Boxing Day - It was about Football

Christmas Day may be the big day over the festive season but I have a huge soft spot for Boxing Day mainly because of football. The Boxing Day fixture is always the first I look for when the new season fixture list is released in the summer.

It was the one game in the season I was guarantee dad would take me although he took me to other games depending on circumstances. You could expect a bumper crowd on Boxing Day like many other sports. It’s a family thing after a bloated Christmas eat, sitting around the house and in the afternoon attend a sporting event and remember when it was popular to have a charity game and real footy in the afternoon. You just don’t see the charity games these days.

One game I remember was in 1983 and a local derby were Cardiff beat Swansea 3-2 with joyful scenes at Ninian Park. Credit to the Football League they would do their best to pencil in a local derby to help with traveling fans. The police hated the idea, Cardiff v Swansea has never been a peaceful game. The next day I was on the supporters coach on my way to Derby for another 3-2 win. Two games in two days would never happen these days players would be on the phone to their agents.

Home games were great but I loved an away trip. I loved travelling on the supporters coach no real dramas but fans moaning about turkey sandwiches. While some fans were offering up their wife, girlfriend and first-born child for any sandwich without turkey filling. I would be sitting there in full knowledge I would not be sharing my spam and tomatoes sarnies. When asked in the past what meat filling I had in my sandwich the word, ‘YUCK’ was regularly used now I wouldn’t swap for a two for one offer.

But never mention the Boxing Day trip to Shrewsbury 1994 with my mate (Mr Andrew Thomas) in his death trap of a car. we were lucky to make it just past Hereford. My ongoing mental health problems have put pay to those kind of memories for now but one day I will overcome these problems. I have started to chip away at my problems and hope to make more progress in the New Year. I would love to be heading to Crystal Palace today