Video transcript
This was definitely a good idea. One of the beauties of moving to Newcastle was the
prospect of watching Middlesbrough play a local derby without an arduous drive
north.
Of course, the fixture planners had other ideas, arranging the match for the weekend
before Christmas. I’d be at home in Lincoln. In the snow. And the match was on
television. Sherry, mince pies and the Boro, perfect ingredients for an afternoon
snooze. Problem was, we’d already booked our tickets. This was definitely a good
idea.
My brother, a referee himself, knew the game’s official. The night before we texted
him, pleading to call the game off. I contacted friends still in the North East
desperately trying to find excuses not to go.
Or efforts were futile. At 7am my mum and I set off. In -10 degrees and three foot of
snow our journey wasn’t all dissimilar to a normal Boro match – uncomfortable,
tedious and with no discernable reward at the end. A quick call from my uncle ‘You
aren’t going are you?’. Pfft, fair weather fan! This was definitely a good idea. To
compound matters, I slipped and fell at Chillingham Road metro. It was hilariously
pathetic. An omen if ever there was one.
About 10 minutes into the match we conceded a dubious goal. Confusion arose, who
was to blame most? The keeper or the ref? We settled on the ref. Newcastle’s
second wasn’t in doubt however. This time is was the keeper’s fault. Still, it was a
nice view from row Z. And definitely a good idea to go.
The first bit of luck we had all day was when a merciful copper let us out about 20
minutes early.
At St James’ metro, and true to our surroundings, we began to reminisce, taking
consolation from the good old days. Well, relatively speaking at least. We then
exchanged our soon broken vows of ‘never again, and set off on our treacherous
journey home. The best idea we had.
Nick, a Middlesbrough supporter, is pessimistic about his team's chances against Newcastle at a snowy St James Park. Boro don't let him down. Posted on 21/06/2010 at 01:00:15