Football – why do you go ?

A pretty basic question, but one that could probably conjur a myriad of different answers for oh so many different reasons.

Some I know, like to get more involved than watching. Helpers, writers, club secretaries, PA announcers, baall boys etc etc

For me, i’ve always followed or played football. I remember sometime in the late seventies, having a telly in my room (big black and white thing that needed tuning to change the channel) to watch Match of the Day and ITVs Big Match. I also went to watch my uncle play most weeks, as he was captain of his team which played at a level similar to Hutton Cranswick. Through school, I wasn’t good enough for the school team, but played two or three times a week. Throughout the majority of my childhood, I watched a  conference team every single week (I even managed a kick around with Tony Woodcock circa 1980 on their pitch).

Post school, not much until I played for my works team in the 90’s until I got knocked out during a game (in 1996 a collision with our goalie left me sparko on the pitch, and unlikely to play competitively ever again). Utopia was reached around this period, when the newly formed Premier League sold out to BSkyB to show a shed load of footy games. And then when I moved to Brid in 2000, I actively sought out the local team to go and watch and renewed my Sky subscription.

I love football, first and foremost, as I feel it is in my blood – something my dear wife struggled at times to understand, but now my son is showing the same footballing traits she puts up with it.  I also love the atmosphere at a stadium, be it 25,000 or 25, the banter, the passion, the smells, the exhileration, the downs, the characters, the ambience and so it goes on.

Some think that when they pay their money and come through the turnstile, they have a god given right to abuse other fans,  players or officials. Not at a club of this size or stature its not, in fact not at any club, but it happens.

I do recognise however, that teams at our level are heavily reliant on the support of fans in other ways, financial, fund raising, time etc. And Brid is no different. There are numerous people that help out to try and keep the club afloat from the chairman to the ball boys. Most of their work goes unrecognised and sometimes they get slated because some of those who choose not to get involved in the running of the club, don’t understand precisely what the voluntary helpers actually do.

Personnaly, I just enjoy going to the game, having some nosh and or a beer and the hope the team play well – if they don’t, well, it beats shopping. I can’t commit to doing anymore than that due to my job. But I hope that that silent band of warriors that do so much for the club, don’t give up