Woolwich origins, Euro 2016 shirts & freestyling with #JDStreetTeam

Woolwich is a humble town banked on the river Thames. Its proximity to central London, diverse transport links and rich history should make it a prime target for gentrification but perhaps the charm of Woolwich is that it has an air of authenticity – the local people are the local people and a reflection of the cultural melting pot that London is supposed to be rather than the exclusive club of affluence and excess that it is increasingly becoming. It also has the distinct honour of being the birthplace of the great team the world has ever seen – The Arsenal.

Fitting perhaps it was in Woolwich that I discussed some potential St Totteringham’s Day celebrations with my Goonersphere Podcast co-host, James ‘Raul’ Stokes. Second place was not assured but we both had a good feeling about the ‘bottle’ of the clubs involved in that mini-battle. It was agreed that for Tottenham to finish above Arsenal would be relatively insignificant. Certainly, it means a great deal but in the grand scheme of things, one year above us hardly confirms the long fabled ‘power shift’. However, it was also agreed that finishing above them again would be the most glorious practical joke.

The reason we were in Woolwich was not to set a poetic stage for our St Totteringham’s discussions but to cover the opening of a new JD Sports store. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to cover events that has seen me meet and interview Arsenal legends like Ray Parlour, Nigel Winterburn, Alan Smith and Sol Campbell. I’ve also benefited from a few freebies that I often give away on the Goonersphere Podcast or Goonersphere Twitter or Facebook pages. On Saturday the 14th of May – the day the Arsenal ladies team won their record 14th FA Cup; well done girls! – James and I journeyed to Woolwich, families in tow, to take part in and report on the day.

The store had already been open for a few hours by the time we arrived – as instructed – so there was a little confusion as we thought we had missed it. Having planned on an afternoon in Greenwich with my wife and son I was okay with that but I felt awful for James who had travelled down from Gloucester the night before and went to the expense of booking a hotel. Thankfully we had only missed the warm up to what promised to be a fun day full of banging tunes, good banter and some exceptional entertainment provided by the sensational Dual Freestyle – Unbelievable Tekkers doesn’t quite do justice to how well they control the ball.

@dualfreestyle doing their thing at the launch of @jdsportsofficial new store in Woolwich #KingOfTrainers #JDStreetTeam #Woolwich #Euros #Tekkers #UnbelievableTekkers #Goonersphere

A video posted by Goonersphere.com (@goonersphere) on May 14, 2016 at 11:15am PDT

Between the hourly shows of incredible skills and choreographed routines that at times seemed more like a magic show with a football we took some time to sample the huge range of official Euro 2016 shirts and model a few as well – including the new official England men’s shirt which we were kindly given, along with some other goodies, to thank us for our time. It was a lovely touch from JD Sports.

I still have a rather complicated relationship with England so I will likely give the shirt away as apart of a competition on the Goonersphere Podcast. One of my freebies that I’ll definitely be keeping is the Beau Jeu ball (the official ball of the Euros 2016 tournament).

My son certainly enjoyed playing with football but not as much as he enjoyed taking centre stage and busting out his best moves to the stream of bangers being played by the JD Street Team DJ – who, as a south Londoner, I am ashamed to say actually received a noise complaint. In the day. In a packed high street….

We have some wonderful videos of my son thoroughly enjoying himself at his event, dancing away and being enthralled by the talents of Dual Freestyle so I’m most grateful for that. Once the day had been covered we made the long and arduous journey next door to Nando’s for an extra cheeky helping of chicken.

After shaking off our piri-stupor we took the DLR to Greenwich to take in a few sights and have a kick-about in Greenwich Park. Needless to say, James and I were both rather rusty but we had fun nonetheless. Here’s a video of me looking rather awkward with the ball JD Sports gave James.

Thanks for reading! Please comment on this post, subscribe by email, share with friends and follow me on twitter (@thedanielcowan). Please check out the official NLIR Facebook page http://facebook.com/northlondonisredblog for news, views, freebies and more. 

Don’t forget to tune into the funniest Arsenal podcast around “Goonersphere Podcast“