I didn’t intend to write a post today, as this being a Monday bank holiday.

My next instalment of building or reviving a business series for over 60s.

Will be posted tomorrow, when hopefully our thoughts will have turned from holiday mode into how, can I make some money mode and still enjoy myself in my sixties.

I felt compelled to write this post because of a sporting event and a developing rivalry with my 11 year old grandson.

If you have been following my story you may know I love sport and love following Southampton FC.

With all the emotional ups and downs following your favourite sports team brings.

Supporting Southampton FC Love, Loyalty and Lifelong Suffering

Which brings me to this Saturday evening when I sat down with a lovely glass of Rioja by my side.

Ready to watch Southampton take on Arsenal in the quarter finals of the FA cup.

The Emotional Rollercoaster of a Sports Fan

I am like a lot of people I know, a curious mixture of optimism and pessimism.

The type laced with hope and fear, sheer joy when your team scores the first goal, makes that early try or the batsman takes the fast bowler to the cleaners in the opening couple of overs.

Only for that veil of pessimism to slowly draw over you and create a feeling of impending doom.

“That’s it we will sit back make a self inflicted mistake they will sore then we will get hammered.”

“The batsman is going to get carried away, and will nick the ball to first slip.” etc, etc.

Well for some unknown totally irrational reason I had a feeling we could create an upset and beat the Premier league leaders.

A House Divided: Southampton vs Arsenal

What made this even more interesting than usual, my 11 year old grandson is an Arsenal fan.

We actually now live in close proximity to arsenal’s training ground.

I have always made a thing with him, that you should if possible support your local team, and as his dad is a North Londoner who supports Arsenal it was inevitable that he would follow that path.

I also made it very clear, it is an unbreakable rule that once you’ve made that decision you have to support them through thick or thin.

So to the match.

The match started reasonably from my point of view.

Arsenal whilst creating a bit more than us, weren’t making me that worried, and we indeed had a couple of clear chances.

When Support Turns to Rivalry

In the 35th Southampton scored the first goal, my phone rang it was my grandson, I was going a little crazy with happiness.

” Ha lucky goal” says grandson, don’t worry we will equalise soon and beat you 3-1.

Now that’s it!

For once I didn’t have that veil of impeding doom coming over me, it was something quite different.

A stirring feeling of rivalry that felt a bit strange.

This is the boy, that, every Sunday for the last four years I have been getting up early to take him to watch him play.

In all weathers shouting encouragement at him, delighting when he makes a great tackle or goes on a marauding run down the wing.

Well I must say this was totally different no we are going to win.

Even when arsenal equalised I felt sure we would win, and sure enough in the 85th minute we scored the winning goal.

My grandson had gone quiet and ignored my phone call.

The Beauty of the Game (and the Banter)

So it’s begun, he came to our house for the traditional family Easter lunch.

I started to tease, him or do I thought, I don’t want to upset him.

Then he said he wasn’t upset because it was only the FA cup and Arsenal were going to win the premier league and champions league anyway.

So maybe the rivalry is only building in my head because Southampton aren’t a threat, as he sees it.

But this just shows how fantastic following a team is.

Grandad and grandson are both happy and very optimistic for now,.

Or though you know the inevitable losses will come at some point in the future.

But it just doesn’t matter because this weekend has been a great weekend.

Next week back to shouting encouragement to grandson.

Sport, wow fantastic.

Now to finish that gardening I promised to do at the start of the weekend.

Let me know if you are ever unexpectedly happy or unhappy at sports events, or is there something else that makes you glad to be alive, all comments are very welcome.

“That same spirit of ‘irrational optimism’ I felt during the match?

It’s exactly what we need when starting a new venture.

Tune in tomorrow for the next instalment of my business series for the over 60s!”