GLF 58: Kristopher dreams on...
Still Living The Dream
It's good to know that while some things in life are ever changing, the one constant we as 'Well fans have is our consistently inconsistent football team.Sure,we could succumb to both sides of the Old Firm in a bid to back a team,safe in the knowledge there will be trophies and trips to Europe from August to October every year.Sure we could subscribe to the school of money equals medals, but where's the passion in that? Sure we could look at a squad and say, "haw, this team is boaby, the boss needs tae GTF", just like the media, pundits and the other disgruntled fans.
Thing is, we don't.
They say variation is the spice of life. If so, Terry Butcher is as good a chef as Gordon Ramsay any day of the week. From interim administration,the loss of our prize assets and being only just saved from relegation, to the way the club is today,TB (although having his faults) has turned the club around for the better. When I started going to games we had just begun under the McLeish era and a second place finish was on the cards. As a 9 year old, my love for the club grew and grew with every game I went to and instilled my passion for 'Well from that very young age.That season my first game was a 0-1 defeat at home to Aberdeen, our first loss in 14 games that season, and from then on I was hooked. I travelled to Aberdeen,Tannadice,Brockville,Ibrox,all over like a junkie looking for a hit or at the least, a 9 year old with a bit of an unhealthy football habit. Not since then have I felt as much for the club as I do now.
Under Terry we have had an amazing few years-two semi finals,a final,Top Six finishes,Scotland Internationalists at the club as well as Welsh,Irish and Australian representatives.And it seems like it could continue.
Another semi to look forward to, possibly a final,guaranteed goals and value for money at games,more players earning caps,Stevie Craigan becoming our most capped player, we might even have Scott McDonald to shout for at the World Cup for the Aussies as well.While we have got some issues such as leaking goals at an alarming rate and not being able to kill off opponents,it does make being a 'Well fan that little more interesting than supporting anyone else.And when you have the likes of Kerr and McCormack battling away in midfield and not scoring a bad goal between them,a rejuvenated Jim Hamilton linking up with tenacious McDonald,and Buzz making the Number 1 shirt his own,we have the prospect of having a pretty damn good team on our hands.
The semi at Easter Road last year was probably the highlight of my MFC supporting career.It was typical Motherwell,on easy street then chucking it away before hitting the Jambos with the best sucker punch ever.Diddy Cup or whatever you want to call it,you can't deny that we all wanted it badly.Living in Glasgow and working with Rangers fans,the lead up to the final was brilliant, I was smiling from leaving Easter Road to kick off at Hampden.Although it never came to pass,the whole event was marvellous for me.My first final,despite a heavy defeat,left me wanting more.So it was with a confident swagger I marched to FirPark for the Accies game and with a contented grin, I travelled to Love St,and with no money in my pocket,I walked to the Pub to watch us dispatch the Dons.Happy Days.
Now the first round of games have been and gone,we know we could be a good ten points better off than we are, but as the saying goes,if yer maw had baws she'd be yer faither and we need to be content with what we have.For now. If it comes to April and we need a win to get into the Top Six, then we can rue those lost points and missed opportunities. But for now we can enjoy the wait to see who we get in the semi (and final) and concentrate on having a good festive period. Personally I'm looking forward to Livi on Hogmanay, Usher in 2006 and, like I did 2005, still living the dream.
Kristopher Jack
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