Northern Ireland v Norway

HERE’S TO LIFE BEING ‘SO GOOD’ AGAIN! Halfway through the summer I had a bad dose of coronavirus blues. I was down in the dumps, utterly miserable at the thought of Norn Iron running out onto the Windsor turf behind closed doors without my noisy presence to encourage them.

I love waiting on the platform for the train to Adelaide. Being a nervous character I always have butterflies in my stomach before a game. Will the train be late? Will I miss an early goal? Early goals are special. I recall Sammy Morgan scoring in the second minute against Norway in 1975, Derek Spence scoring in the first minute against Wales in 1979, Ivan Sproule scoring in the second minute against Estonia in 2006 and Jamie Ward scoring in the second minute against Norway in 2017. I miss my feelings of anxiety about not seeing any of the early action. I love walking to the stadium. The nearby bakery fills the air with the smell of freshly baked bread as I check out the versions of the team strip worn by other fans as they throng in the direction of Windsor. Many are right up to date and wear the very latest strip, but some prefer vintage versions. I like counting the variations on green and white such as the Euro 2016 jersey or the dark green historic version brought out for the IFA 125th anniversary or the pinstripes of Espana ’82 or the old Danny Blanchflower v-neck jersey with the badge sewn onto a white square. I love singing ‘Sweet Caroline’. Neil Diamond’s big hit of 1969 has the right kind of beat to get us fired up for kick-off. Of course we sing our own version, ‘Sweet Norn Iron!’, as all join in with the chorus of ‘So good! So good!’ That rocking melody gets into my blood and I can’t help being optimistic about the lads’ performance and the possibility of a good result. So until life gets good again I will sing along with Dolly Parton and savour my memories. Who knows? Perhaps the future will be even better than the good old days. Words Cunningham Peacock

It was when I was at my lowest ebb that I happened to hear a new song on the radio. It is the latest offering by country music legend, and American national treasure, Dolly Parton. The song is called ‘When Life Is Good Again’. It is hopeful and positive, full of promises of how Dolly (and all of us) will do things better in the new world which will surely dawn when this pesky virus is at last banished. Dolly’s song encouraged me to be optimistic about the future and never to take for granted the things that gave me most pleasure before the current pandemic placed restrictions on so much of my life. The song started me thinking of the things that give most pleasure on match days, especially the joyful anticipation that accompanies me all the way from home to our theatre of dreams. So here are a few of my favourite match day things, fond memories that will keep me cheerful as I wait for the good old days to return. I love choosing my clothes for the game. It is hard to predict the weather in our climate and we old- timers feel the cold more than youngsters do. Sometimes a chill wind sweeps across Windsor from the direction of the Black Mountain and makes you wish you had brought an extra jumper. Of course on cold nights I can’t help recalling that many a player with a big reputation has found that wind intimidating. Some of the cream of European teams are shocked to discover that they are far away from the pleasant, balmy Mediterranean nights of Barcelona or Rome or Marseille and that their reputation is being challenged by a team of green-clad tigers who respect no-one’s status! The bigger they are the harder they fall so let the gales continue to sweep in from rain-lashed Divis!

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