Twitter:@danieluh
On May 25, I woke up on a dreary day in Brooklyn, walked through an airport lounge to watch the UEFA finale at Wembley Stadium and ended up in the middle of a Heineken-induced day-rave dance circle-all before 5:00 p.m. This was my awesome experience, and it’s safe to say, the same of the 1,500 futbol fans who lined up in the rain to get into Pier 36 for the most epic viewing party OF ALL TIME. When I arrived with my group of friends, we were greeted by Heineken flight attendants, who handed us boarding passes and wished us well “on our flight,” and we sure did fly. We mingled in the lounge area, feeling very VIP on the chic, white couches and two bars stocked to the brim with Heineken.
Right before kick-off, the green tunnel opened to the viewing area, and people were so anxious to run through to the massive stage and have their soccer fantasies come true. We ran through like kids in a candy store and into a stadium, complete with bleachers, turf, fans chanting, drums, massive screens, food and more beer. Although the Remezcla fam and I were kind of disappointed that neither of our Spanish teams made it to the final, the (over)consumption of beer and sausages were enough to make us Germans for the afternoon. For the half-time, the host – soccer star Tony Meola– announced dance crews and professional soccer freestylers who took the stage to complete the stadium experience. Once the game ended and Bayern Munchen took the cup, NYC’s DJ Berrie started the party, and from there on out, the Heineken goggles were strong and the dancing commenced. Pier 36 was transformed into a full-on party, and we felt like we were in some wild European club, trying our hand at “breakdancing”-I use this term loosely- and celebrating with strangers(or maybe that was just my day.)
When we were ushered outside and back into reality, my friends and I scoured Chinatown for dumplings to nurse our already developing day-hangovers. Once the booze daze started to subside, we recounted the brilliant production and the overwhelming feeling of excitement that lasted all day. And for now, I can’t say I haven’t been to Wembley stadium for a football finale, because if even just for an afternoon, we were truly in the middle of it all.