I had 5 minutes yesterday, at half time, looking out across the stadium carrying out my "in head" half time report, reviewing the disallowed goals & Valdez's save when it dawned on me that it could be the last time for a while that I visit our own ground. If it is then it will be my decision & a choice that although I'm happy to have made I'm also equally unhappy that I've felt the need to make the decision in the first place. At full time I stood taking in the atmosphere & applauding the team's effort, as I normally do, with a mixed feeling of disappointment & loss. This season I've been taking my seat in the South Stand (new to me) & for most parts the atmosphere in there has been depressingly subdued & quiet. There's a couple of blokes who sit behind us who spout continuous irrelevant bollocks & a few who, after listening in, appear new to the game. Yesterday's disappointment was not in the team or that we were relegated, that doesn't bother me in the slightest. I know we'll not be playing against the country's elite, I just prefer the match day experience in the lower leagues. My disappointment was with the crowd in the South Stand. They showed yesterday, at times, that they have it in them to create a noise that resembles decent support, if only they had it in them to create that noise every week & not just when there's a chance of Premier League survival then we'd have a ground that others, with less vocal support than yesterday's away contingent, would be in awe of. The loss I felt yesterday was one for the future. The looming decision regarding our owners application to change the club's name will not go away. People have their differing views & will take differing actions if it does indeed change but there surely cannot be one among us who will not feel a scintilla of loss if we lose our current identity. For me, & many others, it will mean missing out on a trip "home" every other Saturday to support the team I've followed for a fair few years. I'm scared I may lose the passion I have for the club, I've already started new activities & enjoy them immensely, it's not the same buzz I get from watching City but I fear it may start to be. After a quick, two man, "We want Allam out" protest chant I took what could possibly be a final look back at the pitch when joining the queue of folk lumbering out & found myself chanting a song, in my head, that I can't remember hearing at City for years "You are my City, my only City" you know the one. The last line kept coming back to me, over & over "... please don't take my City away" My pal pointed out a couple of youngsters crying which broke up my daydreaming & gave me the opportunity to give their fathers a glare that could only be interpreted as "give the little twats a slap & man them the **** up, this is City, it's what City do & it's what City do best". My lad wasn't with me yesterday, he had some work on & couldn't make it. With, still, no radio to listen to it was a quiet & reflective trip home. Remembering many games such as Rochdale 3-1 to get promoted in the mid-eighties, Scunny 4-4 on my birthday, Lincoln & Agadoo at half time. Silly trips to Halifax, Hartlepool, Darlington & Mansfield. 0-0 at Fulham followed by a 3-3 the season after in the nineties. My lads first games at Macc Town, Halifax, Northwich. His first game at Boothferry Park losing 1 nowt to the Scunts. Beating Millwall 3-1 in a relegation season & some bloke stood in the corner stand between Bunkers & Kempton sitting on the ball & refusing to boot it back on the pitch. Bradford away & getting an accidental broken nose on the coach & having to blag my way in when the plod thought I'd been scrapping. My cardiac arrest after the Southend game last season Game after game including the Wembley trips & my return when Newcastle dicked us towards the end of last season. All great times that have given me many great, & some not so great, memories. The fact that I & many others, who will have plenty more memories than me, are contemplating giving up their way of life & passion because a man views both them & their club's name as irrelevant is sad, whichever side of the debate you sit on. Here's hoping the FA see sense in the close season & put an end to Allam's nonsense for good & don't allow him to "take my City away". We can then all return in August as a united support with all the unpleasantness & idiocy of the last couple of seasons behind us & banked with the "not so great" memories.
Would the guy sitting on the ball, have been a black guy and was the game Oxford United? I remember this happening but could maybe have been a different occasion, although it doesn't mean it was Oxford, it has just ended up being Oxford in my mind after all these years....
Certainly a black guy in my mind too, but I'm sure it was a night match against Millwall. EDIT: We beat Millwall 3-1 in the 1980/81 relegation season but it was a Saturday KO
yes I have got my passes but will miss the the fans who are not there but thats life, health for my family is number 1 but after that going to city friends and holidays I enjoy and if I didn,t have them it would be pretty boring. I could understand fans who are not going and think at times I am to much of a fanatic but thats what I am. All the fans not going it is very sad and the full stadium will be missed but hopefully many will return in the near future
You may well be right, i just have it as an afternoon game, and the guy was stood alone and he just sat on it, which although not funny at the time, certainly is to look back on, and obviously made yet another memory of our beloved Hull City through the years. one of my other memories was Blackpool away in the cup. I think my two sons were very young so being Blackpool i had to buy them one of the swords full of of smarties each before the game. When i arrived at the ground some overzealous steward didn't want to let me in for carrying two offensive weapons. I asked him what he thought i was going to do with them, batter the Blackpool fans with smarties? At that point one of the plod told him to stop being stupid and let me in.
Nothing will ever stop me going to City. Yes the Allams have got the name change issue wrong but very little else. We are as strong as ever to go back up next season. Just need a few of the deadwood out and a few improvements in.
Ben, the 2 lads crying might have been upset that their mam was cleaning out their shed/toy cupboard while they were out for the afternoon, disposing of what for them was important reminders of their youth. Kids don't need to man up, men need to man up. Kids need to be kids and to start forming bittersweet memories that will stand them in good stead for life, especially as a Hull City fan.
The 2 juniors cheered and clapped at the end. They walked out of the stadium looking forward to next season and visiting lots of new ( to them ) Grounds (this season is the first they have been to away game) Those crying kids need to cheer up and realise its only football even though we love Hull City. No doubt there soft parents are to blame for the way they are. Lots of posatives next season More wins More points A chance of the play offs or maybe automatic promotion. Stay well Mr Ben. Here's to a great season next season.
Excellent post Ben Apart from being in the North Stand, and not seeing any blabbing kids, that was pretty much my match day yesterday described perfectly I haven't renewed, but I hope I will be back eventually
I'm looking forward to going to Rotherham's new ground and leaving Steve Evans weeping as his team have been battered - Here's hoping
