A Bridge Too Far....

.... is the inevitable phrase to open this blog post with. To the surprise of no one, Grimsby's FA Cup run came to an end on Sunday. The media circus spun in to overdrive on the days running up to the day. Business as normal for Premier League clubs, but off the scale for Grimsby. Those of you in the UK will be sick of the sight of blow-up fish.

The frenzy went international. Someone in our group shared an article from the Malaysian press, there was an interview on NZ TV with Kiwi goalkeeper Max Crocombe, and an article in the German press.

Fill in your own punchline about "Paul Hurst's Mannschaft" 

Tickets sold out within 12 hours of going on sale, and that included bedtime. I managed to secure mine online after they went on sale to season ticket holders at midnight. It was a bit of a race as the number of season ticket holders outnumbered the number of tickets available. My immediate concern then was who will I actually watch the game with. These things are best shared. The Nundanket branch in Liverpool was offered an early Christmas present of a hospitality package, which he readily accepted. Over the course of the next week, a few more non-season ticket holding pals were able to get tickets from family and friends who weren't going for one reason or another. 

A small group of us assembled on Sunday morning at Clapham Junction for the train journey to the south coast. On arrival in Brighton, Nundanket II was sent on his way to the stadium to enjoy the meal part of his 'package', whilst I was left babysitting his Harry Haddock. Note there's no definite article in said piscine creature's name, and it's correctly pronounced "Arry Addock". The rest of us sought some refreshment prior to heading up to the stadium. Inside the atmosphere was building up, but not quite up to the levels of the Southampton game. The game itself was not anything like as competitive as the previous round either. That probably had an effect on the atmosphere. Discussion today on social media offered some other reasons for that too. The stadium design (acoustics), the lack of a drummer to keep things 'together' (musical instruments being banned from the Amex Stadium), a friendlier disposition amongst the home fans, the fact we didn't 'sniff blood', and a change of demographics of the Grimsby support with it being a weekend match.

After match some more refreshments were consumed, at the stadium whilst waiting for queues at the station to die down) and in the amusingly named 'Prince Albert' pub near the main station in the city. The citizenry of the place, fans and 'civilians' alike, were very hospitable. We were made to feel welcome all day, unlike the usual experience of football fans.  Strange. There has been a massive 'love in' on social media since the game, with Brighton fans saying very nice things about us, and us wishing them well in the next round(s). Many of the older ones remember their own club's flirtation with the bottom end of the Football League and homelessness in the 90s and early noughties.

There's not much to report about the match itself. The 5-0 scoreline tells you all you need to know. And you can forgive me for not wanting to dwell too much on the actual game. 

Disappointed? Yes. Not to progress further in the competition. But delighted with the whole campaign. The first time Grimsby has been this far in the competition since 1939. The experience has brought the fanbase, club management, and playing squad closer together. Another chapter has been written, to use an old cliché. Or to use a new one, more memories have been created. It's helped to raise the profile of the town in a positive way. And the extra revenue will come in handy for the next season.

So the most appropriate image I want to finish on is this clip, of Grimsby fans celebrating(!) at the end of the match. Excuse me, I seem to have got something stuck in my throat.

https://twitter.com/TheBrightonBard/status/1637718212585443332?cxt=HHwWiMC-9bGCrLotAAAA