I’m presently feeling like a child waking up on Christmas Day and it’s all down to Ipswich Town. I know I wrote about the Super Blues last week but today is the day we could return to the promised land of the Premier League and it’s making me feel like a kid again. All week I’ve been counting down the sleeps to the big day, just like I used to in the run up to Christmas Day. This excitement is something Town fans haven’t felt for over 20 years. Will manager Kieran McKenna be like Santa Claus and deliver the present we all want, promotion to the topflight of English football. If he does, just like Father Christmas, he’ll be spreading joy to so many households in Suffolk and around the world. If I’m feeling like this as a supposedly grown adult, goodness knows how the young fans are feeling. I bet plenty didn’t sleep much last night, I know I didn’t! Fans are waking up this morning keeping everything crossed and wearing lucky items of clothing, hoping these superstitions will work their magic. Those pre match rituals we all do will be done with real vigour today, hoping that we’ll all be playing our little bit.
You can’t get tickets for love nor money and as stadium announcer I’ve had loads of people offering to hold my microphone in exchange for a chance to watch the match. For those lucky enough to have a ticket they’re in for a memorable afternoon, if we win or draw, we’re up! The crowd has been phenomenal all season, but I expect today will be the day we smash those noise records! When I stand on the pitch reading the teams out, I get shivers down my spine as the fans cheer their heroes’ names out aloud,
For the supporters who can’t get a ticket the next best thing will be watching with friends on TV or down the local pub. Places like The Dove, The Greyhound and Isaacs will no doubt be packed out with fans.
Everywhere I go I hear people talking about Town, in fact I think in my 50 years of supporting Ipswich I don’t think I’ve experienced anything quite like it. Goodness knows what it’ll be like next season if we go up with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in town.
It’s been one heck of a season. In fact the last two seasons have been unbelievable and we’re really gaining momentum ahead of the last game today. It should be a formality, but football is a funny old game, and it won’t be until the referee blows that whistle that we’ll know if we’re up or not.
If we are up then the fans will quite rightly go nuts and frankly who can blame them . That sheer unbridled joy is something we very rarely experience in our lives but let’s hope today we do.
It would mean so much to so many, all ages and backgrounds can unite behind the Ipswich Town badge. When we last got promoted to the Premier League, I hosted my BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show from Portman Road the day after and I was there as the Premiership flag was raised above the Cobbold stand.
Truly wonderful times, which I hope we’ll see today. Blue Army!
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