Early on a Sunday Morning

6.40AM. Sunday. The alarm clock was ringing. Crawled out of bed and hastily pulled on some clothes, trying not to disturb my sleeping girlfriend. Grabbed a banana and snuck out of the house at 6.50. Forty minutes to get there. Still dark outside. Cold too. Nobody around except an old man and his dog. Walked to the Diversey ‘L’ stop. Opened the door. Nobody there. Security guard comes out and tells me the Brown Line doesn’t stop at that station until 7.45. Nevermind. Don’t need to get there until 7.30. Jogged up to Belmont where I was told the train would be stopping. Should of worn running shoes. 7.07AM. Daylight starting to infiltrate the dark. No brown line trains coming. Waited seven minutes and boarded a Red Line train heading north. Everyone in the carriage looked half-asleep or half-dead or both. Alighted at Sheridan.  7.18AM. Twelve minutes to go. Taking the Red Line meant I was now over a mile too far East. Going to be touch and go. Started running. Definitely should have worn running shoes. Maybe a bus will come. Do the buses run at this time on a Sunday? No buses coming. 7.25AM. Not far to go now. Got to keep moving. Crossed Ashland Ave at 7.27. I was going to make it. At 7.28AM I opened the door and walked inside. The players were walking onto the pitch. I took off my layers and sunk a glass of water. The whistle blew and the game was underway! I was at The Globe Pub to watch Manchester United v Liverpool followed by Arsenal v Manchester City. What a morning it was going to be! I had made it for kickoff! At 7:31AM I ordered a beer.

It was remarkable how many people were in the pub at 7.30AM on a Sunday morning. Outside it was dark, quiet, and the streets empty. Inside it was the opposite – packed, loud, and the screens and red jerseys brightly coloring the room. There were no seats going in either of the first two rooms and by the time the second game was underway the front room was completely rammed. It was a very fun morning and my sausage, bacon, and egg sandwich was wonderful. I certainly napped well that afternoon.