Sunday 30 June 2024
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It’s rather pathetic in many ways (although there will be many like-minded souls reading this now who will be on the same page) but just like Colin Firth’s character Paul in Fever Pitch, I generally live my life from August till May.
One of my favourite scenes from the 1997 film – based on Nick Hornby’s iconic book published five years earlier – is where Paul’s in bed having a post-coital chat with his new love interest Sarah, who’s clearly trying to develop the relationship further.
“We’ve been seeing each other, well we’ve been sleeping together for six months now, and we’ve never even planned a holiday together. It’s a miracle if we plan a weekend before Friday afternoon and yet you know what Arsenal are doing for months in advance.”
“They produce a fixture list.”
I’ve seen the film dozens of times, but even now Paul’s straight-faced reply still tickles me. Excitedly, Sarah opens Paul’s diary, feeling she can do the same when it comes to planning dates months in advance.
“How about Saturday October the 8th? Let’s go away somewhere.”
“I haven’t got next season’s fixture list yet.”
“Yeah ‘cos you know that you’ll be seeing Arsenal next year don’t you. You can’t really say for sure whether you’ll be seeing me.”
“Well so what, everyone’s like that. You know you’ll be seeing your sister next season.”
“Sisters don’t have seasons.”
Another wonderful line of dialogue.
As I attempt to become more mature as I get older, I can understand Sarah’s viewpoint. I’d still be inclined to side with Paul, however. I’m single at the moment, but if I was to pick up a new partner today, she’d have to be made aware that I’ll be in Blackpool for the weekend in mid-August, and unable to accompany her to any family events on Boxing Day as I’ll be in Huddersfield, and down in Peterborough over Easter, etc.
If I lived my life according to the calendar year instead, then today, the final day of June, is what I’d use to describe the end of one football season, before the start of July signals the next, ahead of the friendlies. And yes, that Fever Pitch stuff is a rather long-winded way of getting to this bit of the article. But it’s a quality film. (It’s available for free on YouTube if you haven’t seen it before.)
Last season was unbelievable. I saw County lift a Football League championship trophy for the first time in my life, as did every other Hatter born after 1967. Promotion was secured with three games to spare, the title with two, and it meant April was just one long month of celebrating and partying, culminating with a special parade in front of thousands of supporters along the streets of Stockport, and then inside Edgeley Park.
Today’s edition is an opportunity for me to personally say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported The Scarf My Father Wore over the last twelve months. I’m extremely grateful to everyone who reads our pieces each day, especially those who subscribe, and in particular our paid members.
I’ve got so many more ideas for the website. I’d love to spend more time writing in-depth features and interviews, but some of those pieces can literally take a whole day, when it comes to researching, writing and then editing. I’ll be completely honest, I could really do with a few more paid subscribers to take The Scarf My Father Wore to the next level. It’s less than 13p a day to become a paid subscriber. I know I chat nonsense and write quite a few bad puns and jokes from time to time, but I’m a very passionate home and away Stockport County fan, and I’d like to think that’s not a bad price to pay to have a new edition land in your inbox every day.
As County prepare for League One football, and lots of big trips to the likes of Bolton and Birmingham, I’ll be covering the whole season once again with as many articles and photos as I can. If you’re able to offer a helping hand of support, please give that button a click.
Another huge thank you to everyone who’s contributed articles over the last year. I’m the editor of The Scarf My Father Wore, and I love writing big features and expressing my own views and opinions, but it would be boring if that’s all we published. County is an extremely broad church, and it’s important for all voices to be heard. It’s lovely to have a team of superb writers each week who contribute previews and reports, plus other fans who put pen to paper on a wide range of interesting topics. If you’ve got a good idea for an article you’d like to write, get in touch.
To the numerous advertisers who support the website, from the local companies in and around Stockport, to those around the UK within The Football Family, your backing has made a significant difference to my life this season.
I was in quite a bad place at the start of the campaign, struggling with the anxiety and the depression and the panic attacks a little bit more than usual. At the start of October, I wrote “The Streets of Stockport” which explained my own personal circumstances, alongside some very moving contributions from other County fans, and this served as the introduction to my charity walk. Another thank you is required at this point to everyone who’s donated so far. I’ve currently raised £1,909 for Mentell and I remain committed to hitting £10,000 by the end of the challenge.
Things were that bad, I hadn’t been to a single County game all season when I wrote that piece in October. Around this time, though, I felt like I was slowly starting to get a little bit better. Later that month, I went to my first game: Crewe away. I wandered into The Borough Arms, saw the Stockport Sippers Society and lots of other County fans, and I felt at ease straight away. That was one of my favourite games of the season, as over 2,000 County fans enjoyed our first victory at Gresty Road since we’d been relegated there in 2011.
After a number of tough years, I’ve rebuilt my life through lots of different components such as exercise, medication, therapy, and believe it or not, writing The Scarf My Father Wore has proved to be a big part of that daily routine, which is why I’m writing this letter of thanks today.
I’ve struggled with travel these last few years, but at the time of writing, I haven’t had a single panic attack in 2024 (plus the last few weeks of 2023). That’s the first time I’ve been able to say that for over a decade. I’ve started to thoroughly enjoy away games once again. My feet were frozen at Wigan, I got absolutely drenched in that monsoon at Morecambe, I went all the way to Gillingham on a Tuesday night for a 0-0, and had to stand there and watch over 10,000 Wrexham fans celebrating a late winner. But I’ve loved nearly every single aspect of this season, and I can barely contain my excitement ahead of the big kick-off in August, back in the third tier.
Once again, a huge thank you from myself to everyone who supports this little venture of mine. I hope you’ve enjoyed all the content over the last twelve months. There’s even more to come this season, and I’ll be in the away end at Chester this Saturday as the first ball of the summer is kicked.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, wherever you are in the world, and I’ll leave you with a selection of some of my favourite photos I’ve snapped during County’s title-winning campaign.
Cheers, thank you.
Des Junior
PS) This was also the season my adorable nephews Evan and Myles were born, which has made the last few months even more special. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see them celebrating a goal in the Cheadle End one day!
