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Rivals

mark merriman

Saturday, May 6th, 2006

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Oxford have gone:
falling out of the trapdoor
into the Conference.
Relegation of hated rivals
from down the road
the catalyst for
feverish rejoicing in the
sparsely populated stands
at the County Ground.
Our own suffering
temporarily forgotten –
at least we’ll still be
playing League football
next season.
And yet ( whisper it )
I have a modicum of sympathy
for them as I attempt to
empathise with their fans.
I enjoyed my visits
to The Manor and latterly
the Kassam Stadium.
Atmosphere always added
extra spice;
local bragging rights at stake;
tackling fierce and committed;
tension threatening to
boil over both on and
off the pitch.
The U’s fall from grace
mirroring our own demise;
perhaps we’ll climb up
the league ladder together?

© mark merriman sept 2004

Notes

Unlike some Town fans, I will not be crowing at Oxford’s relegation; there but for the grace of God etc……

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/rivals/