28th October 2002
Hi all,
I have two words for you - "five" and "nil".
Here are another twelve words for you - "The goalscorer for Crystal Palace is number eight, Andy Johnson! Andy... JOHNSON!"
Yes, as you may have guessed I had a superb weekend, both in the company of Neil Taylor, and also in the confines of Selhurst Park. I had waited twelve years before getting the opportunity to see Palace play Brighton, not the most famous of football derbies, but one that mattered greatly to everyone there on Saturday afternoon.
As you may have guessed, Andy Johnson was in good form. The less famous Rob Fox was also in good form, repeating goalscorers' names via the P.A. on five occasions. The fans were also in good form, I hadn't enjoyed an atmosphere like that at Selhurst for quite some time.
But a Bizarre Thought isn't a Bizarre Thought without... well something bizarre. So here are some of the things the history books won't tell you about the game:
- Before the game we had lunch in Croydon, and then proceeded to walk to East Croydon railway station. On the walk there we passed a car park attendant who saw our Palace garb, and asked "What's the score?" It was 1.30pm and he was asking us the score? Had we made a mistake? I mean, kick-off was meant to be 3.00pm, wasn't it? Two flights, three tickets, all this effort... and I'd got the kick-off time wrong? We walked for about five minutes before we double-checked ourselves, got the tickets out and confirmed that it was a 3.00pm kick-off. Was I wound up? Do you really need to ask?
- Then throw-in the longest ever wait for a train from East Croydon station. Was I kicking my heels? Yes, off benches, posts, and everything else I knew I couldn't possibly damage. The first league fixture between Palace and Brighton in thirteen years, and I was almost resigned to being stuck on a train platform a matter of miles away while it took place.
- The game kicked-off fifteen minutes late. We rushed to the ground and got there just after the game would have kicked off, but thanks to the delay we were there in time to see the game starting.
- Due to rushing to the ground Lorraine's blood sugars dropped. They started to come back up slowly (thanks to a Mint Aero), but still took a while to return to normal. However it should be pointed out that when Andy Johnson opened the scoring after four minutes Lorraine still knew more of what was going on than the Brighton defenders.
- With the score still 1-0, Palace defender Tony Popovic had a goal disallowed. Rob Fox still proceeded to say, "The goalscorer for Crystal Palace is number six, Tony Popovic! Tony..." Cue a half-hearted shout of "POPOVIC!" as Brighton took a free-kick and play continued. Five minutes later, Rob stepped sheepishly to the microphone to quietly announce, "It was worth a try." Its official - I love Rob Fox. (Incidentally, I know I've mentioned it before, but I love our ritual of repeating the names of the goalscorers. I can't wait until we sign a Greek player who has a name approximately seventeen syllables in length, that really will be funny.)
- One of the most politically incorrect chants you're ever likely to hear: "Does your boyfriend know you're here?" Brighton, its just like San Francisco... but without the culture... or natural beauty... or anything worthwhile at all, actually.
- For the second consecutive occasion, a visit to Selhurst coincided with the announcement of a birth during the game (there is a line of thought that these are wind-ups, which would make sense).
- Rob Fox, the legend, part XXVII: Towards the end of the game he made an annoucement along these lines, "Brighton supporters, you will be kept behind after the game. Palace fans, you will be glad to know that the bars around the ground have been restocked with bottled beer."
Good times, very good times.
Have a good week!
Tony
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