|

Stratton Bank

mark merriman

Monday, April 6th, 2009

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Uncovered away end where
two thousand seats are bolted onto
terracing where we used to stand
in all weathers.
For my mate Bri it
started in ’74 when he stood
with his dad bedecked in
red and white scarf
whilst I watched from the seats.
For me the journey began
seven years later: me, Bri and
Wendy, a girl I fancied,
strictly out of my league.
We watched hundreds of games
from the Bank:
loud hailer needed in early eighties
as Town plumbed the depths.
Then heaving and joyous in
the Macari years;
losing the plot and loose change
when Bambi’s bullet header
blasted into the back of the net on the
night Town won promotion;
same again a year later when
Charlie crashed a rising drive
into the roof in the play offs
to give Swindon a replay.
Sometimes it became the
temporary home of visiting fans
like Leeds in ’90,
but we always went back.
Jumping for joy when Calderwood
netted to nick the points
off Newcastle.
Noise rising to a crescendo
when two early goals
rocked Rovers in the play offs
in ’93, this my last game
on the Bank, home of
all those memories.

© mark merriman sept 2004

Notes

A competition has been launched by Soccer am to re-name Swindon’s Stratton Bank. I’m not a big fan of gimmicksso if my ticket gets drawn I will re-name it the Stratton Bank – so there!

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/stratton-bank/