Hope. It is the word that makes most sense of the beautiful game, of why we spend hours and days and weeks of our existence obsessing over something that, for the vast majority of us, if we’re being really honest with ourselves, has little impact on our lives. And the beginning of a new season is where the hope is at it’s highest. Old heroes have moved on, the failures and successes of last year are in the past, and now we look forward. New players to deify, new trophies to be chased, new records to be set. Each and every one of us knows, right up until kick off on the opening weekend of the season, that this is going to be our year. And, depending on whom you support, that knowledge can last anywhere from 60 seconds to 60 matches into the campaign. But, however it goes, every summer we reset, we get excited, and we believe again. There’s comfort in that.
Continue reading “Eternal Hope: The Opening Day”
