Momentous day

[RobTheRover]

Neil,  brilliant. Just brilliant.

I'm so glad you all really enjoyed it (and I include the "colouring couple"  in that too).

[stuey]

Well folks, that was a very different match-day experience.

Setting off this lunch-time:

Season ticket......... Check
Rovers shirt............ Check
Cinderella colouring and sticker book and coloured pencils...... Check

And the good news (or is it bad news?) is.... she absolutely loved it.

She sat open-mouthed when G Woods first kicked the ball upfield from his hands. Her eyes followed the ball as it sailed up high into the sky and then kept following it as it dropped slowly back down at the other end of the pitch, then turned to me and said "Wow".

She watched the whole of the 1st half without pestering me once, then at half time we had our pork pies that Mum had packed for us.

She looked at me in a way I've never seen before when I jumped up and roared when I thought we'd scored in the first half, only for the 'goal' to be disallowed.
"Why isn't it a goal Dad? The ball went into the net?"

Try explaining to a six-year-old why it wasn't a goal. In fact, try explaining it to a 55-year-old Dad.
I felt like running onto the pitch and dragging the ref up into our seats in the West Stand and yelling at him "Go on.... tell my daughter why that wasn't a goal!"

Anyway, at least that was a useful rehearsal for when we actually scored, by which time Natasha was listening to The Ugly Duckling on her CD player, and the middle-aged couple who sit in front of me were busy colouring in Cinderella.

The start of a new era?

You bet.

That is quite simply the best post i've read on here for ages. Hope you and your daughter have many (hopefully happy) years following the mighty Rovers

[jonnydog]

Can you move to the west stand behind me then Neil, it would be a breath of fresh air to get someone sat behind me that was positive. Cinderella colouring and all!

Hope you enjoyed it as much as she did though. The experience I mean!

[Viking Don]

Haha nice one Neil, glad it went well.

I took my 6 year old son to his first match V Grimsby in the cup a few years back. He'd been threatening to start supporting Man U so I stopped his pocket money and bought him a season ticket to Rovers before it was too late. The Grimsby game was a perfect start - 0-2 down only for us to storm back and win 3-2 - got him hooked for the next 6 or 7 years, until the 'teenage' years when football became a stupid game...

He's 16 now and has got a ten game ticket this season so once instilled it will always get them later!

[Lesonthewest]

Sounds like your daughter enjoyed her day Neil, great stuff.

[Monkcaster_Rover]

Great read that Neil. Glad it went well!