[Nogrod]

On the eve of the first round of the Arda Cup 2013 group-phase games the Lonely Mountain and it’s surrounding areas were buzzing with folk from near and far – and the football tourists filled the bookings of each and every hotel, hostel, guesthouse, motel, inn, B&B and camping site in both Dale and Esgaroth as well. And nobody was able to keep track of the irregular campers over the wastelands around the mountain - but everyone could see the spread of lights during the nights over the plains all around Erebor.

The Arkenstone Arena took in around 70 000 spectators but even if from the tickets a little over half went to locals the estimates had the number of visitors to the area everything from even to double that. A reasonable quess would be between 50 000 and 100 000 visitors.

According to the official AFA statistics based on the ticket-sales the following races and creatures had bough tickets to the games at Erebor, in alphabetical order: Balrogs, Beornings, Crebain & Crows, Dragons, Dúnedain, Dwarves, Eagles, Elves (Noldor, Silvan, Teléri), Ents, Goblins, Humans, Maiar, Nazgûl, Orcs, Spiders, Trolls, Trushes, Wargs, Wights, Wizards and Wolves.

There was also a moment of astonishment when a Haradian ship anchored to the Esgaroth docks a few days before the games full of Haradrim football-fans with their bright-coloured gear, wuwuzelas and a huge (and alive) mascot-tyger. It turned out they had been sold wrong tickets. But being good sports they decided to stay – well they had no chance of catching their intended group D matches anyway – and gave a nice colour (if not that nice a sound) to the first round of games, seemingly enjoying their exotic northern-experience to the fullest.

Now it is a great feature of interardan sports that with the players in the teams mixing also the supporters learn to mix together. That must have been something foreseen by Eru himself when he let the Arda Cup take seed in the hearts of the differents creatures around Arda.

And that spirit was probably most clearly exhibited at the Lonely Mountain the night before the first games when from the camping-ground’s fireplace you could find a warg, an ent, a Nazgûl and a wizard raising a glass for an elf’s success (for Thranduil to score heavily) and to their mutual friendship supporting the Wilderland team – or seeing the great eagles and dragons cheering loudly together with the dwarves in a Dale pub where a TV-report recapitulates Bard’s and Beorn’s highlights from the last year’s Cup.

Or well, which the AKM’s reporter found the most exhilarating; finding a small group of the Haradrim, Laketowners, northern Dúnedain, Rivendell elves, old Noldor of the West and a few Wights from the dock-area of Esgaroth discussing enthusiastically about different flutes and flute-playing techniques and their emotional effects while sharing drinks and barbecuing under the rising moon.

To be honest it has to be said there was the dark side as well. The number of homicides (and all the “other-cides”), assaults, mobbings, fights, robberies, theft, general offences, insults and every kind of grievance from too much noise and too much litter to strange smells and high prices at the groceries multiplied. But had it been a random-collection of different kind of creatures suddenly coming together with such numbers anywhere else but around Arda Cup it would probably have been a disaster.

In the press conference on the eve of the first games the spokespersons of all the teams participating appealed for peace and love and enjoyment of the games, and the Erebor police-force informed they had gotten strong reinforcements from Nogrod, Iron Hills and Moria to go after regular thieves, pickpockets and those willing to exploit the gathering of crowds.

Everyone knew there was no messing with the dwarven officials and so most everything was going orderly a day before the games.


First games will be held at the Arkenstone Arena, Erebor.

4pm. Eriador vs. Misty Mountains (daylight game)
7pm. Erebor vs. Wilderland (artificial-light game)


The thrill and excitement!