Playing with Hollywood's expat football team
It’s hard to find a football team you want to play for when you’re far from home. Just ask World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas, who probably spends much time in his North London home day-dreaming of his native Catalonia. That was my problem too when I moved from London to Los Angeles. Just as Cesc has valiantly tried to put down roots at Arsenal, I nearly found my fantasy footie home with the glamorously titled Hollywood United – until a violent run-in with a Sex Pistol smashed my dreams.
As research into the footballing subculture, I headed over at 5.30am to the Cock & Bottle pub in Santa Monica, which was screening a key Arsenal game. I knew I was back in Britain when the cockney bouncer demanded 20 bucks to get in. The weekend streets were desolate but it was packed inside. Waitresses straight out of a Thomas Hardy novel were ploughing through the crowds with plates of baked beans, bangers and fried eggs.
Class in the UK is usually defined by an individual’s accent. I could hear no posh Brits in the Cock & Bottle. I perched on a stool next to Hilton, a black south Londoner in his late thirties. During the build-up, I asked him how he had survived in LA as a Brit.
“I used to play pro football for Crystal Palace,” Hilton said. “I came out here 12 years ago with my wife to work as a cameraman.”
Hilton had become an American citizen and had a four-year old son at Happyland Preschool in Culver City. He lived in Beverlywood with his wife, who worked at the Hillcrest Country Club. Hilton found time between film shoots to play his favourite game.
“I can’t stand it when Americans call football 'sarcar’,” he ranted. “We play real football, not that crap with helmets and steroids.”
“You play here in LA?” I asked him.
“Yeah, until I bust my knee in, I was captain of a British team here, called Hollywood United .”
“Great name!” I said. “Movies and the beautiful game! What a combination! I’d love to do a documentary on you guys.”
“Yeah, you should come and see us play some time. It’s a colourful bunch of lads. We’ve even got some celebs who play with us sometimes.”
The pub went silent, as a Welsh brass band struck up Abide with Me. Tears welled in my eyes. Tears of nostalgia for a lost country and home.
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