Yesterday’s game was on a far more local scale than the Reading vs Ipswich Town match we went to earlier in the year.  It was a bus ride away rather than several hours on the train, it was standing under an umbrella rather than having a seat in the away stand, it was AFC Wimbledon vs Hampton and Richmond, in the Blue Square South league (apparently about six ranks down from the Premiere League).

But Wimbledon still had it’s mascot – a uniformed Womble, who banged rubbish bin lids to stir up the crowds.  And for supporters of both teams, there were hats and scarfs in club colours, and chants, and stewards and programmes and security guards.  And there were hundreds of people there, watching teams that I’d never heard about before, in a league that I wouldn’t have previously considered worth following, and a sense of local suport, of dedication to watching, even in rain and cold, that I couldn’t help but admire.

Tash