Craziest shenanigans you’ve had to do to attend a match?

[Sam_Brown]

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done to get to a match? Either cost or just sheer effort or just something absolutely crazy?

My top three... I reckon these are probably tame compared to what some of the other fans on here have done over the years but curious what the weirdest one is.

Next Tuesday - Got a ticket for the Barnsley game. I don’t think we’ll beat Bolton tomorrow. They have a lot to play for. Barnsley is an evening game and three hour drive. Early start at work as well the day of the game and next day but the chance to see us clinch promotion and the title is too good to pass up.

FA Cup Final 2008 - dropped 600 quid on two tickets. Not the best game but one of those you can’t really miss it. I got offered CL final tickets when it was at Wembley (can’t remember the year) and they were going for about 7k so 300 quid seemed like a great deal in retrospect.

Derby game last week - was originally meant to be a nice easy bank holiday afternoon kickoff but Sky decided to move it to Tuesday evening. Booked a hotel and everything so had to stay an extra night. Had a family meet up in Norfolk on the Wednesday morning so ended up driving ~5 hours (with stops) after the game and didn’t get their til 4. Got about two hours sleep before getting up.

Honourable mention to going to a game when I had food poisoning. Spent the entire time getting down there and back being sick non stop. Managed to survive the game somehow and back to being ill for the drive back up. Absolutely awful trip but worth it. Luckily I wasn’t driving.

What you got gents?

[Pompey1984+1]

Vitória S.C. away.

Went out on Friday night met my mate in Guildhall walk at 2am, walked up to the 24 hour shop on Fratton Road, bought a crate of lager and joined the queue. It was freezing just in t shirt and jeans, didn't take a chair or anything like that.

Having got tickets our travel plans were dictated by price, flying from anywhere down south was too expensive for us. We did however manage to find a hotel in Guimarães.

So we flew from Liverpool, cheap train tickets. We were due to be on the last train from Birmingham New Street to Liverpool Lime Street where we were going to get some kip at a mate of mine who was at Uni in Liverpool but...

Our train was held outside New Street Station due to a suspected fire. There was no fire. So we missed the last train to Liverpool. Along with some other passengers were were told to make our way to Crewe and wait for some taxis. So we did... And boy did we wait. I don't recall how long but it was several hours.

Anyway, we were then put in a taxi with another bloke, he's in the front, we are in the back. Get a bit down the road cabby asking where we have come from... Our traveling companion says Dorchester, someone, possibly the cabbie asks what he has been doing down there 'I got out of prison this morning'.

As the journey progresses the guy who's just been released from Prison asked the taxi driver if rather than dropping him at Lime Street Station he could be dropped at some house party his mates had put on to celebrate his release, and if course we (including the taxi driver) were more than welcome to join them. We politely declined, the taxi driver however did agree to drop him off.

So as we're coming into Liverpool this bloke in the front started directing him through the streets of Liverpool, row upon row of abandoned houses, boarded up windows (but with lights on inside) and the like. It dawned on us were were in the estate where the young Everton fan, had been shot. We pull up outside this house, if you can call it that people everywhere, like a scene from Shameless. This guy gets out. Again asks if we want to come to this house party - promising it will be right good. We politely decline, we have a plane to catch.

Anyway, we get dropped off at Lime Street Station, no idea what time it is at this point, I don't recall. It was late though, we decided it was pointless getting any sleep at my mates gaff if they were even still awake. It was that late everywhere is closed, boozers, bars, everything. So we walk down to china town thinking maybe there is a restaurant open, we can see one with lights on still so walk towards that. As we do a rat comes running out the front door - it's the only one still open. We go in, we're cold, starving and worked up a nervous thirst.

We go in, have something to eat, and a can of luke warm John Smith's. We are the only people in there and effectively thrown out because they want to close.

We hunt down a taxi to the airport. We arrive at the airport we are the only people there other than a cleaner, check in isn't open yet and there are literally no seats. So we decide to have a race up and down the terminal in two wheelchairs. After a while we think we can probably get a bit of kip in the wheelchairs.

A short while later, we are woken by check in opening and staff starting to appear. So we check in, head through security and wait for the shutters to come up on weatherspoons. I think it was around this pint we decided to put on our Pompey shirts.

Anyway, we have a few beers and breakfast in spoons - the two barmaids were great fun.

Anyway, we land in Porto, nip into a cafe and who should be there? But the blokes who had been Infront of us in the queue at Fratton Park for tickets (I still bump into them at away games).

We move onto Guimarães getting some kip on the train, check into our hotel overlooking one square, and then go to 'THE Square' the rest is then history.

I did bump into @NoShotSherlock in that square.

The way home was less eventful flew into Birmingham and got home without incident.

Every now and then me and my friend wonder what happened to the lad from the taxi, and we wonder if he remembers us like we remember him. We never were brave enough to ask him what he was inside for, just incase it was for beating up a taxi driver.

[BlueinPLtwenty]

Shrewsbury away 2013 : At one time it looked as if this might be Pompey`s last match ever, I had to go!

I went online and all the Pompey tickets were snapped up so quickly. I tried to buy tickets in the Shrewsbury section, the website was blocked, other Pompey Supporters had the same idea. So I phoned the Shrewsbury ticket office. They were very reluctant, the Chap I spoke to said Pompey Fans had tried all sorts of ways to get tickets. I asked why was that and he said apparently it could be their last match ever. Oh I replied what a shame and all I wanted was two tickets because my Brother and I were "collecting Football Grounds" and we hadn`t been to the new Shrews Ground. We were travelling from Swansea to take in this last match of the season specially (true). OK the Man said give me a card number to pay for the tickets and you will have to bring identification when you collect the tickets at the ground. My Brother had a Flat in Swansea and we drove up on the saturday morning. There was a special place where the ticket collection took place, we were not asked for identification. By this time The Pompey Fans had bought the Club. However we took our seats and the people around us were very friendly, but the facade was given away when Shrewsbury scored their first goal. Everyone around us were on their feet, my Brother and I remained seated. The Lady next to me smiled and we got chatting. Her Son as it turned out was one of the Shrewsbury substitutes (Ryan Woods) and when he came on just before the end of the match we all stood up and applauded. It was thoroughly civilised and an enjoyable match although we lost 3-2 and had already been relegated.

