Laugh or cry? | Vital Football

Laugh or cry?

Never felt pain like it at a football match, but I’ve said since these things happen for a reason. If we’d have gone up, we’d have not had the next season, Southall’s goal against Sheffield Weds, Hess v Stoke, FACQF at Chelsea etc.

Also think I’ve said before, I’ve mellowed towards Dickov. He tells a story about being at a City game (as a fan), with the crowd signing “where were you when we were shit?” - his kid asked him where he was when City were shit and he replied “playing!
 
The City game is an odd one, I was shattered when they equalised, remember absolutely nothing of extra time and was utterly crushed by the penalty shootout outcome.

It would probably still be in the supressed memory file of my brain had we not returned the favour against poor Wigan the following year. Thommo's goal exorcised a LOT of demons that day.

That said, I still can't see images of Nicky Weaver's wafty handed celebrations after the final pen without feeling sick.
 
NathanH_GFC said:
Never felt pain like it at a football match, but I’ve said since these things happen for a reason. If we’d have gone up, we’d have not had the next season, Southall’s goal against Sheffield Weds, Hess v Stoke, FACQF at Chelsea etc.

Also think I’ve said before, I’ve mellowed towards Dickov. He tells a story about being at a City game (as a fan), with the crowd signing “where were you when we were shit?” - his kid asked him where he was when City were shit and he replied “playing!
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I was at the city match but moved up to Scotland before the Wigan game so never got the personal redemption that most others did. I was never one to celebrate too early but remember turning to my mate in the 88th minute and mouthing we've got this. Never been able to watch the end of the game, which is clearly ridiculous but scars run deep. Watched the Wigan match with my new Scottish mates so all finished well. UTG.
 
Whisky Gill said:
........... I was never one to celebrate too early but remember turning to my mate in the 88th minute and mouthing we've got this. Never been able to watch the end of the game, which is clearly ridiculous but scars run deep ...........
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I did the same and when City got one back as the clock struck 90 I said out loud "now blow the fucking whistle ref". I only ever watched a replay beyond that moment once and have blanked out extra time and penalties completely. In my mind we 'lost' 2-2.
 
After our second went in the people behind us starting singing "The Gills are going up". We quickly shushed them, but the damage was done. I didn't get a good night's sleep for at least a fortnight afterwards...
 
I couldn’t get over it for many years..

I didn’t really hold out much hope of us winning it before the game, this due to getting comprehensively beat 3-0 at home by City not that long before. However, at half time I got chatting in the line for the toilet to someone that had been speaking to Hess that week. He said “I was speaking with Hess this week and he reckons we’re gonna do ‘em today!”

Like 35,000 other Gills fans there that day, as Super Bob smashes in to make it 2-0, I said to my mate “We’ve done it!”, to which he replied “I know!”. We all know how it ended…

Things were made even worse after the game when their fans were shaking our coach, felt like they were gonna tip it over. Then we got stuck in a Jam on the M25 and took 3 hours to get back to Gillingham.

That night, I remember watching Seinfeld, a show that I loved and belly laughed at usually, and I said “This is sh-t” and turned off.

I didn’t want to think about football after then, especially as our start to the following season was abysmal (felt like it at least). It wasn’t until, as mentioned in this thread already, that we got redemption the following year that I started to recover from “That ‘other’ day in May”.

Here’s how I’ve gotten over it though. Having watched a City documentary last year, I’ve started to put myself coming from the perspective of City fans (I know, bear with me!🐻). What an incredible match it was for them, the complete opposite that we felt. They,the massive club, were “going nowhere”, the laughing stock of Manchester. You can just imagine being in their crowd and how it would have been. I’m sure very similar to use when St Thommo scored.

I thought I heard Pep Guardiola and all Man City managers educate the new players on what happened that day, and what it means for the club and the fans. It was one of the best, if not the best ever play-off final, and we STILL hold the attendance record for a 3rd tier play off final.

Last month in a British pub here in Osaka, a huge group of over 100 Manchester Tourists turned up, before they were heading back home. I got speaking to a bloke at the bar who said he’s a city fan, to which I quickly replied “Gillingham!”. He was “OMG ‘99!” He was so genuinely happy to meet a Gills fan to hear about and share the other side of their big day. We discussed it and departed to handshakes and big hugs. He said “Huge respect to you and the Gills”. It confirmed what I’ve known already, that even they are European Champions, the real Man City fans who were there that day will never forget and are so humble to the fact that they were lucky that day and that if things had lost that day, their history could possibly have turned out completely different.

UTG!
 
Made arrangements to drink in London after the game with a few mates, whatever happened, but changed to go to Bromley instead when we got the underground after the game. Walking through Bromley, only to be met by a couple of Wall fans singing “Blue Moon”… Called them some names, and asked if they fancied a beer. Ended up in a pub singing karaoke with them. Strange world sometimes…
 
None of us who were there will ever forget that day (Man City). I felt a bit depressed the following day after it had sunk in, having never understood why fans get so worked up, at the end of the day football's just a game, nothing significant in the great scheme of things. The first match of the following season felt like a funeral. I had no expectations - we'd blown our big chance after all. If you can't win being 2 up with a few minutes to go then you're never going to get to the promised land. I can actually enjoy watching the City game now but I'm not so sure I would if we hadn't got promotion
 
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