quite a rarity for me, look you see, as i went off to go and watch a match of (association) football, didn't i just. yes, i know i try to (at least once a year) show off some statues from football stadiums here on this blog, but i managed to do that without actually going to any games.
how long, exactly, had it been since i had gone to a match? more or less eight (8) years. this is where it comes in quite handy that i have a penchant for documenting stuff here on this blog, i can get details of things what i have gone done. certainly i could remember going to an FA Cup match, for famously and accidentally i ended up on Match Of The Day. i had forgotten in that same year (2017) i took James to see his much beloved Manchester United give Boro a footballing lesson.
why, "all of a sudden", had i decided to go and watch a match? money, or more specifically cost.
as far as i am aware it is exceedingly rare for Boro, or if you will Middlesbrough, to play what they call pre-season friendlies at home. i have assumed they prefer going away to play them (from memory they always go and play one at Hartlepool) to "protect the pitch" ahead of the imminent season, as well as the factor of cost of opening and running a stadium vs exactly how many people will turn up, even with prices at a reduced rate. so, when they announced a home match against Deportivo la Coruna (off of Spain) i figured sure, why not.
mostly, to be honest, it was the fact that tickets were "only" £10 for the match which was the main draw. this kind of pricing is what saw me go to the FA Cup match linked above, with the similarly linked game against Manchester United costing somewhat more. since it was all still vaguely summer i considered it all, went yeah, actually i fancy going to a match, and that cost for an afternoon in the sun seemed like a sensible way to expend coins and time.
in respect of not going for eight (or so) years, well, there are reasons. should you be interested, if you cut that time in half for four (4) years i was still in the village, as in a part of a family, and traveling to and from the games was all but impossible, particularly in any affordable way. universal to both eras is the cost of match tickets, with it invariably being north of £30 a go. for the last 4 (four) or so years, whilst in my place of exile, yes access from lodgings has been easy, but then for much of that time i have effectively (for verk) been based in that there London (innit) place. not really been practical to go, something of an expense and, to be honest, just haven't fancied it.
being honest is to say i have also kind of lost some interest in the game. i still follow the Boro, just not with any huge passion or commitment. yes, you are welcome to state that i am not a "proper fan", that's fine, but i do tune in for radio commentary each match, with Dad over in NZ getting up at very silly times to watch them, so we chat as the game goes on. would be fair to say i was "more of a fan", certainly more committed and passionate, when i was living on the other side of the world, as it felt a way to keep a reasonably strong, if mostly symbolic, link to home, especially imagining old friends going to the matches or eagerly following it all.
does Middlesbrough get called a "big club"? not really, although i don't understand the proclivity some fans (of various teams) have for making sure they point out whatever team they follow is (or are) such. generally i would agree with the phrase "if you have to say you are it then you are not it". for me Boro is a very decent team which has, in some instances, punched well above the weight anyone would reasonably expect. mostly, but not entirely, i think the fans just want to see the lads on the pitch go out and give everything they have to get a result. do that and you will have the support, even if the success isn't always a given.
for this match it was kind of strange, as just the west stand (which is what you are looking at above) was open. strange being in a stadium where 3 sides are effectively empty. this would rather underline the point i made earlier about why Boro, or many other teams, don't really "do" home friendlies. rather likely a lot of the fan base were away on holiday, or simply saving money (no matter how reasonable the cost of these tickets) for the competitive ("actual") matches. indeed that is a poster, or collage (or even mural?) of Boro "legends", although i was quite surprised to see no Branco on it.
some video for you below, then, and yes of course it is in the wonders of VHS mode. how class it would have been to take a video camera to a match in the 80s and film that. but, i suppose, the cost of video cameras then would mean that the last place you would take it is a football ground.
that is, since i doubt it is all that clear, the players lining up before kick off. various formalities, like shaking hands and what have you, took place. nice that they played the music which they normally would play for Boro running out. or, at the least, the music which replaced the one song.
overall, or if you will on the whole, it really was a lovely day out. getting there and back was surprisingly painless with the trains working proper. many had taken advantage of the tickets costing even less ("fewer") for kids, and the whole thing felt like a good excuse for a family day out. which i suppose did make me feel slightly awkward being alone, but hey, i am used to solitude. loads of stuff was going on outside for kids in particular but families as a whole to do, which was wonderful.
what i really enjoy was listening to the conversations other fans were having. yes, this shall all get a bit poor, poor pitiful me, but still. i was reminded of just how much football means to people, with random strangers having conversations about players, games gone to, where they would normally sit and so on. a reminder of just how alone i am in this world these days, but hey, some would say i am precisely where i deserve, or perhaps have designed, to be. also lovely to see a few Deportivo fans had come over to follow their team, and they got a great reception.
a final video, then, in which i managed to capture the end of the match. it finished 2-2, which seemed like a fair result. from what i could make out it was so the referee more or less decided it was probably going to be best to end this "friendly" around the point at which one of our players punched one of theirs square in the face. oh. these things happen.
likelihood of me going to another match? quite possibly yes, although it's the cost of the tickets which is the main barrier. that is an amount of money i would have to make sacrifices for elsewhere, and i am not sure i am prepared to do that. at least not on a regular basis. hats very much off to those (considerably) more dedicated and go and follow (actually support) their team come what may.
that said yes, of course i shall with great (and considerable) interest be following all matches which are deemed to be Joe Cole derby games. it is so that around 80% of the country follow these games. currently there are plans to "force" whatever broadcasters it is that shows them to make several top flight games available "free to air" each season. hopefully it is all the Joe Cole derby matches what they do this with, as it should be available to the nation.
no, alas, i did not get to try a "parmo in a bun", which the region is famous for. i tried to get one, despiet it being unlikely to match my current dietary requirements, but they had sold out.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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