The London Stadium is not the easiest place to get away from for fans after West Ham matches and especially last night.
David Moyes and West Ham star Tomas Soucek have both bemoaned the fact fans leave the London Stadium early on occasion.
When being beaten 6-0 by Arsenal and 2-0 by Fulham that’s understandable.
But it goes deeper than what’s happening on the pitch for West Ham fans.
Getting out of the London Stadium after games is no easy task.
Not just because of the difficulties with public transport getting to and from anywhere in this country right now.
London Stadium no cake walk after games
But parking is some distance away, there’s lengthy security check queues to negotiate on the way in and the dreaded Stop-Go system on the way out.
Usually West Ham fans – as supporters do at many big stadiums around the country – start filtering out a few minutes before the end of the game.
Obviously sometimes that largely depends on the score at the time.
But the staggered release of supporters into Queen Elizabeth Park makes for a smoother exit for the majority at the final whistle.
Not after West Ham’s Europa League semi-final second leg with Bayer Leverkusen, though.
Forget Sevilla, best atmosphere since Super Saturday
West Ham fans created one of the best atmospheres the London Stadium has seen since Sevilla. Indeed it could even be argued the best since Super Saturday during the London Olympic games in 2012.
The players responded with a valiant performance as they came so close to turning around the 2-0 deficit against one of the best teams on the planet.
The Hammers went at Bayer Leverkusen full tilt in a first half which should have been rewarded with more than just Michail Antonio’s excellent goal.
When Jeremie Frimpong equalised to kill the tie dead late on, West Ham fans could have been forgiven had they headed straight for the exits.
Not this night, though.
It was a measure of how much the West Ham faithful loved what they had witnessed that the vast majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance stayed after the final whistle blew on the 1-1 draw to applaud their team and serenade them with Bubbles and ‘We love you West Ham’.
That meant getting home was made all the more time consuming, but supporters didn’t care. They wanted to show the players their appreciation.
And what West Ham fans sung in the rain at London Stadium’s infamous Stop-Go signs sums it all up.
Thousands were jam-packed like sardines on the bridge heading away from the ground.
As the rain poured down and the Stop-Go signs halted the next wave of West Ham fans, the song broke out.
What fans sung at infamous Stop-Go signs sums it all up
‘We’re proud of you, we’re proud of you, we’re proud of you West Ham’.
Over and over it was sung as more joined in. There were no players there to hear it of course. And in many ways it’s a shame.
It was sung in the ground as well of course but there was something quintessentially West Ham about that moment.
Standing there huddled together, another dream faded another bubble burst.
But filled with pride for their team and their efforts.
The song was punctuated by big cheers when the signs turned green to allow the next swathe of fans through.
It summed up perfectly how we all felt of the team last night. The last time I’d heard it was after the devastating FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool and it captured the mood wonderfully, just as it did that day – earning praise from none other than Steven Gerrard himself.
It has been a wonderful three years following West Ham Over Land And Sea.
If the Hammers cannot get the job done this season then we can only hope it’s not too long until we experience nights like these again.
We’re proud of you, we’re proud of you, we’re proud of you West Ham.
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