Why yesterday mattered

I can't deny, weeks away and building up to the game i felt a bit bleh. JPT, so what.

But as the countdown grew closer, the mood shifted. It's Wembley. It's a showcase in front of a far bigger crowd we can get in our own ground, televised and a rare instance for any Barnsley fan, however old, a trophy at stake. How difficult it is to dismiss such a rare occasion.

The walk down Wembley way and the view of the "new" arch, the bobby moore statue, the colourful hoardings and the BFC identity writ large across the national stadium. The contrasting seas of red and yellow divided as the stadium gets closer.

The ground filling up and the build up starting to give a goosepimple or two.

Then timerider. However that song became the song to be associated with Barnsley i've no idea, but i fondly recall the out of time clapping since my late teens til the beat drops and only then, everyone keeping in time. So many years on, little has changed! But 25k plus clapping to it in our national stadium is an unbelievable sight and has probably immortalised it even more in our heritage.

A song that is a bringer of surprising unity, an embodiment of our club. Fans, players, owners galvanised. It's what BFC, the whole make up of BFC is incredible at when we all choose to be. When you least expect it, when everyone else would give in, when the world... even ourselves are writing us off, this amazing (and bloody minded) club of ours finds a way to overcome adversity and prove people wrong.

Yesterday was a pure embodiment of that spirit.

And from the emotion on an owners face. The cheering of a new manager (sorry, head coach) in waiting. A player so eager to right his perceived wrongs he ran himself into the ground to ensure he got the win that would give something back to the fans. The intensity of celebration. The steeliness of resolve to return and a resolute open statement of ambition to get promoted.

Yesterday was special and it very much mattered.

 

Agree great to see Hecky thumping the air at the end , great day

 

Agreed. Losing could really have put a dampener on our season. Instead we can use it as a boost to really kick on in the remaining games.