Why Pubs Are A Football Fan's Best Friend

The famed 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys reportedly stated that ‘The Pub is the heart of England.’ Four centuries down the line, this relationship between the people and this focal meeting place has never been more important.
When it comes to football, this bond is elevated to a whole new level. Both the pub and football were traditionally the realm of the working man, so it stands to reason that the two would be intrinsically linked. It was a common place to meet and escape the grind of the working week, where the loosening qualities of alcohol and competitive sport formed a central part of social life.
Factory workers in the 1950s would finish their Saturday shifts and venture down for the 3pm kick off, finishing the day off with a few pints at the pub nearest the ground. Fast forward to the modern day and the role of the pub has become more encompassing, with punters starting and finishing the day in the boozer, win or lose. The whole Matchday experience now centres around the cult-like realm of the public house.
Throughout the testimony of a handful of fans and punters, The Heart of England tells the story of this kindred relationship between the pub, football and the people who go there. From the greatest nights of their lives to the sadness of losing this experience through the Covid-19 pandemic, The Heart of England lets the fans tell how much this place means to the them
Film By: Nick Manser, Sam Lewis, and Rory Reames
Pubs #Football #Fans
Welcome to COPA90 Stories, a channel exploring the greatest footballing stories from across the planet.
For more info and content: www.copa90.com/stories
Sign up to our weekly COPA90 Stories newsletter: www.copa90.com/en/newsletter

[@matthewmiddleton8950]

Never thought I'd be getting emotional over pints and footy, I've missed it far too much

[@garywhite7886]

Throw in a meat pie with mashed pea nd potato with gravey on top !! YumYum on a cold July night .

[@copa90stories]

It's been far too long Matthew, we're all emotional over here.

[@Lloydb723]

Got a bit emotional too. Not just football or pubs but seeing people.

[@natedawg1199]

as an American fan I am almost brought to tears seeing how much going to a pub and watching a football match has meant to people for generations and to see that to not be a thing anymore for many pubs with great history breaks my heart. corona virus has changed so much for everyone in life in many ways but one thing is for sure, we will always have a pub (even if its not our own supporters pub) and we will always have football. long live football pubs and long live football

[@espben360]

Glad these pubs will be back to being packed on matchdays again soon!

[@madmaxmcinnes4102]

Well mate, if that's what's gonna' happen, then I would cancel any Xmas plans you may have for this year😎

[@joemattison521]

MadMax McInnes Bore off

[@groovytirma2409]

Fingers crossed there is another lockdown, ideally a stricter one.

[@espben360]

@@groovytirma2409 fingers crossed, you get covid, and fuck off forever

[@KirkLee1983]

You believe that?!

[@Manuel_1860]

Can't wait to go to the Munich pubs and drink a few pints with my friends again before going in the Grünwalder Stadium to watch 1860 play..!

[@aidygooner]

Good luck to 1860 Munich. I hope your boys get promoted! 🔵⚪

[@Manuel_1860]

@@aidygooner thank you Aidy, that's so nice to hear!😀 It's going to be a very tough last game against Ingolstadt which we need to win to take us to the deciding games. I'm afraid we won't be able to get a good enough performance on the pitch on Saturday. We will see..!

[@aidygooner]

@@Manuel_1860 I know your boys got promoted from the league below but the 1860 Munich fans deserve more joy and success after what they've gone through in the last few years whilst Bayern have turned German football into a monopoly. Bundesliga 2 is going to be crazy with so many established ex Bundesliga teams which will be super competitive.

[@Manuel_1860]

@@aidygooner I really appreciate your words and am happy that you are following 1860 even though we had to go from 2nd Bundesliga to the 4th division in 2017. Yes you're right, the 2nd Bundesliga in the season 2021/22 will be absolutely crazy with clubs like Schalke, Hamburg, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Hannover, St. Pauli, Dresden, Rostock and maybe even Cologne and Bremen. 1860 Munich would fit so well in that ultimate fan league and that's why I desperately want the promotion this year! And yeah Bayern are just arrogant and it's annnoying for every football fan here in Germany to see the same Meister every year. From which country are you and what is your team?

