were walking around how many of us were in the ground. As kick off loomed, the nerves kicked in but the fans got louder and from the penalty by Said Benrahma and Bowen’s winning goal, the place erupted and I have never felt anything like it supporting West Ham.
People may say it was only a third tier European trophy but I would happily relieve that day over and over. There are many other games that could have been added to this list, which include the play off final and Mark Noble’s last home game. What would be your best five?
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