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Saturday, 6 August, 2016: The season begins...

Rovers vs. Norwich City, Ewood Park

Our family was given a tour of the stadium, and we got great seats on the Riverside for the match. Thanks much to everyone! We had a great time in Blackburn. Good luck for the season!!

Click the first pic for a clickable slideshow...

Start of the 16-17 season at the Blackburn End!... But, we're up against Norwich City?... Hm....	Lee with Marla, Sean and Carole as we entered the park in the Blackburn End.	Your groundsmen, pulling real grass out of the fake grass. They do an incredible job on your pitch!
Today's officials having their pre-game meeting on the sideline.	Sean and Marla recreating the same pic their dad took many years ago when he was toured through Ewood by Ronnie Clayton.	Lee shows us the TV interview room for post-match interviews.
Sean and Marla got in on the act...	Sean and Marla got in on the act...	Everything clean and tidy in the dressing room, just a few feet from the pitch as it turns out. We met Paul Fernie, match analyst, and Chris Neville, conditioning coach (??) as they were getting ready. Nice coupla fellas.
We just happened upon your mascot as he was coming to work. He immediately posed for a picture with Carole. Good boy.	Upstairs in the Jack Walker side we briefly took a look in the hospitality room, and were quickly laughed out by this young lady (I'm kidding -- she, like everyone else we met -- was completely sweet to us).	Lee took a shot of our group in front of some big pieces of metal... Is Sean wearing ears?
We then walked south into the Bryan Douglas hospitality room for a view of the pitch.	Lee grabbed a pic of us in the media room. This was still before the game, so we were smiling...	Lee took us outside way up high on the Jack Walker side.
There it is.	We got ourselves back outside at the end of our tour, just in time to greet Kevin Gallacher as he was arriving (Lee reading out to shake his hand). Inline image 17	Lee let us go, and we found our way across the street to the Fox & Hounds. I was pleased to see load of Blackburn supporters welcoming Norwich City folks into their midst there, though not exactly mixing -- here's a few blue and white halves folk (no canaries in sight).
We sat outside in the baking sun (yep, we brought some SoCal to you for this first day of the season!) and quaffed a few pints.	And then the match was on at the stroke of 3! This was my first ever professional football game. No better place to experience that than at Ewood Park, cheering on your side.	The crowd around us got ONE chance to stand up and cheer when we got that one goal in the second half.
In the end, you know what happened, so I don't need to dwell on that. As I exited along the sidelines on the Riverside, I observed a nice moment as a longtime fan got some help. A day made all the better by a moment of kindness.	And, I know it wasn't a great way to start, but I hope things get better. I saw these three before the match, dad and his two little bubbly girls, bouncing along beside him. They didn't look so great after the match.

Start of the 16-17 season at the Blackburn End!... But, we're up against Norwich City?... Hm....

Lee with Marla, Sean and Carole as we entered the park in the Blackburn End.

Your groundsmen, pulling real grass out of the fake grass. They do an incredible job on your pitch!

Today's officials having their pre-game meeting on the sideline.

Sean and Marla recreating the same pic their dad took many years ago when he was toured through Ewood by Ronnie Clayton.

Lee shows us the TV interview room for post-match interviews.

Sean and Marla got in on the act...

Sean and Marla got in on the act...

Everything clean and tidy in the dressing room, just a few feet from the pitch as it turns out. We met Paul Fernie, match analyst, and Chris Neville, conditioning coach (??) as they were getting ready. Nice coupla fellas.

We just happened upon your mascot as he was coming to work. He immediately posed for a picture with Carole. Good boy.

Upstairs in the Jack Walker side we briefly took a look in the hospitality room, and were quickly laughed out by this young lady (I'm kidding -- she, like everyone else we met -- was completely sweet to us).

Lee took a shot of our group in front of some big pieces of metal... Is Sean wearing ears?

We then walked south into the Bryan Douglas hospitality room for a view of the pitch.

Lee grabbed a pic of us in the media room. This was still before the game, so we were smiling...

Lee took us outside way up high on the Jack Walker side.

There it is.

We got ourselves back outside at the end of our tour, just in time to greet Kevin Gallacher as he was arriving (Lee reading out to shake his hand). Inline image 17

Lee let us go, and we found our way across the street to the Fox & Hounds. I was pleased to see load of Blackburn supporters welcoming Norwich City folks into their midst there, though not exactly mixing -- here's a few blue and white halves folk (no canaries in sight).

We sat outside in the baking sun (yep, we brought some SoCal to you for this first day of the season!) and quaffed a few pints.

And then the match was on at the stroke of 3! This was my first ever professional football game. No better place to experience that than at Ewood Park, cheering on your side.

The crowd around us got ONE chance to stand up and cheer when we got that one goal in the second half.

In the end, you know what happened, so I don't need to dwell on that. As I exited along the sidelines on the Riverside, I observed a nice moment as a longtime fan got some help. A day made all the better by a moment of kindness.

And, I know it wasn't a great way to start, but I hope things get better. I saw these three before the match, dad and his two little bubbly girls, bouncing along beside him. They didn't look so great after the match.