One more time

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

A big loss

Arsenal’s loss to Brighton & Hove last week, effectively ending their title challenge was depressing and demoralizing. But it pales compared to the personal loss, we endured this week.

Long time Bay Area Gooner, Brent Yocom passed away this week. He was 46. Brent joined our group in 2011, and was immediately hard to miss. He was funny, gregarious, boisterous, and many knew him as the first Gooner they ever met here. I could always count on Brent to chat up new Gooners and make them feel at home. He dragged more first timers to Maggie’s than anyone I know.

Brent moved here from Philly and was beyond dedicated to his hometown teams. He launched an Eagles fan group at the Northstar on Powell and Green, and much like here, he was a welcoming presence, creating community around a team he loved. He was also a DJ, producer, and passionate about all things music.

He had a funny habit of buying Arsenal jerseys of the most random players. He owned the only Chamakh shirt I ever saw at Maggie’s and of course, his infamous Kallstrom jersey, a player who only made 4 appearances for Arsenal. There are rumors he went on a date with an Arsenal women’s player, though I cannot verify the veracity of that report.

Brent and I were quoted in a Guardian article on US soccer fans. He said he was drawn to Arsenal by Emmanuel Adebayor and “a fucking cannon” as their logo. He was annoyed they spelled his name wrong, but still very proud to be quoted.

Brent struggled with his health a lot, but those who knew him, saw him as a bright light, generous and dedicated to his friends, a guy who would do anything for them.

The last thing he would want is a moment of silence, so at the 46th (45+ 1 minute of extra time) minute of Saturday’s game, raise a glass, cheer, or just make some noise in Brent’s memory. Note: if there is no extra time to the first half, we’ll do it just as the half ends.

My fervent hope, is that anytime you meet a new Gooner here, you’ll be like Brent and make them feel welcome.

Hope to see you Saturday at the pub.

Cheers, Mark

 

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page!

Just a little more time

Loved Arsenal doing the business at Newcstle. Fully expected it to be one of the sterner tests, but with a little luck, the Gunners persevered in a scrappy, nervy affair.

Brighton & Hove Albion FC visit the Emirates on Sunday and I’m not imagining any sort of a cakewalk. The Seagulls have done the business there several times, including a 2-1 low point last season. Theirs is a similar style of play, so it could be a fairly open game.

We’ll have to do it without Saliba and now Zinchenko, and despite Arteta’s public optimism, it is looking like their seasons are over.

Still needing City to drop points, which they show absolutely no sign of doing. They have 4 matches left (to Arsenal’s 3) in which to do it, but I find myself pleading with the football gods for a little more time.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page!

We are back at Maggie’s Sunday! It’s Mother’s Day, so bring your moms. We’ll have a photographer at the pub, so you and Mom may end up on this website or in our socials.

BAG scarves and t-shirts are available, while supplies last.

See you there!

Best, Mark

Fight to the finish

As lovely as it was to watch Arsenal trounce a hapless Chelsea, it only put the Gunners back on top for a matter of hours before City beat West Ham to reclaim their spot.

The Hammers put up valiant fight, before the reigning champions did what they do and put 3 past them. City show no signs of dropping points, but why worry about things outside our control. What we need from Arsenal is a fight to the finish.

Arsenal head to Newcastle Sunday and beating the Magpies at home is a tough assignment. They’ve become a formidable contender, who’ve won 7 of their last 8 (insert snide aside about buckets of blood money here). The Gunners were hard done by questionable officiating when the two sides met in January, but that seems so long ago.

We’re back at at Maggie’s Sunday for the match! It’s a lovely 8:30am start and we’re hoping to see a good turnout. Arsenal’s late season stumble stings, but this seems a good opportunity to separate true Gooners from the bandwagon fans.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page!

Excited to be back at the pub Sunday and will have BAG scarves for sale. I’ve still got t-shirts left, primarily women’s sizes and a few men’s.

See you there!

Best, Mark

Where are we now?

What a difference a week makes. We now sit in 2nd place, 1 point behind Manchester City and they’ve got a game in hand. The result of our 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, which quite frankly looked like men against boys.

We lost to the better side, but it’s frustrating when your opponent is the “footballing equivalent of Lance Armstrong” (Elliott Ross). But if we’re being honest with ourselves, the title was lost (if it is indeed lost) with 3 successive draws, against teams we should have beaten.

So where are we now? Guaranteed of finishing above the Tiny Totts and all but assured of Champions League football. Arsenal could still win the league but City would have to drop points, which seems unlikely, given their form, and the ease with which, they substitute one £50+ million player for another.

Regardless, the Bay Area Gooners will be at Maggie’s for all of the remaining 5 matches. As we have been (pandemic non-withstanding) since 2006. Tomorrow it’s a floundering, loathsome Chelsea. Kickoff is 12pm.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page.

Coming to America

As previously mentioned, Arsenal are coming to America. The Gunners have added a match in New York against Manchester United to their preseason tour, and the previously announced Washington DC date against the MLS All-Stars.

