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The Excitement Of Fixtures Day
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Love it
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By:
Reginald Crow
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16/06/2011
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Friday 17th June 2011, not a date that is normally seen of huge footballing significance to your average football fan. Maybe your team will do a transfer, or have another quality player leave (usually the case for us Bees fans). However for the hardcore fan this date is probably THE most important of the year, as this is what will decide the next 11 months of their lives, for it is FIXTURE RELEASE DAY!
Birthdays, Christmas, Anniversaries, Valentines Day (for the unfortunate few) will all be planned around what the fixtures logarithm kicks out for their respective team.
Now for the logical of mind, you would say 23 home games, 23 away games, playing each of the teams in your division twice, what is there to get excited about?? And if football fans were logical you would be correct, but when have football fans ever been logical about things? Win your first 3 games thats it, in a football fans brain youre getting promoted, going to win the league, and then were sky rocketing, in 4 years time the premier league!! Lose the first 3 and thats it, relegation battle all season. These moments are made on the order in which we get our fixtures. 2 out of the first 3 at home and a lesser team away and we could be rolling. 2 away games with a big spending Crawley at home in the middle and a tough trip to Cardiff in the league cup and the club can be demoralised.
The excitement of fixtures day is all about where and when you are going. When is the annual journey to Macclesfield? What excuse can I come up with to avoid Accrington away in January (preferably a Tuesday night so the excuse is easier)? When is Torquay away? Will we get Port Vale at home on the final day of the season AGAIN!?
The most exciting point of fixtures day is getting the games you want when you want. Every fan has certain places they like to go to (Macclesfield, Torquay) and like to avoid (Accrington, Hereford). But these trips are essentially made around when we get them, there is nowhere at the end of January that is particularly appealing but Torquay away in August, Crewe when its still double digit degrees above zero oop north.
How about your birthday? Is it an all dayer in The Weaver as were playing at home or is it a wreck up on the Great Western Service to Bristol Rovers? I hope for the latter, there is nothing like celebrating your birthday with a few beers, a bit of football, some harmonious (to us) singing on public transport and all with some top bloke tribesman that have that common bond of Barnet FC.
And then there is the Christmas period. Families can be broken over the arguments of no, I am going to Bradford away Boxing day, I am not spending it with my gran who reeks of piss and my nosy aunt whose going to ask me questions about a job I no longer do or ask about girlfriends who are long gone. What about New Years Day or the bank holiday after it? Now traditionally these fixtures are local. Dagenham, Aldershot, Northampton, Southend. Which at the point of release, you are disappointed, and then you remember that the roads are blocked up, the trains dont work, and youve got a stinking Christmas/New Year hangover and you arent quite so traumatised.
So with 3 days to go, I cross my fingers for the fixtures to fall the way that no matter where we end in the league it will still be a season filled with good memories, but first things first, who do you want (and where) in the league cup.
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