Cod Almighty | Diary

Bring me sunshine

13 August 2018

Miss Guest Diary writes: I am going to claim at least a little credit for Saturday's victory at Macclesfield because I was wearing my lucky sunscreen. How so, I hear you murmur.

Well, back in April we travelled to the Swindon game. It was a surprisingly hot and sunny day, so I dashed into Boots to buy a small tube of factor 50, which I applied liberally to all exposed parts: Town secured a very fortuitous 1-0 victory. Come the next away game at Forest Green, the sun was blazing down on the open terrace and out came my tube of sunscreen. Lo and behold, JJ Hooper, who had been written off by many as useless, gets a hat-trick and scores the goal of the season.

The sun was once more shining down on Saturday when we arrived at Moss Rose, so I dug around in my bag and found my trusty protector. Nothing can go wrong now, I remarked to my other half – I'm wearing my lucky sunscreen. Now he – and anyone else who has read my offerings on Cod Almighty over the years – knows very well that I have no truck with the sort of magical thinking which invests shirts or pants or pre-match rituals with the power to change the course of a game. But now I'm not so sure…

Whatever the cause, though, it was brilliant at the game on Saturday. A large, enthusiastic crowd on the terrace behind the goal, bantering good-naturedly with the stewards. A great goal from Cook and a hatful of missed chances in the first half, followed by the sending-off which ramped up the 'will we hang on' tension until the sublime relief of Vernam's late strike allowed five minutes of pure bouncing joy. The perfect away day.

And what a contrast with the previous week's misery at Blundell Park. But that's football for you, isn't it? From gloom and doom to elation and optimism in seven days. Is there any other sport which can generate that level of emotion? I spend quite a lot of time at Trent Bridge watching Nottinghamshire – sometimes among a crowd of around 12,000 people for a T20 game – but the result, win or lose, has never had the same impact. The same for watching England in test matches, which I have done many, many times over the years. Yes, it feels galling to lose, particularly to the Aussies, but it doesn't touch my emotions in the same way.

When I was younger, I was married to a Welsh rugby fan and spent many hours watching that game at all levels. The only time the feeling ever came close to that I have experienced watching Town was at a Wales v England game – but I couldn't really tap into it because I was with the Welsh fans, and I'm English.

Maybe it's to do with tribalism. Neither cricket nor rugby segregate fans rigidly the way soccer does – thus diluting the 'us against them' effect and reducing the level of singing and chanting, both of which ramp up the emotions.

Whatever the reason, I love football and can't wait for tomorrow's game. Cup games against teams from a higher division always feel like a 'free hit' – great if you win but no disgrace if you lose. So bring on Rochdale. I'll be there. And, if the sun's shining, I'll be wearing the lucky sunscreen.