by Tim Russell
Ask any foreign Port fan why they chose to support this particular club - certainly those who’ve been around since the pre-Pang era - and chances are PAT Stadium will figure highly in their list of reasons. It may be held together by duct tape in places and often look and feel as if it’s about to fall down, and it may be located in one of Bangkok’s least salubrious districts, but on a big game night with a full house there is simply nowhere better to watch football in Thailand. Here’s why.
Location, Location, Location
One of the reasons for low crowd numbers in Thai football is often the sheer difficulty of getting to and from the stadiums. Bangkok Utd may try and brand themselves as Bangkok’s club but there aren’t too many Bangkokians willing to trek the 45km out of town to watch them, and the likes of Muangthong and Bangkok Glass are just as difficult to get to. The new BTS extension has made Police Tero an easier trip to be fair, but really there’s no stadium in Bangkok easier to get to than the PAT. Get the BTS to Asoke then jump on a motorbike or in a taxi and you’re there in 5 minutes; get the MRT to Queen Sirikit and you’re just a short walk away, and it’s one of the most atmospheric stadium walks in world football, taking in the sights, sounds and, most notably, smells of iconic Khlongtoey Market. Where else in the world can you pick up some live frogs, a pig’s head or a bag of crickets en route to the game?
For many of us, the location came first - we simply looked for the nearest football ground to the centre of Bangkok and checked it out, and our love for the club came later.
The Bottom Corner
Whilst Port’s recent success has attracted much bigger crowds of foreign fans, the club wasn’t always as glamorous and fashionable (it’s all relative) as it is today, and The Sandpit was once the preserve of football nerds who, in many cases, grew up on poor quality niche interest football. Even today in Zone B you’ll meet supporters of Rochdale, Coventry City (bizarrely the best represented English club at the PAT), Welling Utd, Aldershot, Spurs, Gillingham, Southend Utd, Cardiff City and Swansea City, as well as a whole range of worldwide clubs including Fortuna Dusseldorf, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hamburg SV, St Etienne, Lorient, Vancouver Whitecaps, Brisbane Roar and many more.
And Port’s small, ramshackle stadium, where you’re often just a few feet away from the goalmouth, reminds us of watching our unfashionable home clubs back in the old days, when you could have a pint during the game, change ends at half time, leave your front door open etc etc. This compactness and the lack of a running track, the scourge of Thai football, means you’ll always have a good view wherever you are (unless you’re in Zone A and Madame’s box gets in the way), and the opposition goalkeeper will actually hear you when you shout “You’re shit aaaahhhhhhh” at him (and, in one memorable case, turn round and complain).
The ridiculous decision to make the stadium all-seater just in case Port qualified for the ACL group stages has somewhat diluted the matchday experience and made it a lot more uncomfortable for those of us taller than Saruta, and the post-Chainat 2014 booze ban has also lessened the fun somewhat, but it’s still a gloriously shabby, intimate and football-friendly venue, and on a warm Bangkok evening, with the sun setting behind the skyscrapers of Sukhumvit, one of the most picturesque in Thailand.
Fever Pitch
Whenever we interview players & coaches, whether from Port or other clubs, they are always very vocal in their praise for Port’s fans and the atmosphere they create. Foreign players tell us it’s the only ground in Thailand where the atmosphere compares to grounds they’ve played at back in Europe or South America, with the likes of Matt Smith and Dragan Boskovic (in his pre-Port days - and occasionally during) telling us how much they enjoy getting a bit of stick from the home fans for a change.
The noise at Port on a busy night can be deafening, with fired-up, boozed-up crowd singing and chanting throughout; another reason we foreigners have made it our home. And really it’s the fans who make Port what it is - a noisy, rowdy and loveable bunch who make us feel very welcome every week. Port may have a reputation for trouble - for the record I’ve only seen trouble at a Port game once in six years - and yes they are a lot more boisterous than the comatose crowds at the likes of Chiang Rai or Bangkok Utd, and they don’t need choreographing or sponsoring like Buriram or Muangthong, but for fans who grew up watching English football in the 1980s, the idea that the PAT is in any way threatening or dangerous is laughable, and most away fans who visit us have a great time. Last season I even got MTU media guy and occasional Sandpit contributor Gian to wear his MTU staff polo shirt in The Sandpit, and after his initial terror wore off, he realised that he was just as welcome as anyone.
And as a foreign fan, come to Port and you’ll very quickly make new friends and meet like minds. I’ve made some of my best friends in Bangkok at the PAT, and I know many foreign fans feel the same way. As I’ve said before, in a city where it’s often difficult to feel at home, the PAT gives many of us a sense of community that we might otherwise miss out on.
PAT Butchers
In the classic Blackadder II episode ‘Head’, jailer Mistress Ploppy explains to our hero that, when it comes to prisoners’ last meals, “Sausages is all I got”. That episode has clearly been a huge inspiration to stadium caterers across Thailand as, in most cases, sausages - or various other meat products of dubious provenance on sticks - is all they got.
This has been a huge disappointment to me because, before I began travelling around the country to watch Port, I’d assumed the PAT food stalls were typical of Thai football. Sadly this isn’t the case, and only at home games can we gorge on a veritable smorgasbord of Thai classics, as well as chicken nuggets and fish & chips, from the huge number of food stalls outside the ground. Someone even opened a sushi truck back in 2017, before obviously realising that they were way, way ahead of their time and that Khlongtoey won’t be ready for sushi until the 2030s at the earliest. Recommended PAT dishes? I tend to go for the fish & chips; my wife loves the crispy fish & green mango salad; whilst Sandpit regular Dom, a confirmed vegetarian, loves the omelettes. All tastes are catered for, provided you’re not expecting Michelin level cuisine.
Factor in the almost compulsory consumption of cheap Leo, and you understand why, during the game, you can look outside and see hundreds of people who haven’t even bothered to come into the stadium - they’re just sitting outside eating, drinking and having a great night out.
Yes, I admit it, I’m biased. Port is my club and the PAT is my home from home, and for all its faults, I love it. Whilst some stadiums may be newer, more comfortable and better designed - Ratchaburi and Buriram for example - nowhere else has the same atmosphere, the same friendly fans (though Sukhothai comes very close), the same food & drink options, the same accessibility. It’s now almost three months since my last visit, and it’ll be another four until I can go back. And I’ll be so happy to see it again, I won’t even moan about the seats. Well, not until half-time anyway...
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