Oxford United 1 Cambridge United 1

My grandson who is undergoing chemotherapy had the opportunity to be a mascot for the day at Oxford United. This meant apart from his mum and dad getting tickets there was one spare. Granny did not mind Grandad going along!!! 
The community team at the club were great. He was given their kit, saw the stadium, dressing room, met the players, gained their signatures on his programme, met the club's mascot, had a kick about on the pitch and then of course walked out with the team for the match. He loved every moment. 

For me it was a very relaxed day. I was not able to go round with him, only mum and dad could, and that was fine. So I was able to relax and observe. It was like watching a community come together with a  common purpose. People slowly arriving at the ground greeting not just each other as fans but clearly knowing each others names. The fact the staff on duty spoke to people by name quite often, revealed the family nature of the club. The handful of police on duty, well they just strolled and it appeared to me they expected no trouble at all. There was no sense of needing a heavy presence  to separate fans, which I suspect was not true at the Millwall West Ham Utd game which I was following on my phone being a West Ham follower.

I could just walk around very freely visiting the club shop to get my grandson a scarf to go with his kit. Not once did I feel in danger. people were visiting the nearby eatery or enjoying a pint inside and outside. I spoke with a few people on the day all keen to talk football ,and told me my club really should be in the premier league. Going into the ground itself I could see the family nature of the club. Women and men children of all ages, some with parents, some with grandparents. It was a good family atmosphere, a real sense of community. Yes the ground is a bit odd only three stands, they ran out of money for the fourth, but they are meant to be getting a new stadium which I think they deserve.

Watching my grandson come out with the team before finally re-uniting was a wonderful experience. It had been a long day for him, and ahead three more days of treatment. But we were there to see Oxford open the scoring but by half time we needed to take him home. Following the game on my phone I saw Cambridge got one back so a draw. Thankfully West Ham who had been two nil down also came back to draw, and I can only hope they bounce back out of the championship by the end of the season. But Oxford have got something special, a sense of community, a family, and wow it all made the make my grandsons day.

A sense of community is a powerful thing and in this instance was certainly a positive. People wanted to be together to support their club. I'm sure they would have wanted a win. But the thing about such clubs you know they will be back next week regardless of a draw a win or a loss.


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