If you are an Arsenal America member, you received pre-sale ticket information already. Please select Bay Area Gooners as your designated branch during the AA membership process, as it really does benefit us.

I won’t be at the pub for tomorrow’s match as I’m still recovering, but expect me back in the pub for Newcastle.

Best, Mark

Fighting their way back

This is the big one. Truth be told, it was always going to be about Wednesday’s match at the Etihad Stadium. The young Guns against those plucky financial fair play dodgers. Arsenal has hit a run of draws at an inopportune time while Man City are firing on all their billion dollar cylinders.

Still, these are the matches legends are built on, and except for a couple of glaring errors, the Gunners might have beaten them in the earlier match-up. Really want to see Arsenal fight their way back to form.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page.

Mick and the other City supporters will no doubt be at the pub Wednesday. They really haven’t been much of a presence this season. Perhaps success gets boring after awhile. But you can expect them to crawl from the woodwork for this one. Let’s remind them it’s our pub and generate a turnout to not just rival, but outnumber theirs.

Sadly, I am ill and after arranging this day off, months in advance, it is unlikely I will get to Maggie’s. I’m going to depend on you lot to make a good showing in my absence.

Best, Mark

Under pressure

At the risk of repeating myself, if Gooners are honest about this season, most of us would have gladly taken a top 4 finish and seen it as a very successful season. But that’s the thing about expectations and getting them raised, perhaps prematurely.

None of us expected the success Arsenal have lavished on us, what with their winning ways and firm grip on top of the table. Completely understandable, that hope and heightened expectations followed.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page.

Now following two successive draws, Gooners seem to be experiencing any number of the 5 stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance), and it’s fair to say Arsenal and their global supporters are a bit under pressure.

But we keep doing what we do, supporting the club no matter what and hope they can return to their winning ways against Southampton tomorrow.

By popular demand, we have a new batch of BAG scarves available at weekend matches and some weekday matches. These will sell out! We also have new BAG t-shirts available, though we’ve already sold out of some sizes. See me at the pub to get yours!

See you tomorrow at Maggie’s!

Best, Mark

Hammer time

Any other year, any other season, we’d probably be thrilled with a draw at Anfield. But I feel a bit conflicted after last weekend’s stressful affair. Either Arsenal dropped points or they battled a fierce foe within the confines of their fortress and left with an admirable result. I still can’t really decide.

Stop! Hammer time! No time to dwell on what might have been as the Gunners head crosstown to face a West Ham, sitting 3 points above the relegation zone. Guess we should be thankful, they haven’t sacked David Moyes, leading us to contend with another “new manager bounce”. Time for the Hammer(s) to fall.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page.

Maggie’s was wall-to-wall with Gooners last weekend. Let’s see if we can’t get some of you out for Sunday’s early kickoff.

See you at the pub!

Best, Mark

Feeling alright with the crew

Okay, it’s Easter, but we’ve exhausted all the “Jesus is risen” jokes, haven’t we? Our number 9 had 2 of our 4 goals as we dispatched Leeds pretty comfortably last weekend. To be fair, the penalty looked a bit soft, but we’ve been on the wrong end of a few soft penalties in recent seasons.

Now Anfield looms. Some historical context exists, we’ve won there in 4 of our 5 most recent championship seasons. Including of course, 88/89’s “It’s up for grabs now”. But it’s impossible to know which Liverpool we’ll face, the team that embarrassed United, 7-0, or the tepid side which lost to Bournemouth, Man City, and drew at Chelsea on Tuesday.

But we play on the 9th, with 9 matches to go, and our number 9 is finding his form again. 999, has to be a sign, doesn’t it? And I’m feelin’ alright with this crew.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page.

Many of you will likely have family commitments this Easter weekend, but don’t forget your Gooner family, good eggs all. See you at the pub on Sunday!

Best, Mark

The wait is over

The waiting is the hardest part. These international breaks are the worst. Having to watch Arsenal’s best players run into the ground, interrupting a title run, is excruciating. Then the small matter of Manchester City scum like Rodri, playing for Spain, trying to injure our best players. Hardly coincidence, he saved his most egregious tackles for Ødegaard and Tierney, on the pitch for Norway and Scotland respectively.

Thankfully, Arsenal are back at this weekend. The beginning of the home stretch. 10 matches to define our season. Leeds are only 2 points off the relegation zone, so don’t expect them to go quietly.

I have missed being at Maggie’s for the matches, rubbing shoulders with you Gooners and shouting myself hoarse.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page.

Congrats to the Arsenal Women, who booked a spot in the Champions League Semi-Finals yesterday with a 2-0 second leg win over Bayern Munich.

We still got BAG t-shirts for sale, though we are selling out of some sizes and it may take a few weeks to get reinforcements. Also, if you missed our previous post, Bay Area Gooners can get free tickets to the San Jose Earthquakes v Sporting KC match on April 15th. Full details here.

Hope to see you Saturday at the pub!

Best, Mark