the football
Growing uo in Wales during the 1970's meant one thing - you played rugby. It also meant that usually you ended up watching rugby as well. As Max Boyce would proclaim in his Welsh valley's accent: "I was there"!
But when I was around 10 years old my father (who was not really a sports fan at all - other than boxing) took me to the Vetch Field to watch Swansea City and I was hooked. Other than a spell when my cycling took priority I held a season ticket to watch "The Swans" and also attended matches at away grounds to support my team over the following years.
The last 10 years or so have been remarkable, with my team going from winning a last day game to avoid being relegated out of the football league altogether, to several years later gaining promotion to the richest football league in the World: the Premier League.
Today we continued our best start to a Premier League season when we beat Arsenal at home. We now sit in 5th place in the league.
Superb.
Except today's game was different. I had to stay ay home and watch it on TV rather than being there at the ground with my friends and family.
Granted my lounge is much more comfortable, warmer and certainly drier than the Liberty Stadium where we now play our games, and I was glad of those comforts during the torrential thunderstorm that followed the match. But it just isn't the same as being there, feeling the emotions, touching the atmosphere and smelling the scent of victory. And getting wet.
So, the day after the Welsh rugby team was beaten by one of the World's great teams in Australia, little Swansea City FC made up for it today by putting one of the biggest football clubs in the World to the sword.
Rugby - meh.
But when I was around 10 years old my father (who was not really a sports fan at all - other than boxing) took me to the Vetch Field to watch Swansea City and I was hooked. Other than a spell when my cycling took priority I held a season ticket to watch "The Swans" and also attended matches at away grounds to support my team over the following years.
The last 10 years or so have been remarkable, with my team going from winning a last day game to avoid being relegated out of the football league altogether, to several years later gaining promotion to the richest football league in the World: the Premier League.
Today we continued our best start to a Premier League season when we beat Arsenal at home. We now sit in 5th place in the league.
Superb.
Except today's game was different. I had to stay ay home and watch it on TV rather than being there at the ground with my friends and family.
Granted my lounge is much more comfortable, warmer and certainly drier than the Liberty Stadium where we now play our games, and I was glad of those comforts during the torrential thunderstorm that followed the match. But it just isn't the same as being there, feeling the emotions, touching the atmosphere and smelling the scent of victory. And getting wet.
So, the day after the Welsh rugby team was beaten by one of the World's great teams in Australia, little Swansea City FC made up for it today by putting one of the biggest football clubs in the World to the sword.
Rugby - meh.
I'm not a fan so I will abstain from making a comment.
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