Arsene Wenger End of an Era

Wenger leaving Arsenal will be totally meaningless to many but I wrote this a couple of years ago one night after getting home from watching football in the pub and its been laying dormant until I searched 'football' this morning so thought I would share. My grammar is appalling but anyway - My kids were both Arsenal addicts from around 5 they picked it up as soon as they were at school. It had nothing to do with me at all and I have no idea why such small children can start supporting a specific team. I had no interest in football then at 32 having been in goal at school and shied away from the incoming ball with the winter cold and wet it was a shit thing to have to do, but now as dad I knew they supported a team called Arsenal. I read Fever Pitch around 1997 and loved the book, Nick Hornby explained himself and the national passion for football very well. When the boys were around 10 and 12 years old I once rang them to congratulate them on their 1-0 Man U win during extra time before the game was over, only to find Man U had got two in during that extra time and Arsenal had now lost. They were gutted and too upset to speak on the phone but I got their passion. Time moved on and I got married again. This time I married an avid Liverpool supporter and I found myself being dragged along to world cup matches at 8.30am in a hotel bar of a morning and heard the cheers for the first time, it was quite electric! England were I soon discovered crap and seeing grown men sitting on the street crying is not a pretty sight it was never going to be 1966 again and I don't understand why they thought it would be. My new wife was a poor choice with a wandering eye and I was soon relegated to second division myself before she finally moved on so I don't follow Liverpool at all obviously but the bug was in. The kids are now men and living in London and they get to see matches pretty regularly. I've only ever seen two professional matches in all my life, Coventry v Wolves circa 1969 and Ipswich v I cant remember circa 1973. In about 1990 with absolutely no interest in football I had a photography job at Highbury to photograph some doors at the Arsenal ground. As we crossed the pitch I was told me some people would feel very privileged to walk across Arsenals turf - and - I thought, move on I want to get home. Its odd how something so trivial at the time I can now enjoy later, I walked across Highbury’s pitch thats how cool is that ace! In the noughties I met another Simon a great Manc friend and a life long Manchester City supporter. For the last several years we have come to share each others teams fortunes down the pub with me relying on him to explain whats happening at times like the off side rule, I am nearly there. Then the time came when my boys started to join us in the pub as young men and I remember after one Arsenal goal going into the back of the net Sam leaping up in the pub to hug a complete and utter stranger. Witnessing the love of the shared moment, two total strangers hugging, it was such a joy to witness the simple happiness and delight of being alive within my kids. Dan has always been a half standing bobbing seat clinger when it comes to football. We were in the pub at one game and he was particularly bobbing and moving about, Arsenal were 1 up 2-1 against a team I don't remember, “lets make it 3 - 1” I said “NOOO” he said very defiantly, this is good we don't need another we have won this game. That’s very magnanimous what a nice lad I thought, with him not wanting to paste the opposition, but truth be known he had bet a fiver on specific odds, who would score the goals and how many and he was on the verge of collecting £350, wish he had told me! In football I am a late developer I am well known for my lack of knowledge, it was only recently I discovered there was another cup to play for, but as a communication tool with my children, and competitive interest between friends its been a brilliant bond. - So farewell Arsene Wenger you've been a true star