|

Distant Fan

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 it was long before satellite dishes when tvs were’nt even around

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 and videos were’nt yet invented and only film hire shops in town

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 and I was this far off supporter with two little kids and a wife

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 i was so far away but connected it was still such a part-of my life..

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 ‘cos when you’ve been smitten you follow your team

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 and you do it however you can

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 and when life gets too much well you still keep in touch

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 that’s they way ev’ry day distant fan

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 and the scores come a day late in papers

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 its weird when you wade thru the stuff

11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 like problems and stress in Botswana

12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 to find that the lads did enough

13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 but at three ev’ry week I would be there

14 Leave a comment on verse 14 0 all of those long miles away

15 Leave a comment on verse 15 0 i’d be glued to that radio out on some beach

16 Leave a comment on verse 16 0 and i’d try to imagine the day….

17 Leave a comment on verse 17 0 like the snow as the sun would be baking

18 Leave a comment on verse 18 0 and the fog as I lay by the sea

19 Leave a comment on verse 19 0 the taste of the ice-beer beside me

20 Leave a comment on verse 20 0 but gagging for strong English tea

21 Leave a comment on verse 21 0 so you close up those eyes and you picture the scene

22 Leave a comment on verse 22 0 and the game’s going on in your head

23 Leave a comment on verse 23 0 you’re a long-distant fan by the ocean

24 Leave a comment on verse 24 0 and you wish- you were back there instead………..

25 Leave a comment on verse 25 0 yeah its strange when you’re in some hot country

26 Leave a comment on verse 26 0 with some voice shouting out in your ear

27 Leave a comment on verse 27 0 “we’re joined by our listeners from over the seas”

28 Leave a comment on verse 28 0 and you wanna shout “yes mate – I’m here!

29 Leave a comment on verse 29 0 and ‘the Final’ was always a nightmare

30 Leave a comment on verse 30 0 a hundred degrees maybe more

31 Leave a comment on verse 31 0 some dirty old sheet and the dust from the street

32 Leave a comment on verse 32 0 and projectors that broke when they scored

33 Leave a comment on verse 33 0 there’d be prostitutes ex-pats and waiters

34 Leave a comment on verse 34 0 and everyone crammed in the same

35 Leave a comment on verse 35 0 there’s be white kids and Zulus down at the front

36 Leave a comment on verse 36 0 who were there cos they just ’ loved the game

37 Leave a comment on verse 37 0 and nobody asked you to do this

38 Leave a comment on verse 38 0 it wasn’t some well contrived plan

39 Leave a comment on verse 39 0 and nobody else apart from your-self

40 Leave a comment on verse 40 0 is to blame for your plight distant fan

41 Leave a comment on verse 41 0 and here we all are in two thousand and one

42 Leave a comment on verse 42 0 and wherever you go its the same

43 Leave a comment on verse 43 0 in a cafe in China or Cape Town

44 Leave a comment on verse 44 0 you can still keep in touch with the game

45 Leave a comment on verse 45 0 you got messages texting the planet

46 Leave a comment on verse 46 0 you got internet access all day

47 Leave a comment on verse 47 0 you got digital sound and ni-cam surround

48 Leave a comment on verse 48 0 and live interactive replay

49 Leave a comment on verse 49 0 and whether you’re broke or your Elton

50 Leave a comment on verse 50 0 or that Damon bloke out of Blur

51 Leave a comment on verse 51 0 If you’re Rod Flipping Stewart or still signing on

52 Leave a comment on verse 52 0 well now you can watch anywhere

53 Leave a comment on verse 53 0 if you’re up at the Mad Dog on Haight Street

54 Leave a comment on verse 54 0 in San Fran at dawn by the bay

55 Leave a comment on verse 55 0 or stuck in the Vic in the middle of Stroud

56 Leave a comment on verse 56 0 it’s no problem we all find a way

57 Leave a comment on verse 57 0 cos when you’ve been bitten you follow your team

58 Leave a comment on verse 58 0 and you do it however you can

59 Leave a comment on verse 59 0 and you miss it so much but you still stay in touch

60 Leave a comment on verse 60 0 that’s the way it’s ok distant fan

Notes

I wrote this for distant fans everywhere..about a period when I lived in Africa for 7 years, doing puppet-shows, working in shops and running a New-Age Clothing and Art shop (surprise-surprise).. It was still nervy, pre-Mandela’s release 72-79 and TV only arrived in the last year.Match of The Day would be flown out on reels in tin film-cans, including the Cup Final -shown the next day in some grim bar.Everyone was sworn not to divulge the Cup Final score if they knew.Nightmare! Thank god for Radio ga-ga!

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/distant-fan/