Travel broadens its horizons

When the word ‘travel’ is mentioned, one would usually presume that a life changing, self-finding trip to the likes of Thailand or India is being referred to. However, as a brief glance in any decent dictionary will tell you, this is not necessarily the c

Saturday mornings are the best of the week. When you wake up, you know that there’s something to look forward to. Whether it is a 600 mile round trip to Carlisle, or the relative walk in the park of travelling from Cardiff to Bristol, when Saturday comes, my week begins.

The most favourable mode of transport, for my money, is the car. For a start, you actually get to the point where you recognise the ‘top notch’ service stations. You could argue that it’s an indication of a sad state of affairs when you get genuinely excited at unexpectedly discovering a service station that has yet to be visited, but it is moments like this that keep you going after a 1-0 defeat on a Friday night in Tranmere.

The mundane motorways become a thing of beauty, as well as the surrounding areas around the local grounds. Although I can see the appeal of travelling to Malaysia to save some turtles, the thought of discovering the delights of Colchester seem far more appealing to me. The fact that the vast majority of Cities that we visit on our football travels all seem to look remarkably similar is in fact a fascinating insight into the dynamics of English life.

Another great aspect of the away day for fans is that you get to discover parts of England that you would never normally expect to. For example, recently I followed my team to play Rotherham in South Yorkshire. As we approached the ground, we could see vast areas of wasteland and huge factories engulfing the area surrounding the traditional, old-fashioned ground. Most of the factories were now not in use, and you could actually see how an old industrial town had been forgotten in the transition that Britain has experienced from an industrial nation to one which we live in today.

Many argue that travelling to places all over the world opens your eyes and alerts you to problems that exist for others in the world we live in, but in my experience, travelling to places like Rotherham is as much a useful insight into how we have changed as a nation, and as the place now seems soul-less, because of the fact that the industry supporting the city has been ripped out, and a sense of depression seems to have overwhelmed the public, and it is genuinely fascinating to see this aspect of British life, as one would really not experience this were it not for the beauties of the football league and its ‘travel hotspots’.

A recent trend which is developing and disliked by many football fans, including myself, is the building of new stadiums in out of town locations. As much as one can understand why teams move to these new grounds- mainly in order to promote the status of the club and entice more fans, you lose the charm of old football stadiums. For example, Doncaster’s new stadium is built on a business park outside of the place itself, which takes away the possibility of discovering different communities and seeing a new part of England.

These new stadiums seem to emanate emptiness- there is no feeling of tradition around these typecast stadiums, and all grounds look the same. Travelling to old grounds and standing in terraces still appeal to a lot of football fans. It reminds you that the game has been going on for years, and that a sense of history surrounds every club, which brings home the importance to so many people, that football is genuinely a key part of the community.

A visit to the local pub next to the ground, with its rustic feel, coupled with a cup of Bovril and a pie at the stadium, provide a real feeling of homeliness to football fans, and one which we hope will never die out.

Travelling to an away game with hundreds of fellow supporters creates camaraderie and passion that you can only really experience if you go along for the ride. Distance is irrelevant; when your team play, you travel wherever they go- and this means that a committed football fan will have seen far more of the country than most; and if you offered me a trip to Thailand or a away trip to Oldham to watch my team play, there really is only one real answer. I’ll leave you to decide for yourself, but if you agree with me, I’ll see you in the away end at Boundary Park next season.