Saracens v. Harlequins???

This past Saturday, Abby and Sammy had the opportunity to dance for the half time show during a big rugby match at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the Saracens v. Harlequins game. Do you think we had ever heard of these teams before? No. Do you think we know anything about the game of rugby and how it is played? No. It was all a new experience for us. The girls were very excited though because they were dancing with the famous Shanay Holmes. Do you think we knew who that was when we first heard her name? No. Apparently, she is the big star of the West End show "The Bodyguard" here in London. The girls also got to participate in an exclusive workshop with Shanay a few hours before the game. (You see, we know her so well now, we are on a first name basis.)  Abby really wanted her autograph but got too shy in the end to get it.

If you are not familiar with Wembley stadium, here is a view you might see as you drive by it. When we lived in London, we saw this view all the time. It is especially cool to see at night all lit up. Of course, we had never actually been to the stadium until now.

Here is an aerial view of the stadium. The Saracen v. Harlequin game was apparently a really big deal and was being called "the biggest match in world rugby." I guess these are two really big rival teams. It was interesting to watch the game. Charles and I were impressed by the size of these guys. They were HUGE! However, being uninformed and uneducated in the ways of rugby, we kept asking each other, "why did he do that?" "What just happened?" "Why is everyone cheering?""Why are they lifting a guy up when they throw the ball back in bounds to catch it?" The one thing we could understand was when one guy seemed to have "intercepted" the ball and ran to the end of the field where the goal posts are and slammed down the ball and the stadium went wild. Apparently, that is called a "try" and he scored! Wooohoo!!! Wish we could have sat by someone who could explain the game to us clueless Americans... In case you are wondering, the Saracens won 39-17. I think the Saracen team is from Watford (which is just outside of London and about 20 minutes from our house). I know it as the place where I go to shop the endless aisles of Costco. I will cheer for that! The Harlequins are a team from somewhere down south of London where I am sure there is NO Costco. Boo.

Sammy was very excited to be in the stadium. This was an hour before the game started. When it started it was announced that 83,889 people were in the stadium. For me, that is HUGE since the biggest stadiums I have been in seat around 30,000 or so. The girls were so excited to dance in front of such a huge audience. However, in the end all Abby noticed was that they were dancing in front of four drunk men who were mimicking their every move. She was a bit annoyed by this so she didn't seem to get caught up in the energy of the 300+ dancers she was with and the crowds watching.

Being goofy!

Waiting for what Alex said was "ages" for the game to start.

Eating our "Divine burgers" on the curb after the workshop with Shanay and before the big game started.

The tube ride to the stadium. Lots of pent up energy in these two...Hooray for rugby, half-time dancing and a great day out!