[Blog] As Sure as Night Follows Day
Written by Hailbeats on Wednesday, 6th Apr 2011 12:41

Itâ€™s that time of the year again when thousands of supporters contemplate whether or not they will renew their season tickets. For me, the season ticket renewal process follows a familiar pattern.

By Christmas, I will have told everyone I know that I definitely wonâ€™t be renewing for next season seeing that we are playing hoofball badly , that going to Portman Road is more of a punishment than a joy and that the club should be paying me to be there rather than the other way round.

Then, a few months later when we are more or less safe from relegation and a few loan players have made a difference, when we maybe even keep the ball on the floor occasionally, maybe even play a few youngsters showing some promise, I start to say that, maybe, if we put a bit of a run together, I might consider renewing.

The final phase of this process happens when the envelope drops on the mat. By that time, the weather has improved, the grass is growing again, we have won a few games and somehow, I have convinced myself that next season is going to be great with attractive football, a couple of brilliant signings and a dead cert for automatic promotion.

This is clearly going against any rational judgement but it is the football supportersâ€™ annual bout of mad spring optimism that keeps most mediocre clubs going.

So, yes, youâ€™ve guessed it, I have done the predictable thing and renewed yet again.

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dobbie73 added 13:44 - Apr 6

For the first time in several years I really questioned whether to renew or not. The football is more attractive in general than this time last year and our immediate future seems more promising under Jewell. I'm lucky to have a girlfriend that is quite happy for me to spend money on a season ticket and enjoy the odd beer with the lads before/after games, and at the end of the day what else am I going to do on 23 Saturday afternoons/Tuesday nights??

No, what really made me question was (a) do I really want to continue being an occasional loud voice in a largely silent Lower SBR in dwindling apathetic crowds of under 18,000 (I reckon 15,000 next year), and (b) the strong rumour (turning out to be fact) that season ticket prices would go up DESPITE economic hardships, DESPITE the same dwindling crowds paying out good money for questionable entertainment, DESPITE the largely sterile stuff on offer from the pitch over the last 4 or 5 years.

So, when the renewal price came through, an extra Â£22 was not so bad (but still difficult to swallow given the current climate), but what really did it in the end .....?

The tiny ray of hope that next season, after years of mediocrity and failure, may just be our year. And I guess this is what all us season ticket holders ultimately believe. That the Â£400ish we spend each season is a sort of investment that for all the weeks, months, years of utter disappointment (or at best a satisfied shrug), we may just get a bit of glory now and again!

DiamondGezzer added 14:11 - Apr 6 dobbie73 :- Well that brought a tear to my eye !
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BlueBrittania added 18:58 - Apr 6 Unfortunately I am unable to re-new this year. Going to Hull for Uni so no real point, would have done so in a heartbeat otherwise. Think I'll be seeing a lot of the northern grounds though next year, away days should be fun.
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