Andy Goode - An Alternate History...

Obviously there are moments that my sub concious won't let me re-visit, for my own personal sanity and safety, but there is one of those thoughts that keeps coming back to me and bringing me out in a cold sweat. I can't get it out of my head (as Kylie put it so well). And it is this:

Imagine …

Imagine ...

Imagine ...

Imagine if Andy Goode had knocked over that late penalty for Leicester on Easter Sunday.

Go on, let yourself imagine it.

Imagine that your booing (if you were) hadn't worked.

Imagine that yet again Tykes would have lost a close game in the closing minutes. What would have been the outcome then?

We would have been left 7 or 8 points adrift with three matches to go - against Gloucester (away), Harlequins (home) and Bath (away). Not even I, in my most dreamy and optimistic moments, would have put us down for three wins from those under these circumstances. It would have meant Leeds had a 5th straight league loss and a record of losing 10 out of the last 11 league matches. Mentally, the team would have been doubting themselves more. Would we have held on in the Powergen Cup Final, with those extra doubts? Would the team have finally given up the chase? Would the supporters? Would there have been 8,000 at the Quins game? Would we be in ND1 now, signing the likes of Andrew Mehrtens? Would Phil Davies still be here? Would Leeds Tykes even be here?

Imagine …

… But then let yourself snap back to glorious reality. Let the Tykes stand and salute Andy Goode as the man that possibly did more for Tykes in that moment than any of our own players. Someone buy the man a flat cap and a pint of Tetleys.

And now let yourself imagine the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup next year and beyond ...

Imagine ...

Imagine ...

Imagine ...

Looks good, doesn't it?