Imagine you’ve lived in London all your life until you were 18 but then go to university ‘up North’ and now you’ve been in the States for 5 months. Born and bred in an Arsenal family and a season ticket for much of your childhood, things would appear rosy but then you start about things and maybe it was never meant to be.
After the 2001/2002 double, i never thought I’d see a better team grace the Highbury field, but now I’m starting to wonder. Still in every competition and looking to perhaps out do Manure’s 1999 fluke, perhaps its because I’m not there. Two things seem to be missing for me; firstly Mr Arsenal(good old tone) is struggling but learning at Wycombe, and then of course me. Just my luck!!!!!!!!!!
OK, so I’ve been very lucky compared to my spurs and west ham mates while I’ve been growing up but there’s certain things that stand out.
I’ve been to 2 euro cup finals, both of which we’ve lost, Paris(nayim) and Copenhagen(2000). Mum wouldnt let me go to the first Copenhagen because it was too far to go as an 11 year old. Still havent forgiven her!
1998 was just the greatest ever year and standing on the bus stop outside Islington town hall is eternally the greatest day of my life. But then i go to uni in 2001 and end up in Hull. And i end up living with 4 manure supporters, 3 of which are season ticket holders!! Now this may seem to be the worst circumstances, Im away from London with not much money to spend on tickets and travel and I have to live with 4 Manc’s. However, we won the double, I was laughing and crying all at the same time. It was so good to be with these guys all season as they became my best mates as we got drunk every night and enjoyed the whole uni experience. And then at the end of the year it was me and the Arse who’d won!!! Problem was that despite all that had made me happy, I still cried when watching, just wishing I was there.
So the next year was a nightmare watching the title slip away and suffering in a house of 4 united fans, a Boro fan, my Walsall mate and me.
Anyway I was going to be moving to the States in a matter of months so I wouldnt have to suffer them gloating for much longer.
So I go on an exchange to UW, Seattle and find the place pretty cool, and within a week I’m watching us beat the Geordies at Highbury on Fox and playing 5-a-side with some American lads. Everything seems great but as the season progresses I’m getting worried. Ok, Im missing home,family,my girlfriend and my mates but I know they’ll still be there waiting for me.
But what about Arsenal? They’re not waiting for me, I’m on the verge of missing the greatest year in our history, how is it fair? Why couldnt they wait for me? What am i going to say to the grandchildren when they ask where Grandad was the year of the Quad? Just my luck.
Do I want it to happen or not? It sounds so selfish doesnt it?
Well guys thats my story. Anyone else ever felt like this?
Just needed to tell someone on this rainy afternoon in Seattle and share my frustration.
Anyone else got a similar experience?
UP THE ARSE!!!!!!!!!!
4 Responses to “One Year Away and Look What Happens”
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January 30th, 2004 at 1:48 am
I hear you mate. When I was 17 I had to move away from everything I knew for uni. My girlfriend and I broke up (after a messy scenario..) and my friends weren’t supportive. But Arsenal were still there. Or were they? Where I was moving to was the border of New South Wales and Victoria (a proud Australian), and my place on the uni campus didn’t have Fox or Sky Sports. So I had to endure helpless nights of tossing and turning, aching for the morning to yield to my desperation, and log onto the net at the uni! Many a night did I spend at a friends place (whom I’d only just met) because we’d be playing a 4am game, and soccernet.com had live text coverage. I missed the Semi final against Middlesborough (I love own goals) and numerous league games. I hadn’t missed a game until I moved away all season, living in Sydney where I had Fox Sports and would awake every morning throughout my uni holidays at 7am to watch the London edition of Sportsline. I missed our Champions League games (though they were hardly worth watching considering our dismal form at the time..) and was left purely frustrated. Oh, this is the double season I’m speaking of, since I haven’t mentioned it yet. Luckily I had enough money to come back home for the F.A Cup final against Chelsea (what a night that was! A midnight kick-off; all the Arsenal gear on and ready; beer in the hand.. peferct), and SBS were televising the last league match against Everton when Henry clinched his golden boot. Oh, I missed the game at Old Trafford too- the TITLE DECIDER! I got a mate to SMS me (a manure fan) the results, which I received at 6:50 in the morning.. So there you have it, the year 2002, a fruitless one on the televised Arsenal front, but hey, who cares in the end? We kicked ass.
January 30th, 2004 at 3:10 am
I know how you feel mate. The best ever season form wise was I ever encountered was 1990/91 where we went through the whole season losing only ONE game in the league at Chelsea….a game we should’ve won. We never ever looked like getting beaten. That was the year we unearthed a Swedish gem (not Freddie)….Anders Limpar. I still remember some of the goals he scored that season….the piledriver at Coventry. The three crackers he scored at Leeds….two in the league game and one in the FA Cup where he ran half the length of the pitch. Let’s hope we can better that season by going UNBEATEN this year;)
January 30th, 2004 at 7:33 am
I can relate to your dilemma but, believe me, you can’t let it get in the way of willing the boys on to create history.
I was introduced to The Gooners from a very young age in the 70’s. Apart from our brief monopoly on the F.A. Cup Final (not on the cup itself of course), we had nothing to shout about for 15 years until GG turned us around.
Having endured the likes of Ray Hankin & John Hawley (can you believe it was THAT bad?!) i was lucky enough to experience our greatest ever night at Anfield in ‘89.
By 1990-’91 i was leaving on my travels, and the boys’ leaving present to me was a 6-2 defeat at home to ManUre. I followed our undefeated assault on the Double through Thailand & Malaysia & had similar contradictary thoughts to the ones you are having.
I was convinced we were going to remain unbeaten - and win the Double by beating the Filth in the Cup Final! I was saving my Aussie dollars, even after our solitary league defeat at the Bridge, but deep down down knew that i would end up missing the biggest game in our glorious history.
Can you imagine, Tone lifting the FA Cup at Wembley after beating the Filth, to complete the Double?! However perfect that sounded, i didn’t want to be on the other side of the world if it did. The rest, as they say, is history, and i can’t believe i was ever less than 100% behind the lads making history in my absence. I certainly felt pangs of guilt for a long time after as we deteriorated under GG.
The moral of the story, gentlemen, is that, wherever you are in the world, cheer PV4 and the boys on. Let’s hope we can go on to eclipse the mancs flukey treble and kick start Arsene’s dream of world domination - trust me, it’ll be a lot more fun than being the nearly men again!!
January 30th, 2004 at 1:26 pm
I know mate, I know. I’ve been here just over a year and sometimes it rips you up. I went to my first game in 1975. We lived so close I used to walk there with my old man. Had some fantastic seasons over there. 77,79 and 80. 89, 91, 93, 94 etc etc. Also saw some absolute drival over the years. But week after week you go. Stupid really. My best moment was in Copenhagen the first one. I actually started crying at the final whistle. 30,000 + Gooners in a foreign land going mental after beating one of the best teams in europe. They were much better than us. No arguement. But you get by. I try to get back at least once if not twice a year and have already informed the missus what ever happens. If we get to the CL Final it’s Shalke here we come. I suppose it really hit me last year. I’d had a few friends around English and American watching the Chelsea FA Cup game. I was all happy. I thought. I’ll ring the lads and go out for a beer down the local (then I realised where I was. 5,000 miles form London). It’s never the same but at least we get to watch them.