Reserved Seating on the Anglesea Terrace, apparently!

[thekav]

Hey all, I've been a season ticket holder for three years, was a long-time attendee at games before then. Every year I've had a season ticket, I've been on the Anglesea Terrace and there's something I've never been told.

I made a huge faux pas at the Cardiff game, as I apparently took a woman's spot.

Now, in my defence, for the past three years, I've been coming in the entrance halfway between the bar area and the Anglesea Road gates and standing at the first available spot at the wall, usually at the 5-meter line. Last week, as you know, the entrance to the terrace shifted to the bar area, so my mate and I grabbed a pint, went through to the terrace and stood at the first available spot at the wall. This was about 5.30pm, as we'd gone down early to get our packs (thanks OLSC, love the scarf colours this year). As the first people on the terrace, we foolishly assumed we had our choice of positions, so we chose a nice spot near the Twenty-Two where the fence was missing so we could rest our pints.

How foolish we were. About ten minutes before kick-off, a woman arrived and stood behind my friend, despite there being plenty of space left, even at that late stage. She then leaned across him and placed her lager on the wall in front of my friend. He warned her that the section of wall she'd just utilised as a ledge was slightly slanted, and she should mind her pint, we were told that we were in her spot and normally she "wouldn't have to mind, because I stand there and you've taken my space".

On a serious note, I was livid. Two other ladies arrived during the match and remarked loudly that it was their own tough luck that they were too late to get a spot at the front. A guy pushed up behind us during the second half and we let his son stand in front of us so he could see. We were in no way hogging the front of the terrace, we were simply there early and took what looked like the best spot to see the game and rest our pints.

How is it someone can actually act like they have a divine right to a place to rest their drink on an unreserved terrace? Whatever about being disappointed that the spot's gone, as the other women were; actually telling me that I've taken her space....

So, where do I go to apologise?

(By the way, if the lady in question speaks Irish, she will have had no doubt exactly what I thought of her at the time.)

[Amz]

If she was a regular terrace dweller surely she knows it's the luck of the draw, or depends on how early you get there that determines your choice of location. Short arses in particular need to remember that. Add to that the fact that STHs were encouraged to arrive well before KO to pick up the packs should mean she should have expected the chance of her not gaining "her spot".

Also, she sounds like a complete tit, out of spite I'd probably try and stand there at every game in future.

[thekav]

Actually, we did decide in a drunken stupor later that night to show up at 4pm for the next home game...but they probably won't let us in until 5.30, so we'll see.

[Scott]

Also, she sounds like a complete tit, out of spite I'd probably try and stand there at every game in future.

That was my first thought! What a dick. Kids are one thing but a grown woman/man moaning you took there spot on a terrace. It seems to me you did remarkably well to hold your cool & not tell the scank to 'jog on'

[thekav]

Also, she sounds like a complete tit, out of spite I'd probably try and stand there at every game in future.

That was my first thought! What a dick. Kids are one thing but a grown woman/man moaning you took there spot on a terrace. It seems to me you did remarkably well to hold your cool & not tell the scank to 'jog on'

Like I said, if she speaks Irish, she'll know exactly what class of an individual I consider her to be.

[FatBoyChoice]

I've had this before as well, there are few people at front of north half of terrace that are very protective of "their spot". It seems a fairly recent phenomenon, but they always get the same blunt response from me!

[FatBoyChoice]

Double post, stoopid phone ....

[Bosco]

bring small traffic cones and some crime scene tape next time and cordon off the area

[ronk]

You should have told her you'd give it back to her next season.

[Rockthecasbah]

I have to admit I'm very fond of "my" spot in the terrace and am generally at the match an hour before kick-off to get it. But if I'm not there early enough and if someone is there ahead of me, no probs at all - they get it. I just make a mental note to get my a** in gear a bit earlier for the next game.

I have seen others behave as you described, tis ridiculous.

Terrace = first come gets first dibs- simple as!

[Slipper1]

I brought my son to the game with his friend. With 2 five year old boys, there is a lot of paraphernalia - including two (relatively small) ironing chairs for the lads to stand on to see the game - we got there really early and despite all the sh!t we brought, everyone around us was more than accommodating to the lads and their first match experience.

Get there early, secure your spot - want a reserved place, then buy a seat.

[thekav]

Get there early, secure your spot - want a reserved place, then buy a seat.

Word.

It's nice to know most of my fellow Leinster fans are not c**ts.

[joooooe]

I wouldn't be so sure...according to my season ticket card I'm in block ANGTCE, row G1, seat 27. Been asking stewards for years...or not.
It could have been pretty funny to show her your card and insist that the space you are in is your allocated spot.

[thekav]

I wouldn't be so sure...according to my season ticket card I'm in block ANGTCE, row G1, seat 27. Been asking stewards for years...or not.
It could have been pretty funny to show her your card and insist that the space you are in is your allocated spot.

That's true...didn't notice that before. I'm way back in row G5, so it mustn't be my spot at all!

Although last year's ticket says STANDING, and the Cardiff game was the first home game of the season, so it absolutely couldn't be hers!

[dipper]

I reckon that's the same woman that I came across in the stadium in Toulouse last April. The row numbering in that stadium was cr@p though...

[El Diablo]

Whats the view of late arrivers squeezing in in front of people. I have always had the view that that is the nature of terrace dwelling...you don't have a divine right to a certain amount of space...as the terrace fills up people are going to pack in around you. Last year I was abused and jostled by another fan on the smaller terrace because I joined my mates in front of him and restricted his view a few minutes into the game. My 2 mates reacted differently...1 said I was within my rights...there is no reserved space on a terrace while the other said that after KO you shouldn't move in front of someone.
Have I broken some unwritten code that I was not aware of?

[Logorrhea]

1 said I was within my rights...there is no reserved space on a terrace while the other said that after KO you shouldn't move in front of someone.

Nothing more annoying then a guy who just storms through 10 mins before kick off and blocks the view you got 90 mins ago. Its an etiquette thing. The way to get around it is to stand in front of your mates (not the others), try to stay out of peoples way at the start or at least be conscious that you are in the way and eventually it all settles down. Be seen to give a f%~k and your grand.

Unless you do it every week.

As for the woman with a reserved spot, its laughable, get there early and its yours. As the other poster said, you want a reserved spot, buy a seat.

[Blåränderna]

They've also seemed to have messed up the back row of seating in the Angelsea stand, we had our exact same seats from last year yet the numbers are completely screwed up, there was quite a bit of confusion before the Cardiff game, I'm still convinced no one was in their proper seat.