[No Shot Sherlock]

As for 84+1, it has to be the trip to Guimarães. By the time me and my mate had secured tickets, direct flights to anywhere close had either sold out, or were way beyond what either of us was prepared to pay. But a relatively cheap route required that we take a somewhat more convoluted route!

We set off from Fareham in my 'Smile4Rich' liveried Ford Fiesta, heading for Newhaven to catch the overnight ferry to Dieppe. It was due to sail around 8pm but a storm in the Channel delayed it arriving from France - by over 4 hours! By the time we boarded, we'd lost so much time there was a real danger we'd miss our flight from Paris Beauvais to Porto. Fortunately, having explained our 'mission' to staff at Newhaven, they'd promised to load us such that we'd be among the first cars in line to drive off when we made it Dieppe. Unfortunately, the French staff aboard the ferry hadn't got the memo, and promptly directed us to a space which we were rapidly blocked into by numerous trucks.

Thankfully, when finally we did disembark, we were waved straight through and out of the port. For those who don't know it, Beauvais airport is to Paris what Stanstead is to London, ie nowhere near it. However, it is still 100km from Dieppe, and we had about 90 minutes before our flight was due to depart as we exited the port. I drove the largely cross-country route like it was a rally stage. Looking back, I like to think Rich was Smiling on us as we made it to the car park at Beauvais with all four wheels still on the car, and without encountering the Gendarmerie en route. We legged it into the terminal, through security and to the gate just as they were about to close it.

The rest of the journey was relatively stress free, picking up a hire car at Porto airport and driving to Guimarães. We hadn't booked accommodation so dossed in the car for a couple of hours before exploring. Amazingly, in the first little bar we went into (can't remember whether Pedro Mendes owned it or whether it was just a bit of a shrine to him), as we were stood at the bar talking, a voice at the other end of it said, "you must be No Shot Sherlock". Turned out to be Milkins! Surreal, bizarre, and truly odd - not to mention an incredible coincidence

From there it was on to the old town square where a sea of Royal Blue awaited. As mentioned, we bumped into 84+1 (then simply '85) there, too, although (unlike with Milkins) he and I had met before.

Anyway, the rest is history and the reverse journey home was, thankfully, far less eventful. Still, so bl**dy glad we did it as we have said on numerous occasions since, it won't happen again in our lifetimes

[Milton End]

Thanks for posting. I didn't realise just how boring my visits have been.

[Pompey1984+1]

As for 84+1, it has to be the trip to Guimarães. By the time me and my mate had secured tickets, direct flights to anywhere close had either sold out, or were way beyond what either of us was prepared to pay. But a relatively cheap route required that we take a somewhat more convoluted route!

We set off from Fareham in my 'Smile4Rich' liveried Ford Fiesta, heading for Newhaven to catch the overnight ferry to Dieppe. It was due to sail around 8pm but a storm in the Channel delayed it arriving from France - by over 4 hours! By the time we boarded, we'd lost so much time there was a real danger we'd miss our flight from Paris Beauvais to Porto. Fortunately, having explained our 'mission' to staff at Newhaven, they'd promised to load us such that we'd be among the first cars in line to drive off when we made it Dieppe. Unfortunately, the French staff aboard the ferry hadn't got the memo, and promptly directed us to a space which we were rapidly blocked into by numerous trucks.

Thankfully, when finally we did disembark, we were waved straight through and out of the port. For those who don't know it, Beauvais airport is to Paris what Stanstead is to London, ie nowhere near it. However, it is still 100km from Dieppe, and we had about 90 minutes before our flight was due to depart as we exited the port. I drove the largely cross-country route like it was a rally stage. Looking back, I like to think Rich was Smiling on us as we made it to the car park at Beauvais with all four wheels still on the car, and without encountering the Gendarmerie en route. We legged it into the terminal, through security and to the gate just as they were about to close it.

The rest of the journey was relatively stress free, picking up a hire car at Porto airport and driving to Guimarães. We hadn't booked accommodation so dossed in the car for a couple of hours before exploring. Amazingly, in the first little bar we went into (can't remember whether Pedro Mendes owned it or whether it was just a bit of a shrine to him), as we were stood at the bar talking, a voice at the other end of it said, "you must be No Shot Sherlock". Turned out to be Milkins! Surreal, bizarre, and truly odd - not to mention an incredible coincidence

From there it was on to the old town square where a sea of Royal Blue awaited. As mentioned, we bumped into 84+1 (then simply '85) there, too, although (unlike with Milkins) he and I had met before.

Anyway, the rest is history and the reverse journey home was, thankfully, far less eventful. Still, so bl**dy glad we did it as we have said on numerous occasions since, it won't happen again in our lifetimes

Was the Pedro Mendes bar on the corner of a square, all decked out in black and white?

[No Shot Sherlock]

Was the Pedro Mendes bar on the corner of a square, all decked out in black and white?

Definitely one a corner, and quite small. Had a shirt of his hanging behind the bar.

[Pompey1984+1]

Was the Pedro Mendes bar on the corner of a square, all decked out in black and white?

Definitely one a corner, and quite small. Had a shirt of his hanging behind the bar.

Seem to recall the place - not sure if that was the Elvis Bar.