I have a memory from my early teenage years — driving from North Wales to London and passing the Stoke City FC’s old ground, Victoria Ground. In this pre-internet age I didn’t know much about English soccer beyond the London clubs and Manchester United, but seeing the stadium rise out of the landscape gave me chills I can remember to this day.
I don’t recall it as especially beautiful, but I remember it felt strong and significant. To a soccer-mad American who had watched all of his soccer in converted American football and baseball stadiums, it looked like a cathedral to my single biggest passion.