Family to visit or be visited, football to watch or the sales to check out for a bargain, lashings, and lashings of turkey sandwiches that’s my overriding memory of Boxing Day. Most people are bloated from Christmas day eating, drinking, and the many treats so a walk around to the relative’s was a leisurely way to ease back into normality.
Dad and I would have our afternoon appointment after more turkey sandwiches, a long walk to Ninian Park to watch Cardiff City if there was a home game. There was nothing better back in the day when I travel to away games than climbing onto a coach, into a van, or car for a Boxing Day trip. I will discount one Boxing Day trip to Shewsbury with my mate Andrew in his death trap of a car, needless to say we didn’t make the game.
Boxing Day football may be a footballing tradition. However, some in football, namely managers and the mega rich footballers would like to see the back of this tradition and have a Christmas/New Year break, bah humbug.
Traditionally teams played their local rivals saving fans from making long journeys. That’s not the case anymore sadly. This was father and son time, my brother had little interest in football. Therefore, dad and I would make the walk to the ground, no public transport and next to no shops open. It would always be a bumper crowd the same with other sporting events that day. There is something in the British psyche at switches people’s minds to sports on Boxing Day.
Every football fan has a favourite Boxing Day memory they recall fondly. For me it’s watching Cardiff City v Swansea City 1983 and a 3-2 victory for the Bluebirds. Home to more TV and the inevitable turkey sandwiches or turkey curry.
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