Grounds Reunited

As a postscript to GL’s valuable contribution to the anorak community, I felt myself irresistibly drawn to footballgroundmap.com.  Where had this site been all my life? (alright, the post internet part of it). Previously, if I thought about it at all, there was just a general notion that I’d been to quite a few. I had no idea how many.  Now I could count them!  This instantly unleashed my inner nerd (alright not so inner) that had to know, how many?   *

On logging on I spent what was probably the most pleasurable hour I have had in a long time. And that includes the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special (if truth be told, I won’t lie to you). Walking down through the divisions from Premier League to God knows where, most often supporting the Poppies but with an occasional excursion, felt like a ground-hopping version of The Incredible Shrinking Man. Today, Old Trafford, tomorrow, Aylesbury FC (not to be confused with Aylesbury United (no) or Aylesbury Vale (double no). Amongst other things I discovered that I am a third of the journey to becoming a member of the 92 club. The pedant in me wants to point out that at the time I went there, several now-former members were part of the Football League.  The rest of me says, oh shut up.

If one day we finally achieve League status and I'm around to see it, then maybe the tally will increase. At present it will feel good to add the likes of Bromley and Eastleigh to the list.  

Along the path of clicking on yep, been there I found that a ground once visited is never forgotten. Even the humblest arena is special because it is. Going to the Nou Camp or the San Siro was memorable, but so was Cray Wanderers and Desborough Town. At the Nou Camp I saw Messi score a hat trick, at Desborough we scraped a win in the Senior Cup. I know which pleased me the most (alright it was Messi). Every ground visited is a memory of some kind. Somewhere out there, even Latimer Park is a notch on someone's bedpost.  We can only hope, not literally.   

What’s the point of all this? In the overall scheme of things, not much.  No one goes to their grave thinking, I wish I had visited more semi-professional grounds (please let's hope that's true).  But if the grounds are incidental to something you love rather than being the sole point of it, that feels right. And with the odd diversion to tick another one off, even better.

 * 155 but I'm working on it. Does Subbuteo count?