This is officially the end.
The end of a journey unlike any other. A journey that kept us on our toes, taught us how to be nimble, how to be efficient.
Taught us about passion, dedication, and love.
It pushed us to our limits. Forced us to leave our everyday lives behind. The routines we were so accustomed to were all gone.
We missed family and friends.
But we learned something extremely important: life is too short to wait on things you are passionate about and love.
The timing wasn’t perfect, there were a number of things we still hadn’t figured out, it was a bit later in the season than we had hoped for, and we honestly were a little scared. But in the midst of planning our adventure there came a time where we both just said – let’s do this.
Flights booked. Gave our notice. No turning back now.
In case you missed it, two weeks ago Rebecca Lowe and NBC Sports surprised us live on air while we were in Boston for the Premier League LIVE event. Read more about that here.
So that brings us here. Game #25. Premier League stadium #21.
The emotions surrounding today are indescribable. Yesterday we were blessed with the opportunity to visit Tottenham’s exquisite training facility and watch them train.
We had the opportunity to meet a few players including Sonny (!!!!!) and also received a debatable-as-to-where-it-landed nod from the boss man himself. He’s magic, you know, Mauricio Pochettino.
Leading up to kickoff was emotional, exciting, and unbelievably fun as we were greeted with cameras and friendly faces from the moment we stepped off the tube at White Hart Lane.
After some quick filming and a magnificent lunch with some new Premier League friends, it was time to head in.
Walking up the steps just before kickoff we quickly got in our pre-match predications with @PLinUSA.
As we entered our section and got our first match day glimpse of the pitch – the roar that greeted us was unlike any other.
We entered through the East Stand so upon entering, our vision naturally shot to the left. There in full force stood the towering South Stand. This beauty is a heavenly sight that cannot and will not be ignored.
Tottenham’s new stadium, specifically the South Stand, is truly an extension of this squad and will have opposing teams dreading playing at their home on the High Road in North London.
Fast forward to the 4-0 debacle as our Spurs dominated Championship-bound Huddersfield Town. Brilliant game with a brilliant team effort put in by all – especially with the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli missing from the lineup due to injury.
We’ll discuss more about the actual match itself a bit later as we start releasing our Stadium Recaps, but both on and off the pitch there was one other life-lesson that rang true.
When kindness and love are present – anything is possible.
Kindness from the Premier League and Tottenham Hotspur for hosting us and providing an opportunity to honor Jason was beyond anything we could’ve ever imagined. Kindness from NBC Sports to share our story with the world and give us a platform to help fight and end Young Adult Leukemia. Kindness from all of the people we worked with from these amazing families who were supportive, understanding, and just damn good people.
Love from one another to keep each other going daily no matter how unreasonable, ridiculous, or daunting our ambitions were. Love from the players we met that left Jason smiling up above. Love within the Tottenham team out on the pitch to go 3-0 during their first three games in the new stadium without giving up a goal. Love from our family and friends back home for understanding and supporting us.
You probably didn’t think that’s where this post was going. But it did.
And couldn’t be more accurate.
Click Here to watch our epic journey with NBC Sports and Tottenham!
Extra Time Abroad is a lifestyle blog focusing on three areas: finance, sustainability, and travel. The blog is managed by husband/wife duo JJ & Janelle. They can be found on Instagram @ExtraTimeAbroad or at the airport!
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