by FiNeRaIn »
08 Sep 2017 18:21
Oxford holds some good memories for me, back when football felt more special and there was still that buzz and hope surrounding it. I am not saying it was the best or most fierce derby for either team, but it was still a good old fashioned local rivalry played by two unfavorable teams in traditional grounds and it had something about it. Checking 390 on teletext was how i'd find the team if dial up was lagging, a very different era now.
I had just started supporting Reading in about 1997 when I moved to the area and the first derby I went to we lost 0-2 at home, their lad Murphy hit a screamer from outside the box after Beauchamp skinned his man and cut the ball back, I remember it well. Went to the return game at the Manor and we won 1-3, nice full away end, rowdy, loud and there were a lot of trouble before the game which added to the tension. I think Reading fans had smashed up a pub a few streets away. Was this the game where they had two awful goalkeeping performances and the " whose been eating Gm foods chant"? I also remember the 4-3 and it pissing down, Rougier scored the winner through the soaking wet pitch on his knees.
Went to the two league cup wins, the first was spicy and tense, the second drew less Oxford fans but the away end was still pretty full, wasn't quite the same second time around. Oxford fans were starting to realize the gap and didn't care as much, we also fielded a weaker team.
I really miss the old terracing, less media surrounding the games and the lack of exposure and ridiculous money made it more fun and unexpected. It also felt a much more tight knit community if I am honest. The players seemed more like normal, working class lads with much more affiliation for the fans than they do now. They seemed invested in the team and the fans themselves were very different. I remember seeing the same faces at most away games and becoming familiar with them for their nicknames or names printed on their shirt like ginger kev, ferret,etc, the big bald guy taking his shirt off at Swindon and Oxford to name a few. Always great banter in the pubs and on the terraces.
I was there up until about 4 years ago but I started to fall out of love with the game with money taking over and the realization that in order for us to ever really progress we'd need to spend a bucket load. Even then it'll never garner the respect from the footballing world, " plastic mercenaries" bla bla bla. High player turnover, ridiculous wages and transfer fee's, insane ticket prices, huge gap in affiliation between fans and players and everyone trying to suck as much money out the game as possible makes me glad I am not a teenager growing up in these times. I am sure some older fans than I felt it was probably even better in the earlier 90's. Some things have changed for the better don't get me wrong, I just miss the days where it felt more innocent and unexposed. I am sure people have a different take.
I still follow from abroad and look forward to going to a game when i'm back but I doubt it'll never feel as special as it did through my teenage years and early 20's with my dad, mates and the same old fans i'd see every week. The buzz around " what could be" for Reading was huge back then too. I think of the derbies with Oxford right in there with this.
Last edited by
FiNeRaIn on 08 Sep 2017 18:26, edited 1 time in total.
