A crazy season is coming to an end. One game remain. At Wembley. Against Rotherham. Winner takes it all in true Abba fashion. One place in the Championship 2014/15 up for grabs. I should be paralyzed by fear but instead I’m tingling with anticipation.
That tingling feeling comes from the knowledge that come Sunday afternoon I’m sharing Wembley with about 25,000 other Orient fans all hoping for a win. Hoping for promotion.
When Orient beat Oxford on May 6th 2006 thanks to that Lee Steele goal and got promoted to League One on the last day of the season. That day I experienced at home, in front of my computer, screaming at the Orient Player commentary. Match footage available the next day. In spite of this. A match that lives in memory.
Fast forward eight years. I’m still on Orient Player. Even though there has been a lot of televised Orient games this season. This time though I’m watching THE GAME live!
I’m going to be at Wembley watching a game that really has significance. A game with Orient on one side. I refuse to miss it. The trip is booked. Match tickets bought. It doesn’t matter that it’s EU Election Day in Sweden (I voted beforehand). It doesn’t matter that it’s Mothers Day in Sweden (mum will have to wait). It doesn’t matter that Norrtulls SK play Handelskamraterna at Östermalms IP in Division 5 (I didn’t miss a single game last season and then they won the league). What does matter is that Sunday is Towel Day. We celebrate Douglas Adams and remember what was printed in big friendly letters on the cover of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
DON’T PANIC
I wish that I could say that I have a Leyton Orient towel to bring to Wembley. But I don’t, and I doubt that I will buy one this weekend. But when I take my seat at Wembley on Sunday. Surrounded by nervous Orients fans I can tell them in a calm confident voice: Hey did you know that today’s Towel Day? You all know what that means don’t you? Don’t Panic!
Because that’s how I feel. There will be a big disappointment should Orient loose. But looking back at the season gone by there’s so many great things to remember. All the records that were broken. All the memorable football played. Should we look at another season in League One we will dust ourselves off and be raring to go come August. On the other hand, if we’re promoted, then I’ll be dancing all the way home to Stockholm.
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
22 May 2014
12 May 2014
Spurious Correlations
Looking ahead to the second leg of the playoff semifinal between Orient and Peterborough I couldn’t help but think of all the wondrous facts fans on both sides use to prove that the final result in this match series was determined long before kickoff.
Everywhere you look there are facts that support any given standpoint. Goals scored in the away leg in previous playoffs. Winning promotion through playoffs in earlier attempts. Final league position. League form leading up to the playoffs. Number of players in the squad with earlier playoff experience. This experience being positive or negative. Having your supporters being the 12th man. Number of matches won from a losing position. And of course that most coveted of abilities, having played at Wembley before!
I’ll be the first one to admit falling into this trap myself at times. It’s an effective way to ease frayed nerves. Finding facts, evidence, that removes any pressure by just being believable. Calm and assured you state the obvious. Everybody knows this right? Why worry? Orient have never lost a weekday game at home against an opponent with the word borough in their name and having an all white away kit. This is going to be so easy.
But let’s face it. This season has been all about smashing records and killing off old bad runs against various opponents. Do we really want to know the outcome before the game is played? Isn’t a flutter of butterflies essential to the whole matchday experience? I’ll imagine that many Man U fans had to seek medical advice this season in order to explain that upset stomach on match day. To them it felt like defeat. As Orient fans we should embrace that bubbling and put our faith in a team that cost the exact same sum as our spurious correlations are worth. It’s worked before this season, right?
Want more? Visit the Spurious Correlations website.
Everywhere you look there are facts that support any given standpoint. Goals scored in the away leg in previous playoffs. Winning promotion through playoffs in earlier attempts. Final league position. League form leading up to the playoffs. Number of players in the squad with earlier playoff experience. This experience being positive or negative. Having your supporters being the 12th man. Number of matches won from a losing position. And of course that most coveted of abilities, having played at Wembley before!
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| Cheese and stairs = dangerous combination |
I’ll be the first one to admit falling into this trap myself at times. It’s an effective way to ease frayed nerves. Finding facts, evidence, that removes any pressure by just being believable. Calm and assured you state the obvious. Everybody knows this right? Why worry? Orient have never lost a weekday game at home against an opponent with the word borough in their name and having an all white away kit. This is going to be so easy.
But let’s face it. This season has been all about smashing records and killing off old bad runs against various opponents. Do we really want to know the outcome before the game is played? Isn’t a flutter of butterflies essential to the whole matchday experience? I’ll imagine that many Man U fans had to seek medical advice this season in order to explain that upset stomach on match day. To them it felt like defeat. As Orient fans we should embrace that bubbling and put our faith in a team that cost the exact same sum as our spurious correlations are worth. It’s worked before this season, right?
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