I was lucky enough to be invited to the Spurs kit launch this past Monday which took place at the trendy Village Underground in Shoreditch. It was an incredible day weather-wise and although the guy I saw as soon as I stepped off the over ground wearing bright red chino shorts with a blazer made me realise I was nowhere near cool enough for EC2, I still enjoyed my lemon green tea with lychees on the roof in the sun.
As a Shoreditch virgin, I had no idea where this place was but luckily, I was meeting Ricky from the Fighting Cock who is a face of the local underground house music scene and a regular at Village Underground. On arrival, we were greeted by a team of doorman and opposite the venue, a number of the press and fellow bloggers in an orderly queue. Rather than create our own mini queue directly outside, we took the civilised option and joined the back of the existing one. Ricky then proceeded to tell a story about how wasted he got on Sunday and remembered nothing about going to his local co-op topless to buy a bottle of Cinzano Rosso.
Once name checked and inside, we were offered drinks and some poncy buffet food which all looked very nice. Because I’m currently trying to get down to double size zero for the peak of the summer, I just opted for a water. We were then ushered through into another room which was hotter than hell and the chairs packed double tight. I managed to grab a seat three or four rows back from the front which meant I got an excellent view of the Under Armour executive’s blazer. I just kept thinking how much he must be sweating. Sweat aside, he spoke really well about his company, a bit of history and finally, we were ready for the kit to be revealed.
Now, in front of us all was a wall with I WILL written on it. Ricky was expecting the wall to collapse and Daniel Levy to be sitting behind it with some headphones on ready to launch a DJ career. Unfortunately, this did not happen. As the music blared, one by one the letters came down. Each time a letter fell, a player walked out. First up was Michael Dawson. A pro on the modelling circuit, he knew exactly how to strike a pose from heading up last year’s kit unveiling. The rest of the players looked less at ease, particularly the next man to appear, Brad Friedel. The penultimate Spur was Jermain Defoe who was in the away strip, not a Stoke kit as a fat idiot I know joshed. When the final L hit the deck, I was not ready for Gareth Bale to saunter through the smoke. Pre ear surgery and hair restyling, this would have resembled something from Gorillas in the Mist, but I must admit, he looked like a proper sort.
After a few minutes, we all moved into yet another small room where the players were interviewed by various members of the media. The hunt was on for someone called Adrian who had what appeared to be a very important job to do. I was asked if I was Adrian at one point and the temptation to say yes was almost too much for my mischievous mind to stand, but no was the word that came out my mouth. To be frank, I’m a little disappointed with myself about that. I did try and find out what it was Adrian had to do and offered to stand in but the Tottenham Hotspur staff had no time for my juvenile banter. Dawson and Friedel were great in their interviews but Bale and Defoe looked like they could not wait to leave. I hope that wasn’t an indication that they can’t wait to get out the club that quickly! Check out this new betting review site for odds on where Bale will be playing his football in the coming season.
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