Forum | A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few by Asa

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A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few 10:17 - May 2 with 1401 views

As someone who isn't overly emotional I've no idea where this came from lol. Guessing 3am / 4am finishes after Hull and Coventry have helped! But here we go ...

Have gone on record a few times explaining how much damage the McCarthy / Evans era did to my own individual (in hindsight selfish) wishes and desires.

For context I have two boys, 15 and 10. I went to my first match when I was 2. I went regularly to home matches from the age of 3-4 and have had a season ticket for most of the 40 years that have followed. Started going away at the age of about 7 and have now done most of the PL / EFL grounds.

My dad took me every week and it was our thing. Something my mum and sisters didn't have much interest in. Every Saturday from the age of 7 I'd be at Portman Road, Hull, Walsall, Stoke, Leeds, West Brom with him. When my parents split up when I was 10 it became even more significant. My dad worked every hour imaginable apart from Saturday afternoons. We barely saw him. The only thing he had for himself that wasn't work was watching Town and it was pretty much the only time I saw him for those following years.

Fast-forward to 2009 when I became a father. I was desperate initially for my son to love football as much as me. Was thinking of the time we'd go home and away and how we'd have the same sort of fun as I did with my dad. But I never wanted to force him into it. I'd rather he found his own passions and I supported him with those than forcing mine on him. I'd split with his mum at this point and when he was old enough to go to football I had him every other weekend. He went to his first match at the age of 4. He missed his first ever goal after 4 minutes in after telling me needed a poo in the 3rd minute. Assuming it was destined to end 1-0 I was happy that we went on to beat Birmingham 3-1.

But he loved it. Bluey, Crazee, the food before the match, playing in the park over Alderman Road, the atmosphere and the permission to sing and shout and not have to be quiet! This continued for a little while and on those weekends he wanted to go. He had his own season ticket and he looked forward to it.

Then came peak McCarthy. 0-0's. Gutless home performances after another. 8,000 dressed up as 12,000. No shot on target. No shot off target until 80 minutes. Boos. As the cold weather set in try getting a small child to be excited about that. Being bundled up playing with toys or a phone for 90 minutes turned into asking me not to go. We persisted for a bit but eventually he simply didn't want to go. It was crap, it was cold, it was boring and I had a decision to make.

For the only time in those 40 years, I spent a couple of years not going to every single Town home match. We'd do something else on those weekends. With the way the fixtures fell I'd get to maybe 16/23 games with midweek matches and having not missed any game for absolutely years I was now missing a few. But ultimately as much as I loved Town, I loved my son more and that time with him was to be spent doing whatever would make him happiest. On reflection it was actually a good thing to be doing something other than football 24/7 and I absolutely love that most of the things we share now are things he found his own way into and loved for himself.

I continued to buy a season ticket every year and he started to tolerate it. He was happy to, have a McDonald's, go into the Fan Zone and he was there for the League One seasons, promotion last season, this season. He comes to half the games now because he tolerates the day as a whole, and knows I love him coming, but he is not that fussed on the football. If it wasn't for the darkest days for the Evans era and McCarthy's football I am pretty certain he'd have loved football rather than being where he is but that's cool. He has a lot of stuff he loves which we share and enjoy. I was never forced to love football by my dad. I just did. I never forced him but the he liked it a lot until that era made football to synonymous with being bored.

I met someone else a few years later and married. We have a 10 year old son and he was the same initially. I took him to a few games. He liked it and then about 5 years ago overnight, through his own accord, he became totally obsessed with football. Absolutely obsessed to the level I was at that age. He spends the entire weekend in the garden playing. He's top scorer for his U10'steam. He's on the PS playing FIFA and PES as Ipswich, watching YouTube videos of the top goals from years gone by. He absolutely bloody loves it. I find myself trying to get him to do other stuff!

I'm 44. We were last in the Premier League when I was 22. My sons have never seen us there. My youngest doesn't remember Lambert's dross but us winning a lot in League One, winning promotion and completely grasps and understands how magical what we are doing is. He'll come in telling me that since McKenna took over we've won more points than any other club in England.

I can't imagine my life without football and without ITFC. It's largely all I've ever known. As a kid it was all I wanted to do. I've had a very lovely life up until now but in the few rare moments of loss, sadness, stress and pain it's been looking forward to going to watch Town that pulled me through before I became a dad or met the love of my life. I don't regret choosing to miss those Town games over that couple of years but it will always bug my slightly that if the timing had been different and my eldest had Gamechanger, McKenna or even League One at that time I reckon he'd have continued to enjoyed going to Portman Road.

