Sunshine on Livi!
I won't ramble on here as all in revealed in this serving of "Paella and Bovril"
PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TEAM!
FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON WHAT YOU SEE IN PnB!
Paella and Bovril
When a fan lives abroad they, well I know
that I do, like nothing better than making the pilgrimage home to see their
team. Of course you would love to go the the home ground but if your only
chance of your fitba' fix is a wee day oot then you take it.
Recently I had to pop back to Scotland and
of course the first thing I look up is where are Rovers playing...............
Away to Livingston. Not a glamour tie by any means but still an addict needs
her fix and beggars can't be choosers.
First things first is to find out where the
weekly renamed stadium of Livingston, armon-garage-vale-motors or whatever it
is called. Once google had done its magic I began the mammoth task of trying to
work out how to get there on public transport. After a few choice words and a
lot of looking at timetables I decided though it might not be impossible to get
to the ground by using a mixture of bus, rail, bus, feet, rail and possibly
kart wheels, I came to the conclusion it would be easier if I cycled. Now before
you all go OMG this girl is mad, not only does she decide a triathlon an easy
way to raise money for the rovers ( again thanks to all who supported me) she
is going to mount her bike and ride to the game, I didn't. I was reminded about
the fantastic supporters bus. A few simple text messages and I had my bum on a
seat.
The morning of the game arrives and I am a
little excited. Not since leaving Costa del Burntisland for uni over 10 years
ago have I been eye witness to Raith Rovers win. I start applying the layers,
and I mean layers. People told that it had been mild Christmas, but Fife mild
is not the same as Barcelona mild so I piled on the clothing pounds, wrapped my
feet in furry boots and donned my Rovers scarf. Off I toddled to get the bus and
start my Raith adventure.
I had heard all the bad press with regards
the quality of the Scottish game at the moment, but I wasn't just going for the
product on the pitch but for all
the other positives that seem to have been forgotten about the game. I wanted
to hear the choir of fans sing, have a sing off, see my footie friends
and put a face to the twitter feeds and Raith Rovers Abroad hard working
team, and of course blow off some steam telling players, managers, referees and
fans how I would do it so much better with my non-excistent footballing skills!
I was going for the good day out I remembered from my many away days of the
past.
Arriving earlier than anyone had expected
gave me the time to have a good look around a "a wee day oot a' the fitba'".
After listening to the student in front of me being refused student discount, I
handed over my £17. I decided against a programme as after the bus and entrance
I wasn't getting much change out of £30 and I might need a few scalding
brownish tea-like waters to keep me warm. Upon finding some faces old and new
to park my bum beside we cleaned our seats and looked towards the pitch. Well
not that seeing the pitch was going to be easy, the winter sun was out to
remind everyone that the firey ball in the sky still exsisted in Scotland. Fans
had been placed either side of the pitch whilst the more inviting seating
position behind the goal were cordoned off. The lovely Mr Mainland took the
time to give a brief low-down on the players from the team sheet as we waited
for the wonder that is 3pm on a Saturday. The game kicked off as the sun
lowered to that blinding height where I was glad I had packed those sunglasses.
As the ball started to collect some hearty hits, Fife's Finest tuned those
vocal chords and made the hairs on my neck stand with their best "Geordie
Munro". Good job they did as the opposition seemed to have lost their
voices for the entirety of the game apart from the occasional lone beat or two
of a drum.
The game wasn't a bad one to watch. Sure it
wasn't "Messi-esque" in flare and style but it was a game you watched
from start to finish, as did a few others. Of course the final result, Livi 2-1
Raith, did not complete the day, or break the jinx I was informed by several
people I had become but it did show me where all the fans, managers, directors
and players get their concerns about the game from.
Fans who pass thru the turnstyle are the
same as supermarkets' loyal customers. If you're not happy with the service at
Ade-sco-issons-brys you go else where. I understand why some fans of the
scottish game have choosen to look for better customer satisfaction and leave
the Scottish game. Many go watch another country's league on the tele.
The quality I saw on the pitch on Saturday,
was for a large part the time, a good standard. But it would have been an even
better experience if the stadium
was full of fans enjoying all that goes with a game of football. Then maybe just maybe the Scottish game
could be more than something just to be a fan of, but something to be proud of.
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