Why I will always avoid football

Monday 21 November 2011

Friday the 18^th November 2011 will be one of those days that stay with me forever. The start of another Heineken Cup weekend and I was off to watch the Scarlets take on Northampton Saints. No sooner had the children gone home after school than I had packed up the weekend's marking and set off down the M6. The excitement had been building all week, but the actual events would far surpass my expectations.

Upon arrival at Northampton the steward at the car parking not only took my money but also, noticing I was by myself, directed me towards some local drinking hole where rugby fans would likely be. The attitude was the same wherever I went that night. From the pubs in town, where fans mingled for some pre and post match banter, to the chip shop en route to Franklins Gardens everyone seemed pleased to have my (and hundreds of other travelling fans') custom. The town was alive and buzzing all night.

Into the ground and once again the atmosphere was so relaxed. I was, along with a small handful of Scarlets supporters, stood on the terrace amidst the home supporters rather than with the hundreds of travelling supporters further down the terrace. From the moment I stepped foot onto the terrace I was welcomed by the Franklins Gardens regulars with open arms and that did not change throughout the match. I felt at east in their presence and enjoyed 80 minutes of singing, sledging and heated discussion alongside rival supporters.

It was a world away from the last experience I had at a sporting event. Little over a month ago I took my brother to watch Wolverhampton Wanderers against Swansea in the Premier League. It was a day that made me realise how lucky we are as rugby supporters, both in terms of our attitudes to others but also the attitudes of the general public towards the rugby supporter.

Naturally we arrived early in Wolverhampton to get some drinks in before the game. First stop and the first problem was a city centre pub. We got stopped by bouncers asking for ID, fair enough he thought until my brother was told that because he had a Welsh driving license he wasn't allowed into the pub as he was an away supporter. We eventually got in, having explained we did not support Swansea but were there to support Wolves. This came with a warning that we should not speak too much in the pub in case anyone picked up on our Welsh accents.

Feeling rather aggrieve we only stayed for the one and headed towards the ground. What a soulless experience it was! For starters you are not allowed to take drinks into the stands, so having done my usual of buying a couple of pints to last the first half I found myself in the unusual situation of having to down pints in the bowels of the stadium before taking my seat. (OK so that was probably my fault for not reading the signs around the ground!)

Now onto the people around us. Try as we might the people around us would not engage in conversation. In fact the only words that came from the guy next to me were words of abuse at the Swansea players and the referee. To add to my frustrations I got verbally abused for applauding a terrific tackle by a Swansea player. Needless to say we kept our mouths closed for the rest of the match.

After the match was no better of an experience. Having had problems getting in bars pre game, when asked if he was a Swansea fan my brother replied that he was a neutral. Believe it or not this lead to us not being allowed in because the city centre pubs are for home supporters only. I have never felt so uncomfortable at a sporting event. It felt like everywhere we went we were victimized for being Welsh and wanting to enjoy the game as a spectacle.

What we have in rugby is something special. I know that I can travel to any ground or town and not have to worry about who I am and who I support. I know that I can mingle with rugby supporters no matter who they support. What's more I know that I am free to enjoy the game I love in the way I want. Long may it continue that rugby is a shining beacon to football, a model of how fans should be treated and how we treat each other. Needless to say I shall stay away from Wolves from now on and spend my money where it will be appreciated.

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