[@copa90stories]

It's not just an English trait as well. Prost Manuel 🍺🍺

[@21hazza]

A good pub really makes the match day experience, something you really miss when you visit crappy grounds on the outskirts of the town. I've really missed football and I can't wait for next season 👍

[@copa90stories]

We can't wait for the start of next season either. 👍

[@monographicmonologues]

Not to forget many a club (including my beloved Brighton) were formed by like-minded football-mad men meeting in pubs!

[@HarryWessex]

Pretty much every club was founded by a discussion in a pub. Even factory founded clubs

[@gordonferrar7782]

Brighton is a pub and bar town like few others my second home i miss the wretched bitch alot.

[@gipsybulldog3286]

Same like nazi party :D

[@HarryWessex]

@@gipsybulldog3286 Very unnecessary addition and a bit different, Mozart used to go to that exact Beer Hall to.

[@copa90stories]

Cheers to that Elliot! 🍺🍺

[@Chuckschwartz]

As an American its not unheard of to have a bar that one fan base has similar gameday tradition, mostly in college football, but much much more rare. Almost impossible to have one side of supporters in a bar. And of course the singing adds another level! Love it cheers COYG

[@akirapinto]

This is absolute cinema! Thanks !

[@wanns_lepcha]

God bless football. ⚽

[@cal-efc8062]

Great this. Going to miss the pubs on county road when we move from Goodison

[@curlyfm]

The pub makes a important game into a life or death situation

[@mainlineto5988]

Quite a superb video

[@MartinBroadhurst]

I got a bit teary eyed watching this. Can't wait for match day again.

[@AndrewG1989]

Anywhere you go to a pub including on a match day is a dream come true. With lots of men drinking alcohol and beer, chanting, having banter and it brings a good atmosphere. Except when it gets too much and fights and scraps happens.

[@GFEFC1878]

This is so true and can only echo what was said in the video. In my experience with following Everton home & away the 90 minutes definitely does get in the way of a good day out most of the time but you wouldn’t change it for anything else! I miss the excitement not only of the match days but also organising the travel knowing I’ve got stuff to look forward to and once it’s match day and you’re with your mates you can just forget about any other problems that might be going on and just enjoy the social day. Hopefully we can go back to full stadiums by August.

[@copa90stories]

A lovely message George, It's definitely all about the process of the whole day which makes the results and experience more memorable!!

[@dingdongdo3196]

When you have lost your inns drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England. Hilaire Belloc, poet. How true.

[@steinhvik4380]

This youtube channel is better then any other YTC. It just captures culture and community so insanely well and it is so god damn interesting to watch. I rewatch these all the time and especially on saturdays with a few beers.

[@giuseppelaspina8117]

We'll be back soon, Amazing video.

[@Michael-vn1td]

Got a bit teary eyed seeing pictures of my beloved Griffin Park in this.

[@markblanton6573]

I’ve always wanted to experience this with my favorite club whenever I manage to get to Great Britain some day.

[@davidwatkins1734]

Love COPA, Love FOOTBALL, thanks guys.

[@paulofeldmann1879]

stay strong guys! everything it is gonna be back for normal!

[@harveyholmes9533]

Trippier’s free kick against Croatia is probably my high point of limbs in the pub

[@copa90stories]

Where did you watch it Harvey?

[@blaircampbell5854]

Great video well done

[@copa90stories]

Cheers Blair!

[@alpery2229]

Long live the pub!!

[@Cal2929]

Outsiders will never understand

[@mauriciocatonartabe6116]

I will say that us football fans are outsiders in a way.

[@Cal2929]

@@mauriciocatonartabe6116 Not really though I’m more talking about people who look down at football and it’s supporters...

[@mauriciocatonartabe6116]

@@Cal2929 oh totally, those kind of people are wankers

[@charlesdavall4474]

I can't wait to get to get back to the Staff of Life in Stoke. Miss that place.

[@JACK_TheAllSeeingEye]

Football is life...✨👍YNWA

[@southstandloyalblock37stok94]

the day every football fan looks forward to a Saturday afternoon

[@curlyfm]

This encapsulates exactly what they are saying. I went to my local boozer. A bit of an old man pub, but still had more than enough character. The Columbia game. World Cup 2018. Wasn’t as busy as I expected, I’m guessing people chose their mates house, or a livelier pub. When dier scored the winning penalty, I danced and kissed a random guy when that ball hit the net. I’ve never been as happy as that in any pub or game as that moment. The English pub has a symbiotic relationship with football.

