White Lines (Football & Cocaine) #1

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way... Oh what fun it is to see Chelsea win away... 

In the beginning they were simple days. Hop on an inter city train early am, stock up on beers from the blessed buffet (have I mentioned their toast before?), sit back in a compartment or stretch out across 8 seats to talk through prospects for the game, prospects for the season, prospects for the night out in town after the game and what excuse we could make to get out of our Sunday League fixture tomorrow.  

We weren't the Wrecking Crew, Old Town Tooled up Mob, Bunch of Nutters, Beachy Headcases, South Coast Psycho Gang, The Crumbles Rumble Squad or even The Sussex Naughty Boys! We were simply loyal supporters on our way to see our team (albeit in 'enemy territory'). 

Truth be told thought, we were just out for a pie, a pint & hopefully 3 points! And remarkably we carried on like this for a few years, a little rowdy now and then (especially the time we headed up to Old Trafford under the guise of Jaap Stamm's Transit Van Gang) but we never threw a punch or copped a hiding. 

Not even the time a Man City crew attached themselves to our party and offered to show us round Manchester... that was a close call! 

However, it all went smoothly until Mr White joined our happily little band of travellers.

He started turning up to the bigger games (notably a Cup Semi-final at Villa Park). He'd loiter at the back of the Executive mini-bus, hang around in Inter-City toilets and leave powder traces in the stadium bogs. After these trips, the chaps started to get a little more intense, a little lary (if you will), a little more wankerish. Small schisms would appear. 

The cost of a match day was getting steep... Ticket, Tube, Train, Beers, Food, Charlie, Taxi's to & from the ground, more food, more beers, more Charlie... Looking at the wrong end of £500 just to go and watch a 1-1 draw at Middlesborough! 

And then things got a little tastier - We started going to Europe! 

Tbc...