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And then a freak result
Alistair Wilkinson
31 March 2010
And then came that freak result; on radios
and screens, before and after, six peals of
Cheltenham laughter. Thanks for that,
Burton, our point at Morecambe suddenly
a drawn curtain, a shroud, a cloud, a
heavy blanket over our already soporific
crowd.
And then came the tenners to play and
whine in the rain and crank up Colgan’s
pain. The Pontoon net saw it all: the
jubilant Devitt, face to the crowd and
screaming loud. But then another half and
Colgan’s in the net, the ball through his
legs. His back to the crowd the net cradles
his body as he awaits the hatred. Wet and
muddy, beaten and bloody. Bournemouth
made it 2-2 and we couldn’t help but
think that that’ll do.
And then the black and white stand in the
rain, share Colgan’s pain, make the jog
back, pat on the back. The hatred is
swallowed as something like fight stirs in
our hearts. The water pours, the breath is
seen, the feet are firm. Slow motion shots
of strength and power. They raise their
heads and our voices sing and their eyes
shine. Today’s the day, ‘you’re mine.’
In this horror movie weather we believed
we could be better. And we were. A boy
called Chambers in the middle of
celebration, jubilation. A pile of bodies, a
pile of joy, a few thousand swimming in
last minute victory. This week we swim.
And then…
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