It's All About the Passion

 

A fan's-eye view of the equaliser

(warning:  amid the joyous screams there may be one fruity word (not from me - I think I am the one who screamed WOO HOO! Quite surprised to learn that this is my go-to exclamation of joy) - nu, please make sure not to play this in front of children)


Yes, more football, I know ... but, you see, it really is one of my passions, and don't you think that it is our passions that fuel our lives?

So last Monday, QPR were at home to Brentford. This was a local derby, and therefore Sky TV decided to televise it. QPR have a terrible record of embarrassing themselves on live national television, so we were not looking forward to the game. I always say that anything is possible, and try to remember that before every match. By the 90th minute, however, the pattern seemed familiar as we were 0-2 down, and the seats began to empty. The Brentford fans in the School End taunted us mercilessly, telling our manager that he would be sacked in the morning.

A couple of minutes into injury-time, the substitute Matt Smith scored a consolation goal, and trotted calmly back to the centre circle. That was nice, I thought. As we waited for the final whistle to end our misery, we got a free-kick just inside the Brentford half. Everyone bar the goalie went up for it. In came the ball, players scrambled in the penalty area, and suddenly that ball was in the back of the Brentford net and we all went mental. I couldn't stop laughing. Everyone around me was jumping up and down, punching the air, and waving at the Brentford fans. The chant went up, "Two nil, and you f***ed it up!" and then the whistle went. It was only a draw, but it felt like a victory. The feeling of elation was immense, and it carried me all the way back to Finchley on a cold, damp night.

On the way out of the stadium I heard some poor girl crying, "I went to the toilet and I missed 2 goals!" Did she not know that you do not leave during the game? (and maybe also that you do not have that last drink before the game) I guess you have to learn the hard way. Once we were losing 1-3 with less than 10 minutes to go and my father said we should leave so we would beat the rush at the Tube station. When we got home, we found out that we'd made a bit of a comeback and had won 4-3. NEVER AGAIN, I swore, and so far that has been the case. 

My point, though, is that (cliche alert) it's never over 'til it's over. A lot of people gave up and went home. Our manager had a go at them in the post-match interview on tv, and the media decided to attack him for it. Under this kind of pressure, he has now posted a video to apologise if people were offended. I wasn't offended, but then I didn't leave! As he said, he is a passionate man, and he wants his team to be passionate, and wants our support. It's all about the passion.