From: gburnage@vax.oxford.ac.uk (Ooh Aah Cantona)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.soccer
Subject: York City: Going back where we belong?
Date: 3 Sep 92 16:31:40 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

Toptoptoptoptop of the League -- that's York City, the Pride of North
Yorkshire. Yep, after several years of league-propping, City Are Back,
and we still hate Scarborough. Did Tim Kennedy ever get on that
rec.sport.soccer mailing list? I hope so, cos I need to gloat, and a
Scarborough fan will do nicely.

The story is that York City have done the unthinkable and won their
first four matches of the season and are currently two points clear at
the top of division 3. Never since they joined the league back in nineteen 
oatcake have they managed to start by winning more than three, and the last 
twice they won three at the start they got promoted no bother at all. The
city is going mad, and last Tuesday night an amazing Wimbledon-sized
crowd turned out at Bootham Crescent to see them turn over Torquay
United 2-1. Pepper got a penalty after half an hour, Torquay got a
deserved equalizer, but City then stormed back and Warburton scored
the winner towards the end. Another cool City hero is their goalie,
Dean Someone, who the crowd have taken to calling "Dino" (a reference
either to the famous goalkeeper of Italy or the Flintstone's domestic
pet). The match included some splendidly scrappy stuff, several awful
misses by City, and one bad injury to a Torquay player. This wouldn't
have been funny but for the sight of four ageing St John's
Ambulancepeople galloping round the park in stately fashion to
Administer the Stretcher. Their moment of glory was much appreciated
by the crowd.  (Yeah, I know, they do a great job, it's just that
sometimes they look funny when they're doing it.)

On the downside, as I was queuing to get in, I was amazed to hear a
broadcast message asking for no racial or obscene chants during
the match. Torquay had a few black players so there was some
nasty racial stuff early on, but thankfully most in the crowd shushed it 
up when it happened, and stewards moved in to keep an eye on the main
culprits. 

This didn't extend to Scarborough, of course, who quite justifiably
were roundly abused at important points throughout the match. The
Leeds United song about Chelsea ("when I was just a little boy/get
your father's gun", etc) proved useful in this regard (there's an
extra bit tacked on the end as well, just for Scarbruh). Actually, a
fair number of Leeds United favourites seem to have been added to the
City repertoire since I've been away, stuff like "EIEIEIO, up the
football league we go" and "We Are York". Also every time York got a
corner, a few people seemed to be sticking their forearms in the air
repeatedly, in the accepeted Leeds United fashion. By the end I was
half expecting us to break into "Marching On Together". One homebred
one is "Oh to, Oh to be, Oh to be a, YORK-IE". (Yorkies are chocolate
bars made in York and eaten by Lorry drivers as well as a name for the
locals).

And the crowd's closing message to Torquay? "We're going up, you're
not. You're staying down with Scarborough". Are they right, or will
John Ward's new-look City, like our dreams, fade and die? In the best
fairweather traditions I'll let you know if they make it.

Gavin
gburnage@vax.ox.ac.uk

PS Anyone else out there read "Dicks Out", the newly published guide
to terrace lyrics up and down the land? It's good stuff.
Newsgroups: rec.sport.soccer