[@mr.talldarkandhandsome4111]

Never been to a pub/bar before a match but there's nothing quite like a cold one before the game.

[@albondigas8270]

Oi mate Ain’t nuthin more thrillin than avin a pint or 5 with the lads while watching the match on the tele at your favorite pub

[@sleeplesshead602]

This makes me miss the moment of World Cup final. Missing the crowd so much. :(

[@shahrultanjirul]

In Malaysia we have our Mamak Restaurant that will be big gathering among Malaysian to watch all sports.

[@khireshnaiidu900]

No beer only Milo ais

[@jackal9247]

In Indonesia we have Warung. No beer, just Indomie, coffee and fritters

[@gavinbishop3367]

There was five pubs in the village where I live there's two left and ones men only the pub I grew up going in was a bit of a bear pit fights regular seen 80 people brawls with car loads af back up in the end at least 100 maybe more mad things is every one knew eachother and I was always safe as I'd been going in all my life even as a kid so everyone would look out for me it may have been rough at times but God had some absolute laughs . and met some characters .shut dow 10 years back and now there stick a shop and a takeaway there and to be fair it's torn the community apart

[@izdatsumcp]

I guess the community spirit must have already been on the decline for the pub to be shut down in the first place.

[@jackm0429]

from the US but would love to go to a pub then a match sometime

[@Boric78]

Scary how many of these I have had a pint in.

[@MotownShaker]

Nottingham Forest were founded in a pub

[@HarryWessex]

Most English clubs were.

[@KirkLee1983]

That why they suck so bad??

[@thememelord6480]

Coming from an Arsenal fan 😂

[@Northernlightshow]

Can't wait to get back to Ewood WMC before the match. A load of ale and a good laugh before the game.

[@copa90stories]

Ewood WMC, what a place! 🍺

[@mackemftm74]

🤔 A good day out spoilt by 90 minutes of a shit football match 🥲 every football fan knows that feeling 🤬😂😂 miss it 😪

[@copa90stories]

Sometimes the the prematch is the best part of the day. Memories that will last a lifetime. 🍺🍺

[@jacko250]

Man this video was so depressing to watch... The beer tax in the UK is the highest in Europe, for pubs to survive this tax has to be scrapped! Something like 30 pubs a day shut down for good, this is a travesty, a pub is part of our cultural heritage, not only are they beautiful buildings and places for conviviality, they have shaped our history as the place where famous historical events were planned or some of the most famous British novels were written within the walls of pubs. For that reason alone surely every pub (of course not really Wetherspoons..) should be a listed and protected building because if the pubs disappear then that’s a huge chunk of British culture that disappears with it 😞

[@ahtasham97]

please add English subtitles, some accents are difficult to understand for non-natives

[@cottonhillfiddymen]

Why am i tearing at this? Lol

[@thill5255]

The Mighty Mariners - founded in a pub UTM GTID

[@KirkLee1983]

BRING AWAY DAYS BACK!!

[@YourMomWasHere2Day]

Awebo!

[@leigh7507]

Need to open a proper pub near the Boleyn Stadium

[@Boric78]

Boleyn had plenty, the london has none.

[@leigh7507]

@@Boric78 London has tons still

[@Boric78]

@@leigh7507 the stadium - the London Stadium. Boleyn is ablock of middling flats now.

[@leigh7507]

@@Boric78 sorry got Upton park mixed up with the old name

[@Boric78]

@@leigh7507 Easy to do. Its such a forgetable name - the new one I mean.

[@carlowittek1975]

this!!!!!

[@callumalston5755]

As an east ender, this is so true

[@soyuzdavillan721]

Football without pubs would be like a having lamb chops without mint sauce

[@copa90stories]

That's definitely true... 🐏🐏🐏

[@fredfredericks3496]

Or corn flakes without gravy. It's just unimaginable.

[@Santiago-fn7ff]

this could have been the perfect video for a comeback of Eli

[@copa90stories]

Keep your eyes peeled... 👀

[@jesuscordova1101]

Who else heard the pianos notes and thought of black ops zombies?

