Royalty Tours USA

Monday, November 30, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 11/30

Here's the game plan:

Monday November 30th Avalanche at Islanders 7PM

Tuesday December 1st Suns at Nets 7:30PM

Wednesday December 2nd 76ers at Knicks 7:30PM

Friday December 4th Blues at Islanders 7:30PM  

Saturday December 5th Nuggets at 76ers 1PM

                                        Blue Jackets at Flyers 7:30PM
                                                  
Sunday December 6th Jets at Giants 1PM

                                    Panthers at Devils 7PM
                                                               
Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 23, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 11/23

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday November 24th Idaho Stampede at Westchester Knicks 7PM

Wednesday November 25th Flyers at Islanders 7:30PM

Friday November 27th Cincinnati vs. Nebraska 6:30PM Barclays Center Classic

                                      George Washington vs. Tennessee 9:15PM

Saturday November 28th Hershey Bears at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 7:05PM  

Sunday November 29th Dolphins at Jets 1PM

                                       Columbus Crew at Red Bulls 7:30PM EC Conference Finals Leg 2                                                                                                        
Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week. In addition, I hope you & yours have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Royalty sees the Jets play the Dolphins in London!‏

NFL in London
Back on Sunday October 4th, I finally got to see a NFL game in London as the Jets played the Miami Dolphins who were the designated "home" team. In November 2014, when I found out this was going to happen, I was determined to be there & true to my word I was. 

That Sunday after getting a good night sleep, I got to enjoy a great breakfast at the Grantly Hotel where I was staying. When I got done, I was refreshed & ready to tackle the adventure of getting to Wembley Stadium on my own. My pal Sean MacDonald wound up going to a football match if you will. As people here in the States say, he saw soccer. He also went to see a Rugby World Cup match between Italy & Ireland as well that day. He decided to pass on the NFL game because he went to one last year when he was here. He saw the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Dallas Cowboys. Like myself, he prefers to see a variety of different sporting events.

Cam Harper & I on the Underground
As for me that day, I walked out of the hotel & I proceeded to head over to the Shepherd's Bush Underground station. I took a train on the Central line to Oxford Circus then I wound up taking the Metropolitan line one stop to Baker Street where I picked up the Bakerloo line that did eventually take me to Wembley Park which is the tube stop that's within walking distance of Wembley Stadium in the West suburbs. While I was waiting for the train at Baker Street I noticed a young man wearing a Jets jersey. His name was Cam Harper. He assured me I was indeed going the right way. Once we got on the train, he let me look at his phone so I could see what the baseball scores were that I missed since I had a lot of trouble using my phone due to the lack of WiFi while I was there. When I looked I almost got sick to my stomach when I saw the Mets got no hit again. This time by Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals in the second game of the doubleheader they played on Saturday night. It was his second one of the season. Ironically I wound up missing both of them. I did notice it was a cold nasty windy day & night at Citi Field. In that regard, I was glad that I wasn't there. They wound playing a day night doubleheader since the Friday night game when I left for London got rained out. The weather that weekend was awful in NYC. After I gathered myself from an emotional out burst of disbelief, Cam & I spoke to each other the rest of the ride. He told me he adopted the Jets as his NFL team. We wound up exchanging contact information. He told me he plans to visit the States for the first time hopefully next year at some point with his friends. He said he's still going to school. I wished him the best of luck. He said he hopes to work to save up enough money to make the journey. I told him to let me know if & when that happens. When we got off the train we said our goodbyes. He told me he was meeting his girlfriend who was joining him for the game.

People leaving the Tube
Wembley Stadium
I proceeded to walk out of the station. When I did I could see Wembley Stadium in the distance ahead. I purposely arrived early so I could take in the pre game experience which consisted of interactive areas as well as different food stands that were set up along the way. ‎It made for a festive atmosphere as I saw many different people wearing different NFL jerseys as I made my way towards the Stadium. The most popular jerseys I remember seeing were the Patriots, Colts & Packers among those of course wearing the Jets & Dolphins. As I walked around the outside of the Stadium, I saw a guy from London who was wearing a Jet jersey & a Met hat. I stopped & I started a conversation with him. We both were hoping for the best for our teams. I was upset about the way the Mets finished the last week of the season. I'm an old school thinker. I believe you always want to put yourself or your team in the best position to succeed. By resting players & not wanting to risk getting players hurt, I thought the Mets were foolish in their approach. In retrospect, it turned out not to be a big deal. In that regard, I'm glad I was wrong.

The Great British Hog Roast
The Waffle House
When I finished walking to the other side of the Stadium, I decided to go inside. ‎That was the side where my seat was located. Unlike most venues here in the States, you have to enter the gate that's written on your ticket. As a result, your movement is restricted once you get in the Stadium. Since my seat was located on the upper level, I wasn't able to go downstairs to the lower level even to see what the seats or concourses looked like. It is what it is. They do hold other football matches there if you will. With that being said, it made more sense why they do what they do. People in Europe are notorious for behaving unruly so it forces them to limit people from straying too far during a match. If not, all hell may break loose.

