Stephen (@StephenJBaker) explores the anxiety dream that is supporting Cymru.
I’ve been telling myself since that night back in June when we qualified, that I should just sit back and enjoy our first World Cup in 64 years, But as we get closer and closer to the first match I know it’s not going to happen. Watching Cymru play football is never a relaxing pastime, neither is watching your club side play every week. But watching Cymru is an all different real life Anxiety Dream.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe second the players leave the tunnel for the anthems it starts. Why put ourselves through any event where the nicest part of the evening is when you are crying your eyes out? It’s a sense of duty we all have, we are a small country and we feel the need to give the men and women who represent Cymru the support of 100 times the amount of people in the ground. We do this when we are singing the anthem. In my case and countless others in the stadium that ends with me crying my eyes out. AsI said that’s the nicest part of the evening.
Embed from Getty ImagesSoon as the whistle goes to start the match, then the stomach turning starts. The first few minutes in and all we can think about is ‘We are going to go a goal down’, ‘They are going to score’. If we are lucky and the stars are aligned and the gods are smiling on us and we score first. That sixty-seconds of euphoria ends and you sit back down thinking to yourself ‘we are going to blow this’. For some reason Cymru being a goal up doesn’t help the anxiety at all, if anything it makes it worse! Now we have something to lose!
Embed from Getty ImagesI am not sure if fans of other countries go through this but following Cymru over the years we have found new and painful ways to lose matches. Someone once said ‘it’s the hope that kills you’. I am sure that person had just watched Cymru play in the 90’s. This explains why being a goal up doesn’t ease the tension.
Embed from Getty ImagesHalf time comes and that just gives us more time to think of ways it could all go wrong, ‘The Ref is dying to give them a pen!’ ‘They will get a dodgy free kick with all that diving’
Embed from Getty ImagesThen we go through the second 45 minutes or these days with VAR the second hour of the match. You try and relax during the second half, all goes well and Cymru are still a goal up in the 80th minute. ‘That’s great isn’t it?’ I hear you ask? NO it’s worse! Now we start thinking of which minute of added on time we throw it away.
Embed from Getty ImagesThankfully, since the much missed and never forgotten Gary Speed took charge of Cymru, we have become a force on the world stage and win a lot more than we lose. But those of us who lived through the dark days (the Bobby Gould years) we can’t shake that feeling that it will all go wrong.
Embed from Getty ImagesWill we ever stop watching Cymru because of this? Hell no! Will we count down the days to our first World Cup match like its Christmas? Of course we will! Soon as I finish writing this, I will be put my World Cup Wall Chart on the wall. Will I relax watching our matches up to the final? No chance!
Oh bugger, I just realised there could be penalties!