We’re Wigan Athletic and we don’t do things in the usual way. Instead of basking sunlight we chose to lift the FA Cup back in May with a downpour of biblical proportions during the presentation ceremony.
We also felt it only apt to take part in the seasons champagne opener after having already started our league campaign.
Where we didn’t fail to disappoint tradition was by playing our part in the usual precession of a game with a half interested crowd and a dwindling television audience with little else to do on a Sunday afternoon.
This may be a negative way to look at any visit to the national stadium but with little over 6,000 tickets sold in the Wigan end I think I speak for most of the town and the opinion that the game was nothing other than a waste of time.
The major plus was the celebration of grass roots football and those who commit time, energy, and finance to supporting the game at a local grass roots level. Perhaps more lost on the masses of red and white Manchester United shirts, many of whom attending their first live game, who seemed as dismayed by the lyrics of their own teams chants as by the experience of not being able to pause the game to go and get some food from the fridge.
You can forgive the loyal 6,000 traveling Latics fans for their lack of enthusiasm as the un-even financial playing field yielded an unsurprising result following hours of travel to help the FA pay for another instalment of the pre-recession planned and over grandiose Wembley stadium loan.
Mike Pollitt hit the nail on the head in his Friday column where he remarked on the 2,500 away fans that travelled to Barnsley in comparison to the couple of hundred who made the journey to Old Trafford last season.
We’re (football fans) are getting annoyed and frustrated with the lack of consideration for the fans attending the games. Football at the top level is becoming a reserve for a group of the elite. Both in terms of the football clubs playing the sport (only one of four teams can realistically win the Premiership title), and also in terms of supporters.
Once the working man’s game, football is fast becoming a corporate monster with the average man having to make do with sofa surfing for his club’s matches.
And back to the whole point of my piece this week.
How refreshing and optimistic is a season in the Championship. £23 for a ticket, a 4-0 win, and the optimism of a season hopefully challenging for promotion.
Real football is back at the DW Stadium this season and I can’t wait for Doncaster next Tuesday. Give me a trip to Oakwell any day of the week over the pre-season precession witnessed on Sunday.