5,500 miles to see one goal: the Hearts supporters' club marooned in England

02 August 2019 13:53
Even a miles-to-goals ratio of 5,500-to-one couldn’t dampen the spirit of the York Hearts supporters’ clubBy Nutmeg magazine, part of the Guardian Sport NetworkWe were somewhere near Durham, I think. I wasn’t driving or I might remember more precisely, but we were certainly somewhere in the north of England, heading south. The return legs of the journeys always felt longer, our energy sapped by the early morning start, the long day, the beers and, in this case, a humiliating 4-0 home thumping by Dundee United, a result so unexpected that the new recruit who had pulled it out of the sweepstake had tossed his slip in the bin before the game. We’d failed even to achieve the silver lining of getting on to the 606 phone-in. We just wanted to get home.And then, over the minibus radio, we heard the opening bars of Hey Jude and the mood changed. From the back of the minibus someone began to sing and within minutes we were all giving it laldy, belting out this Hearts favourite and swirling our scarves in unison. That was when I realised we had something to cherish. In the subdued gloom of that defeat in March 2007, our fledgling supporters’ club, York Hearts, came together and never looked back. Related: Nothing compares to the raw and rugged brilliance of Scottish football Related: The joys of taking up 11-a-side football in your late 30s Related: What Berwick Rangers going viral tells football clubs about social media Continue reading......read full article

Source: TheGuardian