Tonight the season starts, on Beatrixstraat the fire began
Tonight at 8:00 PM, NAC kicks off the new season away at TOP Oss. As the bus drives towards Oss, something new is also going online in the shop: the Beatrixstraat sticker. Not a coincidence, actually, because tonight's story and the story of this sticker both begin in the same place.
Where the fire ignited
Anyone who still remembers the stadium on Beatrixstraat immediately understands what that sentence means. The sticker features the old double-decker stand, with the floodlights proudly towering above it and NAC in yellow block letters between the seats. Next to it is the familiar shield logo, black and yellow, as we've known it for generations.
For fifty-six years, from 1940 to 1996, that building was our home. It was there, in 1975, that the 'Avondje NAC' (NAC Evening) was born, when UEFA rated the new floodlight system as one of the best in Europe. Evening matches under artificial light, an ecstatic crowd, and opponents who preferred not to come to Breda. The stadium itself is no longer there, replaced by houses, but that feeling has never left.
Thirty years of Rat Verlegh, and an Avondje NAC once again
On Friday, August 14, NAC will play its first home game of the new season against VVV-Venlo. That same evening marks exactly thirty years since NAC moved from Beatrixstraat to the Rat Verlegh Stadium. New building, new floodlights, but the Avondje NAC is exactly what it always was.
Tonight, that story begins again, away at TOP Oss in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, with eyes set on promotion back to the Eredivisie. If you want the full schedule for this season, you can find it clearly laid out in this season's atmosphere guide.
The Beatrixstraat sticker is there to carry that story with you, on your laptop, your suitcase, or simply in your man cave. Those who want to expand their collection this season will also find the XL sticker pack in the shop, now on offer and full of well-known NAC stickers.
For tonight, in any case: good luck, Code Geel!