Ira & Linda Lieberfarb & I 
When I finally made it to the upper level I proceeded to go to my seat to see how the view was. When I got there, I saw my pal Ira Lieberfarb who was there with his lovely wife, Linda. It should be noted that Ira has seen all the Jets home & away games every year since 2006. That even includes all the preseason games as well going to see them practice at their training camp facility during the summer. Ira bleeds green through & through. In addition, he's known for calling the local sports radio talk shows here in NYC. He prefers to lay low but when he does call in to a show, he goes by the name Ira from Staten Island. I always try my best to see him when I'm at a game home or away. We've met up many times over the years. He always sits quietly in his seat as he roots for his team. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself. For the most part, he's met many good people who have sat around him. In that regard, he's been very fortunate. Like me, it was their first time in Europe. It was great to see them there. As for getting tickets for the game, since we're Jet season ticket holders, we were able to secure them on a pre sale that they gave us access to back in May. They bought a pair of tickets & I bought a single one for myself. They didn't tell us the exact seat location at that time. They just told us they were in the upper sideline behind the Jets bench. Ironically I wound up sitting right on the 50 yard line in row 16 if you will. It was really the second row that was right above the press box. It was a perfect seat for my liking. Ira & Linda were just over my shoulder in the row behind me & a few seats to my right. The best part was that we were surrounded by a good number of Jet fans who either made the journey across the Pond or people who like the gentleman who sat next to me with his son who told me he was from England but he just moved back there from Brooklyn, NY in June where he lived for seven years. It wound up being an amazing experience.‎ However since it was a so called Dolphin "home" game they treated it as such by playing the Dolphin theme song & they did other in house type promotions that were related to them. As a result, Dolphin fans outnumbered us Jet fans.

Opening Kickoff
Jets lead, 20-7 at halftime
Jets win, 27-14
As for the game we saw, the Jets got the ball first & in three plays they found the end zone when quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick connected on a bomb to wide receiver Brandon Marshall for 58 yards on the first play from scrimmage which set the Jets up to take an early 7-0 lead. It seemed too easy. The Jets continued to dominate as they lead, 20-7 at halftime. Thanks to a few pass interference calls against the Jets on a drive in the second quarter, the Dolphins were able to break the shutout. In the second half, the Jets did their best to blow the game but thankfully they didn't. Running back Chris Ivory finished the game with 166 yards on the ground as they wound up winning, 27-14. With the victory, Ira & I got to see the Jets win a game in three different countries. We both saw them win in Toronto back in December 2009 at the Rogers Centre.

People heading back to the Underground
Eddie's Fish Bar & Best Turkish Kebab
Haddock & Chips
After the game, I wound up taking the Underground back to Central London. I decided to go to King's Cross/St. Pancras‎ which is their main train station for commuting before I returned to my hotel to call it a day. I did so because I wanted to get familiar with that station since I told Sean I would meet him there Monday night. By doing so, I was finally able to get access to WiFi. With that being said, I spent a few hours getting in contact with people who are near & dear to my heart. After doing so, I went to eat dinner since I was starving. I found a restaurant a few blocks away called Eddie's Fish Bar & Best Turkish Kebab. Since I was in the mood for fish & chips, it worked out perfectly for me. I had a nice size piece of haddock. It actually tasted really good & I enjoyed it.  When I finished I proceeded to go back to my hotel. I found my way back there without too much difficulty.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap how I spent that Monday before I eventually met up with Sean again.

Thank you for reading & following along.

‎Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 16, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 11/16

Here's the game plan:

Monday November 16th Coyotes at Islanders 7PM

Tuesday November 17th Hawks at Nets 7:30PM

Thursday November 19th Rutgers Scarlet Knights at St. John's Red Storm 7PM

Friday November 20th Canadiens at Islanders 7:30PM  

Saturday November 21st Cornell Big Red at Penn Quakers 1PM

                                         Portland Pirates at Hershey Bears 7PM
                                                  
Sunday November 22nd Rams at Ravens 1PM
                                                               
Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Royalty sees an English Premier League doubleheader in London!‏

Shepherd's Bush Station Underground
After I went to the HSBC Bank ATM & got myself some spending money, I proceeded to go across the street, mind you looking right first then left, I saw the Underground station. I wound up having to go across the street to the Overground station which is where I boarded a train that took me towards Selhurst Park which is located in South London. It's also where the Crystal Palace Eagles of the English Premier League play their football matches if you will. In Europe & other parts of the World, that's what they call the game us here in the States refer to as soccer. When I got to the right platform I noticed a few people wearing Crystal Palace gear. With that being said, I knew they were going to the match so I started talking to them. We wound up sitting on the train together. I told them I was meeting a friend of mine by the box office. When we got off the train, we all walked through a neighborhood as we approached the Stadium which was right next to a supermarket called Sainbury's which is a local chain. The people I met, Lisa & John proceeded to head into the Stadium. I thanked them for getting me there without a hassle. It was around 11AM when I arrived. I told Sean I would meet him at the box office at 11:15AM. In the meantime, they had a team store right next to the box office so I decided to go in & look around. By doing so, I was able to get myself a scarf which is popular among people who attend football matches. Since this was my first ever match in Europe I decided to adopt the Eagles as my team to follow. I plan to sport my new scarf at soccer matches when I go to them in the States from now on.

