Chelsea beat Wrexham 5-0 in Kenan Stadium Wednesday night, and Chapel Hill won.
Fans from all over the country and the world flocked to Orange County to watch a soccer game in the dog days of July, which would have seemed like a pipe dream even six months ago. Actually, whatever the fanciful stage of imagination beyond a pipe dream is, call it that.
Supporters came from New York. They came from Washington, D.C. They came from Boston and St. Louis and Austin. Canadians and Nigerians made the trip. They all sat in the same stadium which will host Drake Maye’s Tar Heels and the Appalachian State Mountaineers in less than two months’ time.
For some, like Wrexham fans Thomas and Catrina Owens of Fort Knox, KY, the trip to Chapel Hill was a dream deferred, but not denied.
“I’m a lifelong Tar Heel,” Thomas Owens said. “I was born and raised in North Carolina. And this is my first time actually getting to come to Chapel Hill and go to Kenan and see anything.”
Others, like Chelsea supporter Mike Jaspercen from Los Angeles, had to take advantage of other unique Chapel Hill destinations during the trip.
“We went to the North Carolina Basketball [Museum]” Jaspercen said. “It was a must-stop. We’re big Jordan fans.”
Kenan Stadium was packed on Wednesday, July 19, as people traveled to watch the friendly between Wrexham AFC and Chelsea FC. (Image via Michael Koh.)
Owens, Jaspercen and 50,000 of their closest friends (sorry — mates) were witness to Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen scoring just 2:36 into the match off a deft assist from teammate Nicolas Jackson. It was a lead the Blues wouldn’t relinquish.
But this was only an exhibition match after all. There’s a reason they’re called “friendlies,” though sometimes the contests are anything but. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday. The entire evening felt like a celebration of the beautiful game, and of the beautiful surroundings. If you think that’s just homer talk, don’t take it from me.
“It’s an awesome college town,” said Chelsea fan Jay Santiago from Fairfax, VA, who was taking a campus tour with his daughter. “I love the campus, the feel… the students are very supportive.”
“It’s really nice and quiet compared to all the states where I’ve been,” said Nigerian Chelsea supporter Humphrey Okeke. “I love North Carolina.”
“I come to Raleigh-Durham for work a lot, but haven’t really been to Chapel Hill. It’s very nice,” said Chelsea fan Steve Sobacke, who came with his family from St. Louis. (Sobacke then made sure to point out that his two young sons, who were busy perusing the racks and aisles of the Student Stores, have added UNC to “the list.”)
“We flew in today, so we’re about to go on a campus tour,” said Wrexham supporters Rick Cox and Rhiannon Webb from Boston. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s a big, beautiful campus, man,” said Chelsea supporter Matthew Pulleng, who made the trip from the nation’s capital. “We’ve been to the University of Maryland, which we thought was pretty big, but it surprised us today. It’s a beautiful campus.”
And yes, those closer to home made it out to the match as well.
“We’ve been reliving my undergrad days,” said Chelsea fan and Raleigh native Akef Rahman.
At times, it was hard not to feel like one had stepped into some idyllic version of the days of yore. As fans streamed down South Road and past the Wrexham Fan Fest area (featuring cardboard cutouts of club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — who were not in attendance), it seemed the hazy air quality of the past few days cleared for just a moment. The UNC Bell Tower then chimed out a cheerful rendition of “Hark the Sound,” just to clang the point home.
While the first half wound toward the second, the sun dipped down behind the tower and lit up the skies in a pleasant orange and cream hue, just as Maatsen slotted home Chelsea’s (and his) second goal of the evening. Kenan roared to life once more. All was well.
“It’s great that the teams come here,” said Thomas Owens, “so American fans can experience some of that…”
Here the lifelong Tar Heel fan, about to embark on his first Kenan Stadium experience, paused. He was trying to come up with a proper definition of “that.” Then he found the words.
“Football as it should be.”
Photo via AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker.
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Even though Wrexham lost on the day, the experience was great! It was “football as it should be”, two good European sides with long and storied pedigrees playing the “beautiful game” on a hot summer day.