Cod Almighty | Diary

All Quiet on the Osmond Front

28 October 2024

Miss Guest Diary writes: The older I get the harder I find it to engage with stressful things. I've never been a fan of horror films but now I won't even watch films and TV shows where there is a lot of uncertainty about the fate of the lead characters. If I can't sense a happy ending on the horizon then I simply switch off. The same with books. I love a crime novel but before I embark on one I have to have faith that the author won't double-cross me by killing someone off willy nilly.

Unfortunately, with football there is simply no way to tell in advance what the outcome will be. Who would have predicted Town wins against Bradford, Gillingham or Tranmere, or that having won their first three home games they would lose their next three? Having familiar faces around me at Blundell Park is a big help in relieving the stress of the unpredictable – and very often disappointing – outcome of a game.

I have written before about the season ticket bubble (STB) as described by Hayley Davinson in the book Football She Wrote and she sums up its value perfectly: "You need something to look forward to that isn't reliant on three points or a good performance. Asking someone in your bubble how their mum is getting on and finding out she is on the mend is the sort of good news that can ever so slightly cushion a 0-1 defeat in the rain. Perhaps it puts some of the stress in perspective."

At Saturday's game season ticket holders were permitted to swap their usual seat for one in the Osmond. The idea was to "allow supporters who normally sit together at away games and help to create the brilliant atmosphere in the away end to come together and do the same at home games." I admit to being totally mystified by this initiative. In my experience when a great atmosphere is created at an away game it's about wanting to assert our identity as Mariners on the home crowd, and demonstrate to the players that we think they're worth travelling to support. We shouldn't have to do that at Blundell Park – it's our home, and we've already demonstrated our support by buying the season ticket.

I'm not saying I don't love the atmosphere created at some away games – I'll never forget the 'inflatables' game at Barnet, or the pandemonium of the play-off semi-final at Wrexham, but I cannot imagine ever wanting to swap my usual seat in the Pontoon. I've shared a lot of ups and downs with the folk in my STB and hope to share many more.

So did the initiative work? Unfortunately, I am still benched and couldn't sample the atmosphere for myself, so I asked Mr B. He said as far as he could tell from up in the Pontoon there was no discernible difference – everyone reacted in the same way as usual to the good, the bad and the dreary – and it certainly didn't have a positive impact on the result.

Everywhere we go, everywhere we sit, Grimsby boys (and girls) make all the same noises.