London sites, Wembley and Emirates Stadium, and meeting Tom Fox! (July 7, 8, 9, 10)

Sorry it has been so long since the last blog, been a busy couple days. Saturday was a day full of the typical tourist attractions in London. It seemed like the last time I would be able to do all of these things before millions of people come to town for the Olympics. Although I was still feeling a little sick, I decided it was best to go see everything rather then wait in lines for hours in 2 weeks to do the same things. First, we went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. We got there an hour before it took place, and there were already thousands of people around. I can’t even imagine what it will be like in late July. A few of us got in a perfect position for the ceremony, we were right at the center gate where the guards left at the end of the ceremony. I was able to get some great video and photos. The changing of the guards took about an hour, and was a very well orchestrated ceremony.

After the changing of the guards, a group of us walked by the Big Ben tower, and grabbed a quick bite to eat. We then decided to go on the London Eye to get a view of the whole city. We waited in line for about 45 minutes for the 30 minute ride. I am sure in about 2 weeks, the wait will be well over 2 hours. What a beautiful ride it was, we were able to see the whole city of London. I was able to get great panoramic photos of every side of the city. I can check that one off the London bucket list.

After the London Eye, the rest of the group I was with decided to go by Hyde Park, where a huge concert was going on. I decided to head back to the hotel to get some extra rest to try and get over this virus. I called it an early night and caught up on some more much needed rest.

On Sunday we headed back to Coventry around 2 in the afternoon. We all had a free morning to do some more exploring of London, but I used the time to try and sleep off the virus. Once we arrived in Coventry later in the afternoon, we watched the end of the Wimbledon final of Murray versus Federer. I looked at the whole match in a different light having watched the women’s semi final on the same court just a few days earlier. I was a little disappointed that Murray didn’t win; it would have been fun to be in England when a British player won Wimbledon for the first time in 75 years. After the match I had some dinner at the hotel then went to bed early again to try and fight off the virus. Sadly it still didn’t work.

Monday was a lay low day for all the graduated seniors. We met the rest of the undergraduates for lunch at Coventry University for a meet and greet with some of the faculty they have been working with. After lunch, I came back to the hotel and did a load of laundry in my sink. This was a first, and it went surprisingly well. Again, I called it an early night to try and get myself healthy. Tuesday was going to be a very packed and exciting day.

Today was one of the most memorable days of the trip so far. It started early, and taking the hour train ride to London again. We then got on the Underground and headed to Wembley Stadium. Wembley Stadium is the second largest stadium in all of Europe. It is the home of the England national football team, as well as the venue for the finals of the FA Cup. Our group got a tour of the whole stadium, from the executive suites, to the press area, to the locker rooms. We even got to take a photo with the FA Cup trophy. You can see more about the stadium here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wembley_Stadium.

After and hour and a half tour of Wembley Stadium, we headed to downtown London. The under graduates had class for an hour. During that time, the group of graduated seniors went to have lunch at Gourmet Burger Kitchen. This was by far one of the best burgers I have had in the past year or so. It is a must to go there at least two more times before leaving England. We then met up with the rest of the group, and headed to Emirates Stadium, home of the Arsenal football club.

At Emirates Stadium, we got a very similar tour of all the facilities. It was equally as impressive as the tour at Wembley Stadium. It was awesome being able to tour two of the 25 largest stadiums in all of Europe in one day. At the conclusion of the tour, we got to meet with Tom Fox, The Chief Commercial Officer for Arsenal. This was something that I had been looking forward to for months leading up to the trip.

Tom Fox worked with my grandfather, Ed Shull, while they both were at Gatorade. I had been in contact with Tom well before the trip to let him know that I would be a part of the Arizona group he was going to meet with. I was able to formally introduce myself to him and talk for a short while before he spoke to the whole group. He had nothing but the best things to say about my grandfather, as well as my grandmother Linda Shull. It really is a small world in the sports industry I have come to find out. He talked to our group for an hour about the work that he does for the Arsenal, and how his views of European sports has changed during his 3 years with the team. Tom and I will be meeting in early August to talk more about my grandfather, the work he did for Gatorade, and my career aspirations in the sports industry. It was truly a great experience, and I look forward to learning more from him.

After touring two incredible stadiums, and finally meeting Tom Fox, we were on our way back to Coventry. Tonight I have decided to just stay in and update the blog. I am still fighting the virus, but am much improved from a few days ago. Tomorrow I will get to sleep in, and go see my first cricket match in the afternoon. Thanks again for following my blog, and I will be giving another update soon. Cheers!