The thought of being at Portman Road on Saturday with my dad again and with my youngest to watch us potentially clinch promotion amongst you all, after all those years of hurt when even I wondered why I was bothering to go, brings me to the point of completely losing it. The biggest thing that I can say for Gamechanger from a personal point of view is that after the Coventry result my eldest, who wasn't due to be at mine this week, told me he wants to go on Saturday which will absolutely tip me over the edge if we do clinch promotion.

There are plenty of people for whom football is life. For a great many others it's only family that is more important. The amount of enjoyment I have taken from following Town home and away over the last two seasons cannot even be quantified. To be able to share all that with my dad, my youngest who absolutely loves it and my eldest, who has not been at all fussed over the years but now wants to be part of Saturday is absolutely incredible.

One day my old man won't be here and for all the happy memories I will have, it'll be Barnsley and Coventry and Exeter and hopefully Huddersfield that come rushing to the fore.

Some of us are no longer here. Some of us will have people that should be here Saturday missing because this opportunity never came around when they did.

For everyone who loves this club, for everyone who loves someone who does or has lost someone who did, that perhaps never got to share any proper good times with them, I hope that we do it on Saturday because the thought of something I want to happen so badly happening, surrounded by the most important people in my world who want exactly the same is mind-blowing. Last year was good but felt inevitable. We were always going to get out of League One one day. The Premier League though? Didn't think I'd necessarily ever see it again, let alone with my dad.

But my god does everyone that stuck with this club deserve the last two seasons. As I posted last week seeing so many kids walking to school in their Town shirts totally got to me. The thought that there are plenty of other people now having these amazing memories and experiences with their old football mad children who shun Man City and Liverpool and are proud to support Town. Something we'd lost significantly.

As someone who barely drinks, maybe 5-10 units a year, I hope to be getting absolutely smashed with the players and management long into Saturday night!

I love you Gamechanger. I love you Kieran. You too Mr Ashton. All these bloody players too. Even you lot. Even the odd bloody troll.

COYFB.

[Post edited 2 May 10:27]

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 10:28 - May 2 with 1276 views

m14_blue

What a wonderful post.

Like many, I'll be spending Saturday standing on the shoulders of all the people in my life who can't be there but would have given anything to have witnessed scenes such as these.

Emotional day ahead.

Now finish the job Ipswich FFS

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 10:30 - May 2 with 1258 views

ITFC_Forever

There is a light that never goes out. (copyright the North Stand when we got relegated to L1).

It burned pretty dimly at times, but now it's a raging fire, consuming everything in its path.

	P 1126, W 502, D 288, L 336, F 1711, A 1360
Blog:	Confessions of a Statto - Why We Bother

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 10:38 - May 2 with 1205 views

Help

Totally agree. This town needs this club to be in the premiership as much as everyone else needs this town to be in the premiership. We will do it and we will savour the joy for years. We will bask in this as long as we shall live. Well I will.

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 10:50 - May 2 with 1145 views

Jimmy86

Great post Asa! I remember having my season ticket next to you and your dad in SBR stand area 4, through the Keane and McCarthy years! I know how frustrated you and your dad used to get with it all and shared that pain... Wasn't all McCarthy's fault, he generally did a good job with what he had.. fact he was hamstrung by Evans was the real issue...

I got married to my boys mum in 2016 and had to give up my season ticket... She then left after only 10 months of marriage.. (should've kept the season ticket instead 😂)

I got my season ticket back at the start of this season in the upper tier of SBR stand, 2 rows away from one of my dad's dearest friends, who sadly passed away a few years back... So, my seat has that sentimental value..

We've all been through the mill following town and everyone deserves the success we are now having, the fans, the town, the players, the staff and also the CLUB! what a journey it has been! COYB!!

[Post edited 2 May 10:52]

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 11:01 - May 2 with 1068 views

Asa

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 10:50 - May 2 by Jimmy86

[Post edited 2 May 10:52]

I definitely don't blame McCarthy entirely and don't actually mind the guy now I know a bit more about what went on. Am aware from a few within the club where the real problems were. Those early Mick years were the best we had throughout a near 20 year period and the play off season was awesome. He also kept us up.

But those last few seasons I think it suited him to be where we were and he stayed a year longer than he should have. He wasn't getting backed to go up, he was too good for us to go down and it just suited the club as we were at that time to tread water and felt Mick was comfortable with that. I'm aware I'm overly sensitive to that period because it was hard to give up what I'd spent every Saturday doing for 30 odd years, even if it was for the best of reasons.

