Post by mehewmagic on Apr 8, 2015 13:59:07 GMT
My post-Easter [no clever meaning intended] article is available now.
I hope it is appropriate.
www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-Goodnight-Ben/story-26296140-detail/story.html
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - Goodnight Ben
Posted: April 08, 2015
By Martin Bull
I didn’t know Ben Hiscox, the Rovers fan who tragically died last week a few days after a cruel accident whilst playing for Stoke Gifford United, but I get the distinct feeling I didn’t need to know him personally in order to deduce what a fine young man he was and how missed he will be by family, friends and a wide range of footballing buddies alike.
I know for certain that I would not get the eulogies he received from everyone who had the privilege to know him. The minute’s applause (before the Chester match on Good Friday) to celebrate his life was the loudest in memory, and a spontaneous burst of ’Goodnight Irene’ started up by a man just to my right on the Blackthorn Terrace, was spine-tingling to say the least. Add to this that his family and friends were on the touchline, and that the impressive hoard of Chester fans and players graciously and heartily joined in, and you won’t be surprised to hear that I saw some tears being shed by grown men.
After the exhilarating 5-1 thrashing Chris Lines ran over to his family to console them, and Darrell Clarke said he‘d “like to dedicate the victory to Ben and his family: "It’s heart-breaking when a family suffers a loss like that and it really puts things into perspective.”
It is easy to be cynical about these now regular applauses, but in general they are impeccably observed, by the very people that are often dismissed by society as mindless thugs and drunks. The minute’s silence a month ago for the tragically short life of Rebecca Watts was definitely the most serene stillness I have even been part of; even the normal watch beeps and incoming mobile phone calls were not to be heard. Some sporting clubs have taken to a preference for applauses rather than silences, but pure silence was definitely more respectful on that occasion, and was truly thought-provoking about the fragility of young lives in our wonderful city.
It is also easy to be pessimistic about the state of modern-day football, and football fans, but we can often be a fine bunch, from the ‘Fans Forum Sponsor Club’ (FFSC) I wrote about last week, to the tireless work of the Bristol Rovers Supporters Club, and the generous contributions fans make to collections taken outside the ground most matches, usually in aid of local charities. We’ve recently had greyhounds and The Southmead Project, and of course the efforts to raise money for Oskar Pycroft‘s life-changing operation.
On the field of play, meanwhile, we saw the most scintillating performance of the season so far, with a 5-1 drubbing of Chester FC in front of the largest Conference crowd this season. It may sound strange given the result but I thought that Chester looked quite a handy side, especially when with the ball, which hopefully shows how good we were, and for once our finishing was quite clinical. This, plus the slick 3-1 win over Aldershot suggest that two more home wins are very achieveable, and if we do only end up in the play-offs no team will fancy facing us at the Mem, especially with home advantage in the second leg now guaranteed.
Although we weren’t playing the strongest opponents, six comfortable points and eight dynamic goals, spread around four really in-form players, are giving Gasheads real confidence that we could secure three wins, which funnily enough would give us the same W-D-L record as Gerry Francis’ 1989/90 title-winning team. The problem of course is whether Barnet will slip up, as they are grinding out mediocre 1-0 wins like we were earlier in the season. They may not be impressive but three points are all the same whichever way you come by them.
As always the support of thousands of Gasheads are with our team, home and away, and I hope that we can not only be gracious victors if we go on and win the title, but also gracious losers if we ‘only’ achieve second or third place, with a points haul that most other seasons would have seen us get automatic promotion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just finished a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk
I hope it is appropriate.
www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-Goodnight-Ben/story-26296140-detail/story.html
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - Goodnight Ben
Posted: April 08, 2015
By Martin Bull
I didn’t know Ben Hiscox, the Rovers fan who tragically died last week a few days after a cruel accident whilst playing for Stoke Gifford United, but I get the distinct feeling I didn’t need to know him personally in order to deduce what a fine young man he was and how missed he will be by family, friends and a wide range of footballing buddies alike.
I know for certain that I would not get the eulogies he received from everyone who had the privilege to know him. The minute’s applause (before the Chester match on Good Friday) to celebrate his life was the loudest in memory, and a spontaneous burst of ’Goodnight Irene’ started up by a man just to my right on the Blackthorn Terrace, was spine-tingling to say the least. Add to this that his family and friends were on the touchline, and that the impressive hoard of Chester fans and players graciously and heartily joined in, and you won’t be surprised to hear that I saw some tears being shed by grown men.
After the exhilarating 5-1 thrashing Chris Lines ran over to his family to console them, and Darrell Clarke said he‘d “like to dedicate the victory to Ben and his family: "It’s heart-breaking when a family suffers a loss like that and it really puts things into perspective.”
It is easy to be cynical about these now regular applauses, but in general they are impeccably observed, by the very people that are often dismissed by society as mindless thugs and drunks. The minute’s silence a month ago for the tragically short life of Rebecca Watts was definitely the most serene stillness I have even been part of; even the normal watch beeps and incoming mobile phone calls were not to be heard. Some sporting clubs have taken to a preference for applauses rather than silences, but pure silence was definitely more respectful on that occasion, and was truly thought-provoking about the fragility of young lives in our wonderful city.
It is also easy to be pessimistic about the state of modern-day football, and football fans, but we can often be a fine bunch, from the ‘Fans Forum Sponsor Club’ (FFSC) I wrote about last week, to the tireless work of the Bristol Rovers Supporters Club, and the generous contributions fans make to collections taken outside the ground most matches, usually in aid of local charities. We’ve recently had greyhounds and The Southmead Project, and of course the efforts to raise money for Oskar Pycroft‘s life-changing operation.
On the field of play, meanwhile, we saw the most scintillating performance of the season so far, with a 5-1 drubbing of Chester FC in front of the largest Conference crowd this season. It may sound strange given the result but I thought that Chester looked quite a handy side, especially when with the ball, which hopefully shows how good we were, and for once our finishing was quite clinical. This, plus the slick 3-1 win over Aldershot suggest that two more home wins are very achieveable, and if we do only end up in the play-offs no team will fancy facing us at the Mem, especially with home advantage in the second leg now guaranteed.
Although we weren’t playing the strongest opponents, six comfortable points and eight dynamic goals, spread around four really in-form players, are giving Gasheads real confidence that we could secure three wins, which funnily enough would give us the same W-D-L record as Gerry Francis’ 1989/90 title-winning team. The problem of course is whether Barnet will slip up, as they are grinding out mediocre 1-0 wins like we were earlier in the season. They may not be impressive but three points are all the same whichever way you come by them.
As always the support of thousands of Gasheads are with our team, home and away, and I hope that we can not only be gracious victors if we go on and win the title, but also gracious losers if we ‘only’ achieve second or third place, with a points haul that most other seasons would have seen us get automatic promotion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just finished a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk