Match that (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Match that

10:10am Monday 31st March 2008

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It's a long time since I've been to watch a football match 'live' at the ground, but it's always something of an eye-opener on to a different world.
I've always wondered, for instance, how those 'songs' get started among the faithful.
Four rows in front of us was one lad doing his enthusiastic best, in between abusing the opposition fans in the corner, to lead the 'singing'.
Every two minutes he was up on his feet, arms outstretched, fingers pointing to the heavens, launching into another 'anthem' - but with precious little response from those around him.
It must have been a bit galling for him when familiar refrains voiced by a few hundred - or maybe a thousand or two - fans from somewhere behind and to the right filled the air between what, to be honest, was fairly dull stuff on the actual pitch.
Undaunted, though, he joined in with everyone, turning this way and that, beaming all over his face as he relished his Saturday afternoon's fun.
To be fair, he seemed to be having a great time, if a little crudely to my way of thinking, and you couldn't object to his 'lovable rogue' kind of demeanour.
I just wonder how much of the actual match he saw!
For my part, it turned out to be a bit of a workout for my leg muscles, what with all the frequent standing up:
1) to let people past going to and fro from the loos and pie kiosk.
2) to go with the flow when things (occasionally) got exciting in front of goal, and everybody stood up.
and 3) when the songsters urged people to stand up if they liked this or hated that or did this/ didn't do that.
Some of the words were occasionally indistinct... but I stood up anyway, no doubt selling a bit of my soul in the process!