Owen at Highbury

"I am 16 years old and live in Chicago in the United States. Being from America I had never heard of the EPL until an English soccer (football) trainer home stayed at my house in order to train teams in my area. He watched the EPL every weekend and then so did I. I started watching during Michael’s first season and instantly fell in love with him. I was amazed at his ability at a young age and followed his career. After watching him on TV for several years I decided I needed to see him in person. I then printed off a picture of Michael and taped it to a jar. I collected all my loose change and the change of my friends and family for two years. I then had enough money to pay to fly my mother and I over to watch him play. Through the trainer that stayed at my house I was able to get 2 tickets to the Arsenal Vs Liverpool game.

I arrived at Highbury way before kickoff so I could take in the atmosphere and look around. I walked to the front of the stadium and saw a big crowd. Using my being American to my advantage I talked my way to the front of the crowd to see what was going on. The police man said the player’s bus was going to arrive any second. I was stunned. I would be 5 feet away from Michael Owen. One by one the Liverpool players got off the bus and Michael was last. He stepped off and I screamed and cried at the same time. I flashed my camera as fast as I could and ended up with a great shot of him. I walked back through the crowd crying with excitement thinking how could this day get any better. Well, it did. During the game Michael scored a goal in front of the goal I was sitting by. I was in the Arsenal fan section and I had been warned not to cheer for Liverpool. I could not contain my excitement and jumped up. It took all of my mom’s strength to pull me back into my seat before the Arsenal fans realized what I was saying. I again began to cry and was so excited by what I just saw. I could not have imagined a more perfect day. It has been about a year since that game and I still think about it almost everyday."