Brentford took the step up to the top flight on Friday night, as they took on Arsenal at the Brentford Community Stadium. The Premier League curtain raiser doubled as the first football game in front of a capacity crowd in England since March 2020 - and the atmosphere didn't disappoint.
Full house at Brentford Premier League debut blare 'Hey Jude'
The game against Arsenal was Brentford's first game ever in the Premier League, and their first game in the English top flight since May 1947. The club welcomed 17,000 fans into their ground, in the first Premier League game with a full stadium in over a year.
Gary Neville described the sight of a full stadium as "surreal" in the buildup on Sky Sports, and it was hard not to agree with him. After 15 months of fake crowd noise, or the alternative dead silence, the 17,000 fans packed in together in west London was an unusual sight.
An unusual sight - but a welcome one. Before the teams took to the field, the Brentford PA system blared The Beatles' classic 'Hey Jude', with the entire crowd singing along in a truly emotional return for fans to Premier League grounds.
A full stadium of fans singing in the Premier League
Things we love to see ❤️ 🎶 pic.twitter.com/eykR5ONB7D— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 13, 2021
It helps that 'Hey Jude' is a banger, but it can't be denied that it captured the moment perfectly. The atmosphere in general was electric, and the emotion from Brentford fans was plain to see.
Head coach Thomas Frank was also captured riling up the crowd as his team emerged from the tunnel, and there was a full-on party atmosphere at the stadium.
Thomas Frank is more than just a manager, he's a hype man as well 👏 pic.twitter.com/LxFWKi0eEY
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 13, 2021
The Brentford Community Stadium was completed less than a year ago, meaning that tonight's game was also the first game in the new stadium in front of a capacity crowd.
Though there are obvious and justified concerns over potential spikes in COVID infections as a result of the crowd sizes in England, we can't deny that the sight of a full crowd at a Premier League again was a beautiful sight. We can only hope that the move to bring crowds back runs smoothly and safely.
And, if the season brings fans singing as passionately as Brentford did 'Hey Jude' on Friday, we're in for a cracking year.
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