[@wonderingfilms1201]

why is bops 1 zombies soundtrack playing

[@carlworrall]

This is where it all started and the business people don't understand the working man

[@haekelthadjrizky1028]

In indonesia, we have burjo/warkop

[@gezabethlen]

Thanks, perfect story, yet shouldn't it be the stadiums? the place for funs!

[@LailandiAdventures]

Weird choice of thumbnail, a Scottish pub in Edinburgh (Three Sisters) that's no where near a stadium to promote a video about English pubs near stadiums.

[@boothammer5756]

⚒️⚒️⚒️

[@TimeToSnitch]

Wieviel Kills hast du eigentlich am miesten in Pub Games gehabt?

[@scottspaine4864]

(9:06) "I was missing my friends to sit down and chat...my friend got a divorce we were not been able to support him." Really!! You couldn't go around to his home (or other homes) and accomplish those things? Britain has a social problem and it revolves around drinking.

[@moken_v89]

Cause of alcohol

[@crackhead4540]

Football was described as escapism in this video. They should also call it idolotry.

[@antekovac5644]

Pubs and brothels

[@RoninDays]

The Chinese Government has literally accomplished to tear down our normal way of life even down to the neighborhood level. Grats.

[@philosopher8888]

Our Governments made those choices. The CCP had a role thats true, but our elites have betrayed us at every turn for well over a century now.

[@Team-fj5xg]

F off nativist

[@RoninDays]

@@Team-fj5xg Nativist? The fuck is that you Commie piece of shit? lmfao

[@bk44228]

Was this made by a Brentford fan or something.. 👀

[@dylangivnan5802]

I cannot believe that the super league nearly ruined this

[@gordonferrar7782]

The goverment nationalised the pubs during the war to get us through and keep spirits high.

[@CitrusMenace]

this is so depressing. football is so commercialised now its dead

[@Burke_Motorsports]

Slainte !

[@copa90stories]

🍺🍀

[@thisdrinkinglife]

"15 minutes before kick off", ha try 5 minutes.....

[@NoobPunisherz]

Of course, because if you lose. You just get a drink! And if you win, Well you just get another drink!

[@johnmitchell2269]

Football, invented by the working class for the working class 👍

[@pablodavies414]

Will never happen again . England has fallen.

[@vince4metallica]

:(

[@harrymail7]

Pubs are as much apart of English football culture as the football itself. In England the religion of football has 2 churches. The stadium and the boozer!

[@crackhead4540]

Imagine if England gave all of this passion, glory, love and worship to the Lord instead of the football Idol. What a blessed nation this would be. What a light in the world England would be.

[@MatzeMumpitz]

@@crackhead4540 What has Lord Nelson to do with football?

[@crackhead4540]

@@MatzeMumpitz I'm talking about your diving creator.

[@MistaFisto]

Wave bye bye to all of this! Covid is here to stay.

[@daveyb2275]

Dunno. Too much money will be made

[@khedkaratul2274]

the Irish Pub perfectly shows the pub culture

[@Azzi_0161]

Irish pubs are nice but it’s the mix of football and pub which is what is being conveyed here

[@andrewchippendale2820]

Burnley skins No surrender

[@stevenrose86]

The London centric media would have you beleive West Ham are the only team to move stadium in the past 30 years. A lot of clubs have moved and had to gone through this, including my club (Derby). I wish everything wouldn't be shone through the view of West Ham fans. They aren't even a big club outside of London

[@richardfinlayson1524]

Alcohol is the worst drug

[@carolynpolley-peters3540]

I think in Australia it is different for us, pubs and boozy blokes don't make it that fun for us females...I am sorry to hear the effects of covid on this culture. I for one, support alcohol free football, its much more enjoyable for me...but in saying that, I bloody love and English pub Sunday lunch...

[@SonicJaneStooge]

Any mention of non alcohol drinkers? way to discriminate.

[@Azzi_0161]

Boring

[@trovicmi93]

Why did this channel lose its reach? Great stories as always, just that the number of views is criminally low now

[@bakersdozen3216]

They sacked poet and vuj left

[@bakersdozen3216]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXfYeaeYqM9jnM0 - they set up their own channel

[@trovicmi93]

@@bakersdozen3216 Thanks!

[@scsu300]

a man's best friend...Because my wife doesn't want to go to the pub.