One Northern Irish Leeds United fan spent his stag weekend making a first-ever trip to Elland Road.
If an excuse is ever needed to make that first trip over to watch Leeds United, a stag will do nicely - at least that’s what one Northern Irish groom-to-be had in mind.
It will for Andrew, though, who from the moment his fiancée Holly said yes had eyes on a trip to watch his beloved Whites. And after a Manchester United-supporting friend sorted hospitality tickets for the Bees at home on March 21, the wheels were in motion for his first Elland Road trip.
Andrew and his stag party - he's in the minion hat and tutu, obviously.placeholder image
Andrew and his stag party - he's in the minion hat and tutu, obviously. | Andrew Hill
“It was always the plan,” Andrew told the YEP. “My dad and brother are Leeds fans. Unfortunately, some of the others were Manchester United or Liverpool fans but they came along and enjoyed the game. But the plan was always to go over to Elland Road.
“That was my first time being over. So, yeah, it was a big one for me, going over just to get the Leeds game in. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Leeds play, I saw them play AC Milan in Dublin last year, but it was my first time going to Elland Road, so it was great - apart from the result.
“But I still had a great time. The atmosphere was unbelievable. Unfortunately we didn’t get the win but it was an absolutely great weekend.”
In a whistle-stop tour of the city’s watering holes, Andrew and his mates were sure to attend the Peacock and the Moot Hall Arms while a trip to the Royal Armouries museum offered up the necessary culture. A chance to have a pint with Stuart Dallas unfortunately came and went due to punditry commitments but they joined up some fellow Northern Irishmen, support for Leeds linking them all.
‘Everyone was actually well behaved’
“There’s a massive following of Leeds fans in Northern Ireland,” Andrew explained. “It's a weird and wonderful thing too, because it brings both sides of the community together in Northern Ireland. We were on the bus with a bunch of fellas from West Belfast on the way to go and watch the game.
“Normally there would be a divide over here with football - Rangers and Celtic - but it was good. We were sitting and having a pint in O’Neill’s and they supported Leeds as well. There's no community divide with it, which is a big thing.”
Andrew and the Leeds United legends he hopes will don the table names at his wedding.placeholder image
Andrew and the Leeds United legends he hopes will don the table names at his wedding. | Andrew Hill
“Everyone was actually well behaved,” insists Andrew, who refused to enter the Elland Road hospitality section in a full Manchester United kit and instead settled for home colours with a few accessories - a minion hat and a tutu. He also left with a souvenir and a jumping off-point for his attempts to include Leeds in his and Holly’s big day.
“I don’t know if I should be admitting this but in the hospitality bit, we were table number eight,” he explained. “We nicked the table number eight sign so that’s going to be the top table at the wedding. I haven’t broken this to Holly yet, but the plan is we’re going to name all the tables after famous Leeds players.
“She’s seen loads of videos and every time I watch a Leeds game, she’ll be watching it as well - probably forced to watch it. But no, she's actually looking to go over. She thinks It would be good to get over to Elland Road again, which we're hopefully going to do, just the two of us.”
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The wedding is set for Saturday, May 16, which coincidentally is FA Cup final day - although even now few Leeds fans will expect to be there, never mind before Derby County in the third round. A Wembley honeymoon is therefore off the cards but Andrew will be back at Elland Road soon and has one eye on a possible trip across the pond.
“One hundred per cent I’ll be looking to get back at least in the next six months to a year to watch them again,” Andrew added. “It was great, everyone was so nice to us.
“We were actually discussing how Leeds are going over to America for some friendlies this summer. So I might be able to convince the missus to go to a game over there.”
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