17/02/2013

First timer

I have decided to start up an online blog for a few reasons - 1. I am interested in sports journalism and this could be valuable experience for me. 2. I use twitter and often find that I can not express my views clearly enough in just 140 characters. 3. I have always liked writing but never really knew how to start.
 
I'm 17 years old, and an avid Blackburn Rovers supporter. I have always been brought up as a rover, with random football memorabilia being passed down to me through my dad, however I was never actually interested in football myself. I had been to Ewood once before, and had watched Rovers play at the Ricoh.
 
Before the season of 2011/12, my dad suggested we buy season tickets for Ewood park. I jumped at the chance and said yes, as not only did I feel I didn't get to spend much time with my dad as he was often watching my own brother play football, or managing the under 8's - but I simply had a good feeling about it.
 
I was unaware of the new ownership the club had been subjected to and the problems that would ensue. I had no knowledge of the naivety of the owners, and never thought for a second just how attached to the club I would become, and thus the inevitable heartbreak I would suffer, nor that this pain would be a feeling I would endure often.
 
The first game I went to was against Arsenal at home (we bought season tickets slightly late so missed the Wolves and Everton games at home) and after a good 2 hours on the m6, we arrived at Parklands way, the street of my Auntie. We walked down to the ground in a crowd of thousands, and I felt a sense of community that I had never felt before.
 
The game was a cracker, with 2 own goals by Arsenal and 2 goals by Yakubu. Gervinho scored for Arsenal first and Yakubu equalised 15 minutes later. When the ball hit the back of the net I instinctively jumped simultaneously out of my seat, situated in the upper tier of the Jack Walker stand, with the other 20 odd thousand fans. The roar of the crowd was something I have become addicted to, and the pride, adrenaline, excitement and passion I feel when watching a football hit the back of the net, is something I will never be able to explain.
 
After that game I was hooked, and as each match day came along I became more and more obsessed with not only rovers but football in general. Since then football has become a major part in my life, and basically the reason I have written this blog today. This is the first blog I've ever written so I do apologise if its been a shambolic attempt!