THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

There are very few things that cause football fans to sweat:
penalty shoot outs, Saturday afternoon weddings, transfer rumours linking your best player to another club, running out of chips…

Then there is the one that causes the most emotional turmoil, when sleep doesn’t come easy and food loses its desire. You find yourself mowing the lawn, going for walks in the park… shopping! Things you never would have done…. if it wasn’t the off season.

Twice a year football fans have no choice but to drop the remote, change out of the team kit, throw away the beer cans and find something else to do on Saturday. Sure there are the empty Wednesday and Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, but it’s that lunch time kick off that leaves such a void, you just can’t hide it.

The mid season break is short – thankfully! And it’s only because we know it’s right in the middle of the season that we manage to pull though – because there is still so much that needs to happen in the second half of the season.

When April/May comes around, we are filled with excitement as it is “Finals season” and silverware is being handed out almost weekly, but we know what inevitable heartache looms.

The football bosses do throw us a life line… transfers. We are kept busy by the business of player ownership. Then there is the pre-season tour – a chance for new players to jell, young ones to shine and money to be made.

The global brand of football grows.

And the guy with the chips and the beer…?
The guy with the latest replica kit and football trivia…?
The guy who “could drive Leeds back to European glory if just given a chance”…?

He sits.
And sweats.
Loses weight, sees the sunshine and fixes the washing machine.
Just waiting…

His day will come again.
His Saturdays will be busy again. He will return! With fresh beer, new chips but the same couch, same remote and same TV.

Hello old faithful. Its football time again.
Bring on the beautiful game!