Definitely not the finish we’d hoped for. Arsenal’s title challenge simply ran out of gas, at the same time as Man City’s kicked into top gear. The end of the season was particularly hard for our group as we mourned the loss of our friend, Brent Yocom.
Despite everything, it’s been an exciting season at Maggie McGarry’s. Some stressful thrilling moments, along with a few demoralizing ones, but our gatherings saw a return pre-pandemic numbers. We even got 100+ for a 4:30am North London Derby! There’s still a void where Patrick, our Gooner bartender, once stood, but Andy, Mick, JJ, Mairéad, and a few others, made sure the pub was open for all Arsenal matches.
We welcomed back long-time regulars, along with plenty of new faces, and visitors from near and far. We hosted a charitable raffle to raise funds for the non-profit, Youth Speaks, and it was the first such event in almost 4 years. My hope is we’ll get back to doing our good works on a regular basis.
Now we get to do it one more time. Our final match viewing of the regular season. Nothing really to play for as City have claimed the title, but we’ve locked down 2nd place, and a spot in the Champions League. We’ve locked down key young players like Saka and Martinelli, so the future looks bright indeed.
Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page!
I will likely organize some off-season events for our group, but it would be great to get a crowd for the season finale. I never take for granted the community we’ve built here and look forward to seeing you at the pub.
Best,
Mark
Bay Area Gooners 