P-P

 Paradise Postponed

The joy of sport is its unpredictability. Embrace the unlikely turnarounds, the late goals, the controversial decisions because that’s why we spend our more predictable time at work in anticipation of the next match. Sometimes though even this anticipation is unpredictable due to the capricious British weather which every season will cause postponements. Not as many as there used to be, thanks to the big steps forward in ground husbandry and of course synthetic surfaces. So perhaps this is why when they do happen, some will be quick to point the finger at a match official,  whose overriding duty is the safety of the players, or even murmur about a dark conspiracy stemming from the assumed best interest of the home club, especially if the decision is made late. But why not simply embrace this unpredictable event too and take the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon with friends free of the stress of the result?

Looking back on matches I’ve attended which turned up as P-P on the classified check, I firstly recall a midweek trip to Nyewood Lane, Bognor in February 1997. Arriving early at the ground our car full of Maidenhead United fans was greeted by legendary Chairman/Manager Jack Pearce saying “sorry lads not looking good”. He pointed us in the direction of a friendly local pub and said he would call the landlord when the referee arrived. True to his word he did so, with the inevitable news that the journey had been a wasted one as we all sat with a pint watching a big screen showing the infamous goalmouth stramash between Chesterfield and Plymouth Argyle. This turned out to be more exciting than the goalless draw in the rearranged fixture, memorable only for the journey back on the team coach where the fixture secretary insisted on playing a Frank Carson cassette for everyone to enjoy whilst the kitman displayed his knowledge of floodlight installations in the Scottish League.

Into the new century, and my then girlfriend now wife was prompted by a frosty winter to query why a postponed match led to a later and more inebriated return on my part. This happened at least twice, at Gander Green Lane for an afternoon in the sadly now closed Plough opposite the Sutton turnstiles, and at Aldershot, where a thought provoking conversation with a serviceman ensued in The Crimea as the country headed towards the Iraq war. 

All this was topped though by a doomed trip to Kilmarnock to watch Partick Thistle that winter. This followed a successful trip to see the Jags at Ayr United the season before. Booking the admittedly cheap flights from Stansted to Prestwick was seen as risk free due to Killie having undersoil heating so bemusement followed the news of the postponement just after we landed. It turned out that there had been a Scottish National age group game at Rugby Park in midweek, when the heating had been used. This had sparked complaints about the noise from the neighbours so it was switched off only for the temperature to fall low enough for even an afternoon match to be frozen off. With half a day to spare before the flight home our group headed into Glasgow for my first visit to the city, a quick tour of the centre followed by an introduction to the famous Horseshoe Bar, picking up a haggis supper on the way back to the airport.

Next time your match is postponed then, especially if it's a late one,  take the opportunity to enjoy some unexpected time with friends, get to know some strangers or a strange place, and enjoy an enriching afternoon safe in the knowledge that your team hasn’t lost.