My middle son and myself have loyally supported the Reds since 1987. As times have moved on, he met his partner and has had a couple of kids who I am proud to say are our lovely grandkids. Our young ' uns partner of some twenty three years, is a very talented acting tutor and both our grandkids seem to have inherited her talent. My son has now decided to marry his girl in July which is very pleasing. You can tell the circles his bride to be moves in, one of their guests is an Artistic Director. He's going to be in the States up to two weeks before their wedding overseeing the upcoming Aerosmith US tour and is over there right now, meeting with Steve Tyler and the other band members. My son has just been in touch to say that for our game on Good Friday, we have got to be at the ground really early, as it's been designated " Junior takeover day." In essence young Tyke supporters have been encouraged to apply to carry out the duties of the normal " on the day" ancillary Staff. My grandson has just learned he has been given the responsibility of one of the most important roles on match day and he's quite rightly absolutely buzzing. He's only ten, but without being precocious, in truth, such is his talent and composure he has the self confidence of a teenager. I don't want to put undue pressure on him, but all I can say, is I will be very proud of him. He's also a very good footballer and my dearest wish is, that one day in around five years, he is able to join the Club as a pro footballer. I would literally burst with pride if that happens. His first season supporting us, he saw us win the Johnstones Paint Trophy and promotion to the Championship, so he's really been spoiled.
It's a very important off the field matchday role that he's been given. Having seen him live in Musical Concerts , Xmas Carol sessions through School, in the Ridings shopping precinct and in dramatic performances at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, trust me, he will certainly not be phased.
We will be documenting the kids’ takeover from start to finish so watch out for the video and other stuff mate.
Congratulations! When did people have time to apply until? I tried applying on my sons behalf but every time I clicked submit it didn’t give you any confirmation screen and just chucks you back to the BFC home page.
Sorry I don't know when the deadline was/is MT. My son made the application because our grandson told his Dad that he'd love to get involved. My lad was absolutely made up for him, when he was notified that he had been chosen. Like many young lads in his age group ,he's an avid supporter of the Reds. Whenever my missus and I go on our holidays, I always pack a couple of replica shirts to wear during the day. My wife really doesn't like it, because we once had a spat with some Leeds fans in our hotel one year and she feared that it could lead to fisticuffs. We recently met up during the day at Thorncliffe Bistro in Emley, with my lads partner and our grandkids. My grandson had this seasons Reds away kit on and topped it off with a red and white Barnsley FC baseball cap which was great to see especially as a family near our table had two boys with them. One had a Huddersfield top on whilst his brother was wearing a replica Manchester United shirt. Typical of a cosmopolitan Man Utd fan, we overhead him say, to a waitress that he was hopeful that besides taking his brother to Huddersfield Towns ground, he was looking forward to the day when his Dad will take him to a game at Old Trafford, hopefully in the not too distant near future.!
From what I’m told, that’s a submission. I’ve passed on your feedback, there ought to be a message I think saying ‘submitted’ or something. But yeah, you’ll have succeeded in submitting. No idea who was successful, but I was told that there were hundreds who applied. So don’t be disheartened. Plenty of stuff on the horizon for fans young and old to get involved in. We think you’ll all love this summer. Obviously, much depends on the next five games of course, but our media and marketing plans are in place regardless.
Just about to set off for Oakwell. Just been told by my son that my grandson is to be the Stadium Announcer for today's game as part of the Junior takeover day. So very very proud that he's been selected for this important role. Sincerely hope that he's overworked announcing the Reds scorers during the game.
I've never seen our Ollie as excited as he was today. He was absolutely buzzing. I went with his Dad to the Main Reception area before the game and I then made my way to the East Stand. Ollie went to the changing rooms and saw his favourite player Cameron McGeehan and had his photo taken in front of the large Club badge on the wall. The regular announcer wasn't there today, so he was introduced to his stand in, who apparently works for Dearne FM. He got to announce our team and got to see Kenny Dougall who was apparently with his Dad, as well as other players who we're not involved. I believe one of them was Liam Lindsay. He also saw Chris Kamara who was covering the game for Sky TV. When we met up after the game, he was on cloud nine, particularly as he'd been given a "goody bag". I think there were some Easter eggs in there, but the highlight as far as he was concerned, was a replica training top with his initials on it. He really appreciated that. Bonus for me was, at the last minute his Mum and sister had decided to be at the game to give him their support. On the way home, my granddaughter Tilly said she had thoroughly enjoyed the game, so much so, she wants to start supporting the team on a regular basis. All in all a truly wonderful day. Brilliant weather, a a bit of a jittery performance ,but we won and a little lad who had one of the most memorable days in his life thus far.
It's been encouraging that as a result of our Oliver being involved in the Junior takeover day as Stadium announcer on Good Friday, appears to have heightened the interest in the Club of both his Mum and his sister, both of whom went to the Shrewsbury game purely to give him their joint support . Such was their enjoyment of Friday's proceedings, that over the weekend, the family have been discussing the merits of them all having a Season ticket for next season. So the takeover event not only provided my grandson with an experience he's never ever likely to forget, but as a result of his involvement, the Club will benefit from the sale of four additional season tickets, which in my view is great.