Selhurst Park Box Office

Crystal Palace Football Club
Shortly after I came out of the store, I met up with my pal Sean MacDonald. He arranged to secure a ticket through a person he contacted online a few days before. He wound up meeting that person by the box office. However I still needed to get myself a ticket. There was a line ‎by the box office but that was for members if you will. In other words, season ticket holders as we call them here. I tried to ask people in line if they would be willing to help me out. I wasn't able to convince anyone. So I decided to look around on the street right outside the box office. A guy approached me. He said to walk away with him. I was reluctant to do so because I sensed he was a scalper. Less than a minute later, another person came along & he said he had a spare. I asked him what he wanted. He told me 30 pounds. Without hesitation, I took it. I knew that was what face value was for that match. This particular ticket had a face of 36 Pounds so I know I did good. The seat was located close to midfield too. The only problem I had with the seat was that I wasn't able to see the scoreboard due to the overhang that blocked it. As a result, I didn't know how much time was left as the match went on. I did my best to keep score anyway. When I needed to write in a time, I walked down until I could see the clock. I was able to see the flying Eagle fly back & forth before the match got underway. I was put wise to that thanks to Lisa & John who mentioned that to me in our conversation on the train.

Eagle
Sean MacDonald & I
Before the match even began, the crowd was very festive which is what I was told about seeing a match in Europe. People were in their seats chanting as they were singing to their adopted anthem song of Glad All Over. It was quite an experience to say the least for me. It doesn't compare to anything here in the States.
   
View from my seat at Selhurst Park

 Live action from my seat at Selhurst Park
As for the match we saw, the Crystal Palace Eagles were hosting the West Bromwich Albion. After a scoreless first half, the ‎Eagles finally broke through with a goal in the 68th minute when Yannick Bolasie found the net to make it a 1-0 lead for the Eagles. They extended their lead to 2-0 in the 89th minute as they got a goal by Yohan Cabaye who capitalized on a penalty kick. They went to preserve the shutout which left the majority of the crowd feeling glad all over. The only ones who left sad were the West Bromwich supporters who came to see their team play.

Chicken Bake
After the match, I met up with Sean again. We walked out of the Stadium a different way as we walked back to a different train station. I just followed Sean who knew where he was going. Since we had some spare time, Sean wanted to go to his hotel to check into his room. When we got within walking distance, I decided to get something to eat while he did what he needed to do. I wound up having a Chicken Bake at a local convenience store chain called Gregg's. It worked out well since I only had a half hour until we reunited again. Once we did, we hopped on a double decker bus that took us to the area called Fulham, London. After we got off the bus, we walked towards Stamford Bridge, which is the home of the 2014 EPL Champion‎ Chelsea Football Club.

Welcome to Stamford Bridge 

Outside of Stamford Bridge
As we approached the Stadium, there were signs saying "No Touting". In other words, it was against the law to resell tickets there. If you get caught, you face serious consequences. As a result, Sean & I needed to be very careful. We wound up walking around the Stadium to see if we could find someone who happened to have extra tickets. Like Crystal Palace, tickets weren't offered to the public. As we walked around, we came across a gentleman who said his daughter couldn't make the match. He said he wanted 50 Pounds for the ticket if you will. As a member, he had a card which had his tickets loaded on it. He said one of us would have to go in with him. Sean told me to go ahead. He told me to meet him outside by a bar restaurant we saw after the match. I proceeded to go inside. I wound up having a great view of the match between Chelsea FC & their opposition, the Southampton Saints. My seat was five rows up in the upper level which was right over the pitch. I couldn't be more happy.
As for the crowd, they were loud but not quite as festive as in Crystal Palace. However, their Stadium was bigger & better.  

View from my seat at Stamford Bridge
Live action at Stamford Bridge
As for the match, Chelsea struck first as they scored in the tenth minute on a goal by Willian. The Saints got even in the 43rd minute when midfielder Steven Davis tied it up at one. In the second half, the Saints extended their lead with goals in the 60th minute as Sadio Mane made it 2-1 then in the 72nd minute they added an insurance goal as Graziano Pelle tallied to give the Saints a 3-1 lead. Chelsea wasn't able to recover as they went on to lose much to the dismay of their faithful fans.

After the match, Sean & I headed back to our hotels to get some much needed sleep & rest.

Stay tuned for another post that will recap that Sunday.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 9, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 11/9

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday November 10th Blues at Devils 7PM

Thursday November 12th Bills at Jets 8:25PM 

Saturday November 14th Holy Cross Crusaders at Bucknell Bison 1PM
                                                  
Sunday November 15th Saints at Redskins 1PM
                                                               
Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 2, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 11/2

Here's the game plan:

Monday November 2nd Bucks at Nets 7:30PM

Tuesday November 3rd Devils at Islanders 7PM

Friday November 6th Lakers at Nets 7:30PM 

Saturday November 7th Colgate Raiders at Lafayette Leopards 1PM

                                        Magic at 76ers 7PM 
                               
Sunday November 8th Jaguars at Jets 1PM
                                                               
Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman