Today there was a big celebration in the center of town. Last week all the hype was around the World Snooker Championship, which is always hosted in Sheffield. It attracts a lot of people from out of town, and there was also a continential European fair, with various things for sale.

Today's celebration was all about football (soccer of course). Sheffield has two teams, and one of them, Sheffield United, has been promoted to the premier league, Britain's top league for football teams. The system for football is different than any system we have in the U.S., so I'll explain it as best I can. There are about 3 or 4 football leagues, with the premier league being the highest, and the championship league being the second highest. Each year the worst 3 teams in a league drops to the league below the one they are currently in. The top three teams from each league get promoted to the next higher league, and the bottom three demoted to the league below. It would be as if minor league baseball teams could become major league teams if they did well enough.

It's big news for Sheffield as it means ticket sales will go up, and the team gets a large pool of money as well (76 million pounds) to buy players with. Hopefully it means I can go see a great team like Arsenal, Chelsea, or Manchester United play in Sheffield next year.