Friday, May 23, 2008

Exodus ...

Movement of Hull people.

It has started. Driving to Manchester this weekend for the bank holiday, the motorway was more crowded than usual with cars decked in amber and black heading for Wembley. Tomorrow it will be heaving. A hand-made banner hangs from a bridge over the A63; "Will the last one out please switch off the lights".

I am not a City fan, though I have been a few times since I moved to Hull. My football highlight of the year was the agonising triumph on Wednesday. Hull, though, is on a high at the prospect of the Premiership. Tickets are near unobtainable after fans queued overnight. And I look back to my first visits to a crumbling Boothferry Park to watch a bottom division side play unimaginably dreadful football in front of scarcely 3,000 fans and wonder at the transformation.

Hull is a city divided between East and West. This is matched by the bitter rivalries of the rugby league sides, Hull Kingston Rovers in the East and Hull FC in the west. There is only one major football club though and so the city is united and alive ahead of tomorrow.

Good luck City, never in their history in the top division, this might be their year.

UPDATE
They did it

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yup, here's to the Sunbed Kid and his charges. (its a Bolton thing....)

Anonymous said...

3,000?? East Stirlingshire are lucky to get 300.

Anonymous said...

Pete; the thought also occurs. The exodus is not really to do with football - that is simply a pretext. You are all trying to get away from Duchess Fergiana. And who could blame you. If the Tigers hadn't got to the final there might have been a mass exodus to the Chelsea Flower Show, Blackpool Panthers vs Swinton. Anything to get away from her.....

Will said...

Windass.

I have followed his career with interest for years. Why not? With a name like that it should be a compulsory activity for all.