It's A Funny Old Game

Supporting Leeds United, my local team, over the last few years has mostly been a pretty painful experience. Thankfully they lost the ability to inflict thoughts of suicide within me a long time ago and these days I just sigh for a while when they lose or draw.

Tonight they are playing a cup game against Darlington, a team from 65 miles up the A1 from Leeds but a million miles away in terms of footballing pedigree. Of course a big name means little in football and so it's not a surprise to me that it's 0-0 at half-time and they've played as well as we have. Or as badly.

Playing as we do now in the 3rd tier of English football, Leeds aren't on the telle much these days so I thought I'd be giving this game my full attention. I've already been around a few other channels during the first half (I drew the line at QVC) and am typing this blog post during the start of the 2nd half. Lets just say that so far it's not been the most exciting game I've ever seen.

When I first came to Leeds in the early 70's, I became a season ticket holder and even went to a lot of away games. There was little to compare with mixing cheery chants and bawdy banter with those lovely football fans who supported Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea in the 70's. Oh it was such fun and life long friendships were formed either on the streets outside the grounds or more usually at the local A&E departments.

The rivalries are still there but thankfully not the violence of those days. Maybe it's having all seater stadiums or maybe it's having to get a mortgage to buy a ticket. It's certainly not our society as it seems that every male under the age of 21 packs a knife these days and is more than willing to use it. No football now is all big business and a multi-billion £ business at that. The stars at the top of the heap earn......ok get paid.....so much that they could retire after a month and that has widened the gap between players and fans even more.

5 minutes to go and Leeds are winning 1-0 but even now I get little satisfaction from the scoreline. I just can't get that excited about beating a team from Darlington. A few years ago we were playing and beating teams like Barcelona, Valencia and Roma and now we're struggling against.......Darlington.

But the only way is up, as Yazz once said. Or sang. So it may be only Darlington tonight but who knows, a good run in the cup and we might be playing Man United, Chelsea or Liverpool.

Sadly it won't be like the old days as if we meet any of those teams, we'll get stuffed. On the pitch and off it.

I guess I'd better enjoy tonight then. Final score....1-0 to Leeds. Muted wooohooooo.