For a football fan, wanting to be entertained, wanting to dare to dream, it was hard to swallow, which is ultimately why we ended up with 8,000 inside the stadium for Championship matches and I don't blame anyone who had better things to do or couldn't justify the financial commitment.

We moved towards the start of the McCarthy era and moved to the family section when my I bought the eldest his first season ticket. Have some happy days from that time in the North though. Arsenal and Priskin being one, the hammering of West Ham, the Gio inspired win over the scum. Some very funny stories too, largely involving Town fans trying to fight amongst themselves because they disagreed on the footballing abilities of Nouble.

Very glad to hear you're back this season mate just in time for hopefully our finest hour in a generation.

[Post edited 2 May 11:04]

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 11:26 - May 2 with 985 views

Jimmy86

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 11:01 - May 2 by Asa

[Post edited 2 May 11:04]

I remember the Nouble argument... I definitely remember you and your dad being north stand lower for some of McCarthy's time though?

It was the couple of rows in front of us that were an issue, I did move across to section 6 for my last season in 2017, as the lads 2 rows in front were ridiculous.. didn't want aggro, going to a footy match when I was sposed to enjoy it!

Great to see you're loving it again and have to say that your OP is touching, all the best bud

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 11:46 - May 2 with 910 views

Asa

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 11:26 - May 2 by Jimmy86

Yep that was a classic.

It was on the right-hand side of the lower North and, you're right, the main issue was the guys a couple of rows in front who were trying to fight everyone every week. Anyone not getting behind the side was abused. They were the unofficial Nouble fan club but were weirdly happy to slag off JET, despite him being a better player.

I remember one match (Palace 3-0 maybe) where it was my turn to endure them. I commented at normal conversation volume that Nouble had looked poor so far (so it's not like I was booing the guy or even shouting, just a passing remark) and they turned round and wanted a scrap. A minute later the Palace keeper had a shocker and Nouble tapped into an open goal and they told me I knew f*** all and to shut up as if Nouble had just turned into prime Messi. They were great entertainment.

The same guys who gave everyone grief for 'not supporting the team' turned up 15 minutes in every week because they were still finishing their 14th pint and also left when Richard Wood equalised for Coventry. For some bizarre reason we stayed and I'm glad we did.

[Post edited 2 May 11:50]

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 12:12 - May 2 with 808 views

BiGDonnie

Great post.

Shout out to the trolls we've lost this season who don't post here anymore.

	COYBs
Poll:	Is it too soon to sack Hurst?

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 13:18 - May 2 with 614 views

Churchman

Excellent post.

If we get it done Saturday, I hope your sons and all young people enjoy the moment. Times like these are rare if you follow a real football club and all the more special because of it.

I was 18 when we won the FA Cup. We were there and it was extraordinary. My dad, who’d been to the 1963 Final (I never asked him how or why), really appreciated the moment. I don’t think I did tbh. It went by in a blur. At Wembley 2000, older if not much wiser, I took the trouble to take it all in. I’m glad I did.

If it goes well, I will appreciate every moment. It’ll be for us all for all our different reasons. There will be a lot of inner sadness for me as my dad is gone now and was never able to appreciate the post-Evans era. But much happiness too. His and his father’s club are coming back.

In the early 1970s Ken Rice book ‘Ipswich’, the last chapter written at the dawn of Robson’s first great team after winning the Texaco Cup. It is titled ‘Pride Restored’. 50 years on, that title feels appropriate now, regardless of how this season ends.

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 15:24 - May 2 with 465 views

Asa

A completely self indulgent post which may resonate with a few on 13:18 - May 2 by Churchman

I didn’t take Wembley in really. I was 20.

I celebrated like mad and enjoyed the day but looking back I didn’t really make the most of it because I probably assumed that, on the back of four good seasons, that was just going to be us now and that promotion then or soon was inevitable and we’d back to being a major force having grown up and just missed out on all the really big achievements.

I remember my dad phoning me from a phone box at Oxford in 92. I couldn’t go to that one. At Wembley we had four tickets in one part of the ground and two in about and my younger sister and uncle ended up with my dad and his new wife, I was elsewhere in the stadium with my girlfriend at the time.

So until last year we’d never actually been together when we got promoted after what 39 years of going together and just those two promotions. To do that again now would be absolute magic given just how rare these days are as you say and as acknowledged by the previous 4 decades!

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