A View from Afar Part 5

By Albatross
August 27 2002

"A funny thing happened on the way to the match...." In Part 5 of "A View from Afar", Albatross remembers one or two journeys that are almost more memorable than the games he went to see...

"It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive" - sometimes watching Pools has proved this in no small measure. There's a distinct contrast between travelling somewhere full of hope, and facing a long depressing journey home again following a defeat.

Sometimes though the journey to or from a match can be the most entertaining part of it. If anyone remembers seeing someone driving up the M6 with a Viking Helmet on his head after a match at Macclesfield about four seasons back, that was me! Another memorable occasion was travelling back up to the North-East after a Christmas Period game at Notts County; there will no doubt be a few reading this who remember the Coach Driver taking the wrong turning off the roundabout after stopping at Ferrybridge, and then having to carefully reverse back down the slip road to avoid heading to Manchester on the M62....

There's one experience that will remain with me though. The occasion was the time we played Orient and had Howard and Di Lella sent off, only to gain a draw thanks to a penalty from Craig Midgely.

I was travelling by train that day, and having done this several times I thought the train from Liverpool was a bit busy, with plenty of Scouse likely lads about. A quick look at the Sport section of my paper revealed the reason: Everton were away to Wimbledon that day as well. I got talking to a couple of guys opposite me, and the journey didn't drag as much as it sometimes did thanks to plenty of good natured banter. They were, they informed me, going in the hope of seeing Everton score as they had failed to hit the net at home for some time!

The match was one of those that in a perverse way is more satisfying than a narrow victory, as we defied the odds to draw despite being two men and one goal down.

Suffice to say that when I got onto my train heading for Liverpool again I was in a good mood, and perhaps fortunately so were the Everton fans: they had beaten Wimbledon and enjoyed a good day out. This time it seemed the whole carriage was full of Footy fans, including the two I'd met on the way down. I think the Bar was dry by the time we reached Milton Keynes....

Much singing, mainly involving Duncan Ferguson, more banter. Then one of the Toffees fans asked me what songs the Hartlepool Fans sing. "Two Little Boys," I said. Before I knew it, I was being serenaded with that very song by the carriageful of Evertonians, who seemed to know the words pretty well! I have to admit it brought a lump to my throat; when there's so much negative publicity about Football Fans, and some people seem to think the word "Fan" and "Hooligan" are interchangeable, moments such as these go to show it just ain't true. These were true fans, and appreciated that my devotion to my team - and that of the Rochdale fan on his way back from Southend who was on the same train - was as big as theirs.

While waiting at Lime Street for my connection, I popped into the bar, and there was one of my companions from the train; he insisted on buying me a drink and introducing me to his Liverpool-supporting Girlfriend. More talk about our respective teams, and then it was time to go home and reflect on a day in which the match itself seemed to be only a very small part...