| When Saturday Comes. 08:12 - Aug 25 with 578 views | Pieman |
Is there anything in the World that can compare with the feeling you get on match day? Yes, ok, passing your driving test, birth of your first child etc. etc. are all pretty wonderful experiences, but there is nevertheless something very special about waking up on a Saturday morning, knowing that in a few hours time you will be making your way to the ground, surrounded by thousands of like-minded folk, all hoping and praying for the same thing - three points and a glut of goals. I have tried to explain this to my family on numerous occasions, especially during the Xmas shopping season, when they cannot fathom why I prefer to watch the U's rather than stand outside of Debenhams for an hour or so and then repeat the same lonely vigil outside of M and S. They just don't get it and probably never will. Nor do they understand why I follow the same ritual every time we are at home. Lucky shirt, leave home at 12.30 precisely, the same route to the ground, car parked in the same 'lucky' place, pie and pint on arrival, same seat - you get the picture and I'm sure you probably have your own set of special. sometimes weird and wonderful things that you do on match day. Talking of which, would anyone like to share theirs on this bright, sunny morning, as you wake, like me, full of hope and excitement and praying and hoping for 3 points and maybe even a top of the table spot come 5 p.m. |  | | |  |
| When Saturday Comes. on 09:35 - Aug 25 with 548 views | Leadbelly |
I confess I get a bigger buzz from a day at cricket rather than football, especially watching England in a full house at Lords or the Oval. | |
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| When Saturday Comes. on 10:05 - Aug 25 with 537 views | durham_exile |
Pieman sadly I can't make the match today. Home matches for me are rare, only a couple each season. I watch mainly Away games. About 15 games each season.
I no longer worry about a specific ritual ahead of the match. It is all about the Colchester shirt, Colchester scarf, Colchester Jacket, depending on the time of year and weather conditions.
I usually take my camera and normally don't get any grief from the stewards about using it. Sheffield United was a notable exception, where they were overly officious.
I totally agree with you about the buzz prior to the game. Normally of course I have driven a distance sometimes an hour but more often than not 3 or 4 hours. Depends whether I am driving from home or a midlands base.
At the ground depending on who is about it is either a meal outside the ground (local restaurant, chippy etc etc) or a pie and a tea inside normally at half time.
Always buy a programme and normally make one or two notes for later (match write ups). Photographs help for set pieces etc. I should stress I am simply an enthusiastic amateur and match days photos are purely for my own interest.
Always shout and sometimes get very animated. Enjoy the games, never leave early under any circumstances and always support the team. Though I do moan if JM (or any Colchester manager) doesn't make substitutions at the appropriate time.
Celebrate goals for the Super U's with gusto and always applaud the team at the end even after a defeat and I've seen enough of those over the years.
Really have a good feeling about this season, I think we are going to win the league, something we have never done in the Football League before.
Enjoy the game Pieman and cheer them on to a 3-0 victory today.
Up the U's |  |
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| When Saturday Comes. on 10:18 - Aug 25 with 532 views | wessex_exile |
Like Durham, as an exile my match-days are usually trips to away grounds (generally 10-12 each season, but already on 2 for this season). There is nothing better than the buzz of anticipation when I wake on match-day. I don’t have lucky pants etc., though I tend to wear the same Tiptree shirt, simply because I like it - I’ve seen enough points dropped wearing it to demand my money back from the Lucky Shirt company. If I have a ritual, it’s over the preceding days mapping out my route/ itinerary (I usually travel by train), where to have a beer or three, where to avoid etc. At the match, I tend to go up the back with the shouty boys, but if I meet up with others I know, just as often will join with them.
Big day today, Up the U’s!! |  |
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| When Saturday Comes. on 10:41 - Aug 25 with 518 views | gerry_us |
When I lived in the US for four years 04-09 my wife knew that shopping was banned on Saturday morning at least until midday local time. We were six hours behind so kick-off was normally 9.00 am and my wife said it was the only day I made her breakfast in bed....to keep her away from the computer and the U's live broadcast. After 12.00 the normal day started. Regrettably my time in US coincided with our stint in the Championship. Often wondered if I moved back there we would get back in the Championship...?
Evening KO's were a bit of a bugger but usually got some of the broadcast during lunch break.
Now I am back in UK I am also a very rare visitor to home matches but can make around half a dozen matches a year from darkest Lincolnshire and meet often with Wessex and Durham.
Have definitely...probably... decided that I must make an effort to attend a home match. Maybe the one that sees us promoted??? |  | | |
| When Saturday Comes. on 10:45 - Aug 25 with 516 views | Moor_Pinot |
Like Durham and Wessex I tend to only see away games as a result of work which took me to Somerset for 22 years and Alderney. Although now that I am here in France I can choose. But the overal pattern is not dissimilar to Durham or Wessex or yourself pieman.
I like to have time beforehand to absorb the day - hate rushing to get in whilst the teams are on the pitch. I like to find a Good Beer Guide inn beforehand and usually a copy of 'i' to read in the pub because it's possible to read it in the time it takes to eat and drink lunch!
The buzz begins at least the Thursday before, especially if I need to plan a pub or a route if the ground is unfamiliar to me. Indeed Cuckoo Farm is still unfamiliar because my trips there have been fewer than 30. I usually travel alone though have seen games with my son pretty often, he now works/lives in Australia so that's unlikely to happen much in the future!
Now that I am exiled as you soon will be Pieman, my preparation still has elements of the above and thanks to this message board and the people on it some compensations exist for the considerable loss that I feel at not being near enough for many games. I am only an artist so I do not have another house in England like so many ex-pats and therefore my visits to actual games are compromised. There are plenty of lucky fellows here with the wherewithall to get to games [I recall a Wolves fan on Alderney - return plane ticket to Southampton £175 - who never missed a Wolves game home or away!!] but it's very hard for me. Supporting another club is not an option, I am a U's fan - but similar standard [ie division 4 ] football exists in France, is cheaper to watch and the stadia are excellent. Games ko at 6pm on Saturdays though so one has to re-shape the day!
Up the U's |  |
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