Adventures in Ayr with Calvin Ayre!

This is the classic feel good story of a billionaire who dug deep into his ancestry and decided to visit his modest homeland…and sponsor the local football team while he’s at it.



Bodog brand founder Calvin Ayre lives the life of a playboy as he gallivants around the world doin’ business, enjoyin’ beautiful women, gamblin’, drinkin’ and carryin’ on. The latest stop on his itinerary was Ayr, Scotland, homeland to his ancestors and home to Ayr United, a Scottish football team that Calvin Ayre and Bodog Brand have recently decided to sponsor.



In addition to sponsoring the team, Calvin also wanted to check things out Ayr, namely an Ayr United match, some whiskey, haggis, babes and the beach, so as the lead on-site reporter for his media site, I decided to tag along and document the adventure.



Day 1- getting the lay of the land
We arrived in sunny Glasgow around lunchtime and made the pilgrimage through the rolling hills dotted with sheep and fences for 45 minutes until we reached the modest town of Ayr, Scotland. After checking into the lovely Western House Hotel, lunch consisted of “haggis, neeps and tatties” something that Calvin insisted I must try seeing as its a traditional Scottish dish. Sounded like a good idea at the time, but not such a good idea post consumption once I realized the pile of meat is made of minced sheep’s heart, liver and lungs.



The evening kicked off at the local Tesco- the only store open at 8pm- so Calvin could buy himself a jacket because he is used to the tropics, not Scotland! Next on the list was a guided tour of Ayr by taxi driver for a grand total of five minutes, taking pics in front of Ayrshire poet Robert Burns’ cottage and dining at “Ayr India”, the only waterfront restaurant around (and probably the ugliest building around) but excellent Indian food.



Day 2- beach & champagne
Sunday turned out to be another perfect day, sunny and “warm” (for Scotland) so what better way to spend it than walking along the beach? After a hearty waterfront stroll, the next destination was lunch and champagne followed by champagne on the hotel terrace followed by champagne in the hotel bar. The Ayr United management, aka the Cameron family, joined us towards the end of the night but we threw in the towel fairly early in an attempt to sober up for the big day on Monday.



Day 3- Horse racing and footie
Yet another beautiful sunny day greeted us in the morning, a perfect setting for an afternoon of horse racing, the unveiling of the Bodog branded Ayr United jerseys and some good old-fashioned Scottish football.



The Ayr Racecourse is “the premier racecourse in Scotland” and our crew was treated to lunch in the hospitality suite overlooking the enormous track. Upon arrival Calvin was welcomed by dozens of Ayr United fans at the track wearing the brand new Bodog branded Ayr United jerseys and huge smiles across their faces. We’re still not sure if those smiles were due to Calvin’s presence or the presence of the two beautiful girls that were accompanying him, however.



At 5pm the press conference took place at Ayr United’s Somerset Park and over fifteen reporters from different media companies (myself included!) took a seat and soaked up the official unveiling of the Ayr United jerseys bearing the Bodog brand in English and Mandarin Chinese. The absolute highlight of the press conference (and of the whole day for most) was undoubtedly when two topless babes entered the room with the Ayr United uniforms painted on their bodies.



Prior to the start of the Ayr United vs. Man United match that evening our friend Somerset Boab sang Ayr United tunes to the fans for 20 whole minutes, including the crowd pleasing “The Moff is on Fire”. Shortly after Boab’s legendary performance, Calvin received a warm welcome by the fans when he appeared on the field and shook hands with the players from both teams. Calvin was also presented with an oil painting of himself wearing an Ayr United jersey, a work of art created by local artist Richard MacDonald that will live at the Bodog UK office in London.



Unfortunately in the end Ayr United lost the match 0-1, but a great effort by the Honest Men and an impressive performance by Man U, especially by Goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert of Ayr U and Paul Pogba of Man U, Calvin’s choices for “Men of the Match”.



All in all our adventures in Ayr were both enjoyable and refreshing and we all appreciated the authentic Scottish hospitality. After an amazing three days I can proudly say that Ayr United is not just my second team, it is now my first team instead. Thank you Ayr and power to “The Honest Men!”



Want more Ayr memories? Don’t miss the CalvinAyre.com Ayr United Picture Gallery!

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