Game day

I can imagine from an outsiders prospective football rituals can be quite strange. I have been a Stoke City season ticket holder for over 15 years. I was there when they were shit so I am able to call my self a true Stoke fan.

My game day rituals have always been the same, I have always lived quite close to the ground so it was never hard to get to games, it didn’t take up the whole day. When we were shit we knew that game day was Saturday, and we knew kick off was 3pm. When we got promoted to the glittering heights of the Premier league it all changed.

For those who don’t know the technicalities of a Premier League schedule, it is dominated by TV. So on any given weekend there maybe six different time slots that we might play in.

That being said the timeslots are often filled with big games or attractive football, so Stoke rarely get much attention.

I digress the point I wanted to make was that on game days, until this season, were all the same. Do something in the morning, have lunch then drive to the ground with my Dad and one of my Brothers. I would say that even though I have been going for so long I still don’t know what time we leave the house. I normally just waited for Dad to shout “Are you ready”.

But now I live in Buckingham things have changed, I’m currently on a train hurtling at 125mph through the English countryside. This game is going to take up the entire day.  To which I’m genuinely happy about, I never get this excited before a game, I feel proud to say that I spent £30 on a train ticket just to see a tiny club in the west midlands.

Over the summer I was lucky enough to go to a couple of Denver Broncos games (American Footbal). For those who don’t know anything about American Football, games can take up an entire day, not just because the game is stop start and lasts around 4 hours. Before the game many people host tail gate parties, which are held in carparks near the stadium, they grill, drink and have a good time. Even when it’s 10 below! The entire town turns to the colour of the home team. In my case that was bright orange, people have their own outfits that they wear all day. The unity that a city has on game day is something else.

Although I’m the only Stoke fan on this train it is littered with other fans all doing the same as me. They grew up watching their teams, now they have left their hometowns. They still trek across the country to see 40 minutes of sport. Unless they are Manchester United Fans, then they are just glory hunters from London, trying to find the next prawn sandwich ;)

I have to end it here; train is pulling into the station. COME ON STOKE

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