Well, the football season as a whole didn’t necessarily start today (do these things ever really ‘start’ and ‘finish’ these days, anyway?) — but England’s League One certainly did. Bradford City’s fans seemed cautiously optimistic at 2:55, but this was justified: they won 2-0 v Peterborough, with yours truly in the press box for the afternoon.
When buying tickets for football grounds with which one is not wholly acquainted, it might help if warnings were issued to the casual fan: “You are entering an area occupied entirely by people who want to stand up throughout the game and wave flags.” I mean, I admire their enthusiasm and respect their support — but after a few minutes, I moved, somewhere right up the top.
This is Bradford City’s ground; their game against Notts County attracted over 20,000 people to see a fourth-tier game — so someone, somewhere is doing something right…
As I move inexorably towards my dotage there are increasing signs that I am basically losing it, including the fact that I had a relatively serious conversation today with a six-foot-high chicken in a Bradford City shirt. Sorry — not a chicken, officially this is a bantam. What was it/he doing at Brighouse Town FC today? Well, that’s mainly what the conversation was about.
Being 42 