Being a Wimbledon fan was always a unique experience.
It's different now; we're a decent sized club playing at a level commensurate with our fan base. Back in the eighties and nineties however, our six to eight thousand fans were witnessing top flight football and the might of the English game.
Small fan numbers weren't totally uncommon in the eighties. While we were undoubtedly the smallest, there were other respectable top flight clubs making do within low teens.
Following the birth of the Premiership however, things began to change.
My memory comes from a match against Manchester United in the late nineties. I'm not saying we ever came close to the likes of United, but during the early success of the Premiership the gulf between our clubs had become a gigantic chasm.
Where we once regularly got results against the Uniteds and Arsenals, these games had become a procession and heavy defeats were racking up.
The game was heading towards another comfortable victory for United when Marcus Gayle launched a speculative and hopelessly misguided effort on Peter Schmeichel's goal. It went sailing over the bar.
The Wimbledon fans - possibly to try and keep the score respectable - held on to the ball. Schmeicel gestured to us to give it back to no avail.
As Roy Keane came over to add his own persuasive slant, a fan chucked back a tiny football.
It was one of those visual jokes which made everyone laugh, despite not knowing why.
It was a miniature moment in every way. Two giants of the game from the biggest club in the land, playing against the minnows, who were finding life in the fast lane tougher and tougher.
We got a full size football and we threw back a tiny one. It was a neat metaphor for how football was heading for small to medium sized clubs at the back end of the nineties.
Keane and Schmeichel both laughed, and for a brief moment we were all in on the joke.
Geoff Norcott
Geoff is a comedian
To visit his website please click here
Follow Geoff on Twitter @GeoffNorcott
Memory added on March 28, 2013
Comments (Add your voice)
No comments have yet been added to this memory.
