For us to go to our beloved Spurs these days is a gamble. Today is a great case in point. We travelled 300 miles to go to the game, setting off yesterday so we could get to the game in time and, for all that effort, we’ve not even seen a goal.
We now have 300 miles to get home (well, not quite because we’ve already done about 70 of those miles) and all we’ve witnessed is a nil-nil draw against a side that’s 15th in the table.
I remember years ago, doing an ‘interview’ for my ex-husband who was taking a business studies exam and, for whatever reason, was wanting to interview me about what I liked to do in my own time. I commented that I love footie but I’d much rather watch a film or go to a gig because you couldn’t get beaten whereas at a footie match you could spend a fortune and still go home unsatisfied and feeling cheated.
That’s exactly what’s happened today – we’ve travelled miles, at great expense and not just the money – the opportunity cost of being away from home too. What have we seen? A confident team with no defensive worries at all – our keeper could have been propping up the bar in the Bell and Hare all afternoon for all the work he had to do. A team that created loads of chances – certainly that! We had one after another all presenting themselves in succession as though it was an Easter day parade. Could we score? No! Not a one was put away. Not one was even disputedly close…..
Today we’ve made the effort and although the team has turned in an overall good performance they couldn’t manage to make it worth our while to come to the game.
I must confess to being a bit disappointed.
DM’s ‘lucky’ hat now seems less lucky than it did last season.
It’s not that I don’t want to support my team or that I’m on their backs every time they set foot on the pitch…..it’s just that for us, the stakes have suddenly become much higher than they were a few months ago and I’m not sure how regularly I want to gamble two days of our time and a couple of hundred pounds of our money on the off-chance of winning. Does that make me a lightweight? I suppose in the eyes of the die hards, then yes, it does. The truth is though that for the thirty years I’ve been watching the Spurs and the money I’ve spent, I feel I can say without too much thought that this wasn’t an auspicious occasion in any way.
Last year, I took the first of two can opener shots.
POST SCRIPT: I have been thinking about this posting overnight and giving myself a lot of angst about what I've said about my beloved Spurs. Don't get me wrong, I love going to games and I love the fact that we're fourth in the table. There is no doubt that we're playing better this season than we have for very many years. I'm not even disappointed in the poor cup performances because it means we can concentrate of consolidation in the league and getting ourselves a precious (both emotionally and financially) European spot. Equally, I love the social environment of going to the games BUT we've lost two days of very precious time to come to a nil-nil draw.....no, not just the nil-nil - let's face it I'd have been probably not happy but certainly very contented with nil-nil against Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Man Utd. I've examined my soul hard and strangely the fact that the opposition are a struggling side with an ex-Gooner (and a whinger to boot) as a manager meant that a draw was NOT an acceptable outcome for this match. I was (and this is really cruel I know) so looking forward to seeing him (O'Leary) squirm on Match of the Day and what I got was a very happy man.....perhaps it's my come-uppance?
Anyway, 'I am Tottenham til I die' and I'll always support the lilywhites but maybe it's time in my life to love then from a distance?
