I am turning into my dad. I spent most of the afternoon watching the York City game on Ceefax. This is the kind of thing I mock my father for and now look at me. Not even 40 and reduced to watching a team I have never seen play live via an out of date digital medium.
York's fortunes have taken an up turn
after their disappointing winter form. They've won about six games in a row and are now fighting for a place in the Conference Play offs (Accrington Stanley are practically guaranteed the automatic promotion place and good luck to them after so many years in the doldrums). So I was following their fortunes and also the fortunes of those teams that are competing to get one of the four coveted places. York led 1-0 for most of the game, which led to a tense last quarter of an hour whilst I anticipated them letting in another late goal like they have done so many times this season, but there was joy when Grays and Stevanage (our arch rivals and it shows how crappy a league you are in if Stevanage are considered a worthy foe) both lost the leads they had had. Even better, after leading 2-0 for much of the game, Stevanage ended up losing 3-2, meaning York would be 3 points clear of them, as long as they could hold on. It was ten to five and still Ceefax wasn't registering the games as over. Then five to five. The five o clock. Could Ceefax really be 15 minutes behind the action? I was using rubbishy old-fashioned Ceefax so I then skipped to the digital version, which was even further behind. And it was a long way up to my office to check on the internet.
Finally I turned over to one of the sports channels and just caught the result being read out. York had won and though there is a long way to go the play-offs are a little closer.
None of this is interesting, I know. But what is noteworthy is that even though that both watching sport on Ceefax and then discussing the boring ramifications of it all in great detail with people who aren't interested is the kind of thing that I would mock my father for doing, look at me. I am doing it myself.
It's a tragic life when this is genuinely the most exciting thing that happened to me on a Saturday. Would a 21 year old do this? No they would not. They would be watching a hip-hop gig on Ceefax or something like that. I have failed in my crazy ambitions to be 17 years younger than I am.
Still, up the Minstermen! You can do it. Come on boys back in the second division where you belong (but no higher than that - be aware of your place in this world). I love you York City. Though obviously not enough to ever come and see you play or to learn the names of any of your players (apart from Andy Bishop, but only because he scores most of the goals).
York City are Magic!
