Since I started writing this blog to accompany my work as a freelance sports reporter back in 2010 Saturdays, whether they might be at Plainmoor, Home Park, Huish Park or St James Park, have been a big part of my weekly routine.
They have also been a major role in the weekly routine of many others who also attend matches at Plainmoor, which the shutdown of professional football since the Covid-19 outbreak has stopped in its tracks. Saturdays without football has taken a lot of getting used, just like it has not just for Torquay United fans, but for fans of other clubs up and down the country.
Attending matches has been a big part of life since I attended my
first league game as a 7 year old when I witnessed United face Fulham
in an 'old' Third Division on August 31st, 1991. The Gulls lost 1-0 on
that occasion and my future Press box colleague John Uzzell featured for United; John would return to Plainmoor as match analyst for the Press Association until 2016.
The absence of attending games at Plainmoor as a reporter for the Non League Paper was probably most keenly felt by myself last Saturday, which would have seen Torquay United face Dover Athletic - the Gulls' last home fixture of the 2019-20 fixture calendar. The last home game of the season is usually something of an occasion, as you always try to savour your surroundings as you know it will be the last time you will experience a game at Plainmoor until the pre-season friendlies get underway until the following July.
Then there is the absence of the match-day routine of arriving at the ground, picking up my press pass from the club reception, walking up to the press benches in Bristow's Bench where the first face I usually come across is the Herald Express' Guy Henderson, who is either already in situa or arrives shortly after me, or any visiting press officers or reporters. Then we are later by Richard Hughes (Herald Express/Devon Live) and Dave Thomas (now Torbay Weekly) and whoever is commentating for BBC Radio Devon that day. As we move ever closer to kick off I normally glance over towards the Popular Side to check that United 'super fan' Paul Bastard is in attendance. Paul attends every Gulls' game home and away, and travels to every Plainmoor fixture from his home in Manchester.
After the game there is Gary Johnson's post-match interviews which, as one of most media friendly of Torquay United managers in recent years, sees him regularly one up with one or two gems to fill your notebook with.
However, last Saturday the reality dawned on me that on a day that on the day which would have seen me attending Plainmoor for what would have been the last time for a while, I hadn't actually been there since the end of February.
Professsional football in England has taken a break when play was suspended for four seasons following the outbreak of World War One in 1914 (the 1914-15 campaign was the final league season contested before the suspension) and started again in 1919. The league once paused again in 1939 once World War Two commenced and would resume in time for the start of 1946-47 season.
In light of the recent announcement that the remaining regular league fixtures for the Vanarama National League for the 2019-20 season have been cancelled, we will now no longer see a ball kicked in anger until August 2020. When football returned in 1946 from its last hiatus, there was a surge in attendances as crowds increased by 32% as a 'feel good factor' surged around the country.
Whether a similar feeling will lead to a renewed interest in watching live sport once the Covid-19 pandemic is over remains to be seen. Nevertheless sport has the power to bring people together which few activities can match, and for many - myself included - the anticipation for that first live game once life returns to normal will no doubt match the excitement of attending that first ever match.
Which form or format that football will return as remains to be seen.
