Young Watford Boy's first post

We went to a football match (Watford V Leicester). In 30 seconds Watford scored! (1-0). Twelve minutes later Watford scored again! (2-0). Three minutes later there was a penalty for  Leicester and they scored (2-1). In  the end, Watford beat the champions!

A Day Long Awaited

I took my son to the Vic for the first time. I don't want to overstate it. It's a moment I have been anticipating at least since I asked my wife to have my baby, always hoping for a boy. However, "dream come true" is perhaps a bit too much like hyperbole. I felt proud and excited to take my little Watford Boy to the ground I'd been to probably a couple of hundred times with my dad (though not one stand remains from the first matches I went to) and then taken my nephew to sixty or seventy times.

This was my first visit - and I was in the Rookery again - since The 1881 were formed, a group which I heard about from Luke's friend David. They had placed flags around the stand, which were waved ahead of kick-off by those closest (I have to admit I didn't realise at the time that they did not belong to particular people and we didn't wave one. Next time we will.) It looked great but the chanting/singing seemed little better than I remember. The swearing was pretty much the same, though. I'm not complaining - just wondering how long till my 5-year-old picks some of it up.

Despite the exhortations of my Watford Boy (which made me prouder), Bournemouth went ahead and stayed there till after half time when our talisman and captain scored. I threw the little man into the air several times to ensure he remembered the moment. After Bournemouth had gone ahead again, I was fearing a second defeat in two matches for the little man, who'd seen the Crystal Palace semi last year, and was admittedly more rapt then (Wembley Stadium does have something on Vicarage Road, after all).  
 
Luckily, substitute Isaac Success rose high to head in a second equaliser. My little man went up and down again and loved it. It was end to end stuff and there were four goals. A good first home match. Since our opponents hit the woodwork three times, a draw was ultimately


also a good result. Hopefully we can do better in the next match he sees, against Hull.

New Watford Boy

I have brought new support - in the shape of my son - to the Watford family.  Today we went to Wembley for the Semi-Final of the cup. There was no way I could have got him tickets for the quarter final - up the road from us - but we were within roaring distance of the Emirates Stadium at the Sobell Centre and then the Finsbury Park bowl when The 'Orns got a surprise 2-1 victory on the holders' turf six weeks ago.  We watched some of the second half at the bowling centre and celebrated, with Gooners everywhere. I promised him then we would go to Wembley and he has been singing the song ever since.

When I saw how the tickets would be released, I felt I had to play down the possibility that we could go in case my lack of a recent buying history (last match I went to was against today's opponents in the same stadium three years ago). I got online at the right time and sweated through minutes of waiting to get three tickets. Later that evening I saw tickets were still available and today anyone could see hundreds of empty seats in our half of the stadium.

My son loved it. When we went out to our seats an hour before kick off and with mere hundreds in their seats, he opined, "Best place in the world". At four and two-thirds, he wasn't expected to stay interested but he managed it.

It was a much better game today than three years ago but our defending was a little poor and though we countered well at times, we never really troubled the Palace keeper. They scored early and then again straight after Troy Deeney had equalised in the second half. Three headers.

My little Watford Boy sang "Watford till I die" and his cute, solitary voice turned a few heads. I let him down a bit on the singing, a headache developing once I started shouting off my big mouth and making it painful to continue to do so. I hope to have plenty of opportunities to make up for it in the future and also hope he will have the chance to come back to Wembley soon. It's my fourth time (Everton FA Cup final, 1984; Bolton Play-Off Final, 1999 and the two Palace games) and I've also been to three other FA Cup Semis (1984, 2003, 2007 at Villa Park) and a 2006 Play-Off Final in Cardiff. 8 big games in 37 years or so of supporting the Yellows, but with 6 since 1999 so he should have another shot by the time he's 10...