Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Not because of the result on the field, but because of everything surrounding the events on the field. Indeed, we ended up losing the match 0-3. We had our chances and should have scored the 1-0 goal, which would have changed the match I bet. We also had our chances for the 1-1 equalizer, especially in the early part of the second half when we were really pushing for that goal. But as it often is when you play a team from a higher division, Kangasalan Voitto finished their chances with a higher accuracy, and in the end deserved to win.

But the rest of it, man, that was great. I started my day at 9 am at Oluthuone Esplanadi with the rest of Sinikaarti. I had time to have a couple of excellent microbrews and to chat with friends. The bar felt filled up, something that did not really happen last season when TamU-K played recreational football. All indications were for a big event.

At about 10:15 we started to move outside to march the half kilometer stretch to Pyynikki stadium. It was not the biggest march Sinikaarti has ever had, not exactly comparable to the one we had before the UEFA Champions League third round qualifier against Rosenborg for example, but it was among the biggest we’ve had. And it felt great.

When we got to the stadium, my first thing to do was to rig the Sinikaarti banner onto the rail of our section. Others were working on setting up the choreo that we had prepared, perhaps the most complicated setup Sinikaarti has ever had, consisting of two parts: a curtain that was lifted with ropes and a message banner that was held up by supporters.

Next I went to buy some sausage that one of the Sinikaarti supporters had organized on the whim in the morning of the match. Eating sausage is a tradition in Finnish football and indeed any outdoors sports event, so this added a nice touch. During the day I bought three of them, and payed about 15 euros. I think the price really was 2 euros per sausage, but many just put in more money because they knew it was going to go to the club. There were also color-printed match day programs, further making the match feel like an event, not just a match.

As I was eating my first sausage, the PA announcer of the match, another volunteer Tampere United supporter, asked me if I could get him the starting lineups for the match. I was a bit hesitant at first for some reason, but I agreed to do so, and in the end it felt great to help add that bit of a sense of an event to the match. The announcer did his job brilliantly throughout the match, just like in any match at any level. He even reminded people that smoking is not allowed in the historical wooden stand of the Pyynikki stadium, which stirred a little bit of laughter, but everybody indeed had their smokes in the designated area in front of the stand near the sausage sales table.

Kangasalan Voitto were still warming up on the field at that point, so I approached them and asked who could provide the starting lineup. They said to get it from the referee, so I found him, and asked if I could get the starting lineup for KaVo for the announcer. He clearly found the situation amusing and could not help but laugh a little bit, but of course he played along. We agreed to meet in the referee dressing room before the teams walk out to the field about 5 min before the kick-off time. And so I did. On the way I met the manager of TamU-K, a good personal friend of mine, and got our own lineup as well. When the KaVo lineup finally arrived to the referees, I frantically circled the numbers of the starting players on the matchday program, and ran to the announcer as the teams were already starting to emerge onto the field. Just in time!

The next thing of course was Sinikaarti lifting the choreo. It had a huge bird in the vertical curtain lifted from the roof of the stand, with the TamU-K crest on its chest. The text said: ”kuin feenikslintu tuhkasta” which translates to ”like phoenix from the ashes”. The message was clear. The pride was massive.

And then, finally the match kicked off. Sinikaarti started as we always do, with a song about going to the attack and the need to score lots of goals to the tune of When the Saints Go Marching In. The wooden stands and the low lying roof amplifies everything and the singing was loud. It had been more than a year since we had been able to sing at a proper stadium instead of just on the side of the field, and it felt great. And no, the League Cup final in Espoo a year ago does not count as a proper stadium in case you were wondering. Our numbers were also much higher than they had been any of the other TamU-K matches. We were loud. We were proud. I met lots of people I had not seen in a long while, many of whom were not able to attend matches last season when they were all on a weekday.

At some point during the first half somebody pointed out to me that the chairman of the original Tampere United club, Jyrki Laiho, was in attendance too. He is still working on legal processes that might see the original club restored back into one of the higher divisions of Finnish football one day. At the half I got a chance to tell him how much respect I have for him to be at the match. I also took a few photos of him for the club website, because I heard an interview is going to appear there next week.

Even more amazing was that there were tens of people in attendance who are not part of Sinikaarti. I saw quite a few people with Tampere United scarfs sitting in the main stand. There were also families. It was counted that there were more than a hundred people in attendance, but that may be an underestimation as even during the second half there was a near-constant trickle of people coming in. I think in addition to those who had planned to be there some people came to check it out when they heard Sinikaarti’s singing.

Overall the great thing about this event was that it was just like any other Tampere United match I’ve been to. It is too bad that we are unlikely to be able to play many other matches at Pyynikki. The reality is that we are in Kutonen, the seventh division of Finnish football, and we do not get to choose to play at a nice place. It is a pity though, because not many other football matches are going to get more than 100 people in attendance there. One would hope this would have some sway with the decisions makers. This is indeed what Jyrki Laiho told me too. Unfortunately, officially attendance numbers apparently have no relevance in these decisions. But maybe that should change.

As it is, our next two matches are in Kauppi and Kaukajärvi. The fields are going to be nice artificial turfs, but there is no stadium there. In Kaukajärvi there have been bleacher style stands in previous years, but rumor has it that so far the city has not brought them in this spring. Hopefully the club can help make that happen, because standing a few rows deep is much better than just standing in a row on the sideline. In the matches themselves victory is the only option. Even yesterday I was very proud of the way the team played and really challenged a team two divisions above us. This all bodes well for our chances in the matches that really matter, namely those of the Kutonen season where we have promotion to Vitonen on the line. It all starts on Sunday May 6th at 7:30 pm in Kauppi in an ”away” match against TaPa/2.

P.S. Vastapallo has a great report on the match in Finnish. There’s also a photo of our choreo there. I will probably add some photos in this blog too as soon as I get them.