If I don’t share my stories and feelings from last Saturday, I’d be missing the point, wouldn’t I?
The moment the final whistle was blown at the Boreham Wood match, and the referee sprinted for his life down the tunnel, there was an explosion of passion you wouldn’t believe if you weren’t there.
The stands had been echoing since long before kick-off with the heartfelt cries of fans desperate to finally quash the bitter memories of the last 15 years.
Fifteen years which featured the occasion spark of wonderful glee, to illuminate a landscape of cruel near-misses and, occasionally, dalliances with the wrong end of the table.
It finally happened at 8:23 on April 22nd, 2023.
I’ve been in the middle of promotion celebrations before – although only twice, which has been the problem with being a Wrexham fan up until now! I’ve never seen anything like the out-pouring of delight and emotion we witnessed on Saturday.
Part of that, I think, is due to the effect social media has on our lives compared to the last time we were promoted, which was during the early days of the internet.
We live our lives out in public, seeking out the photogenic moment to share on our profile. We see remarkable scenes at other football grounds, and want to outdo them. But there was a lot more going on last Saturday.
It’s been wonderful to experience everybody else’s experiences of that remarkable evening, and see the videos of celebrations which stretched deep into the next day. I could spend an eternity listening to everyone describe their feelings as they heard that whistle, when they realised, as the clock ran down, that there was no time left for Boreham Wood to spoil the party, and never tire of it.
When you think of the tireless efforts put in by so many over the course of those 15 years, regardless of whether they were paid employees, enthusiastic volunteers or simply well-wishers, it really is overwhelming.
Then you factor in the remarkable wave of new supporters we’ve accumulated, and the incredible passion they already show for their new obsession. It’s genuinely hard to grasp the magnitude of what has happened.
It’s all been achieved with such melodrama too! It’s almost as if we’ve been programmed to dole out drama on demand; if only there was a TV crew capturing it all!
Despite accumulating the highest points total in the history of domestic football – which obviously meant serving up the best collection of results a set of football fans has ever been privileged enough to enjoy – we still seemed to find challenges around every corner.
We’ve conceded the first goal surprisingly often considering how dominant we’ve been.
The percentage chance of the side which scores first winning is in the mid-60s. We’ve conceded first in 11 games this season, and lost just 27% of them, winning 55%!
Naturally we went behind after 45 seconds on Saturday, bursting the re-match bubble in spectacular fashion. But equally, it was inevitable that after a moment of shock the crowd would re-double the volume, urging on a side which has earned their trust. They knew this was just another dramatic kink in the road, which we’d probably overcome. That’s simply how this team is.
From the moment they declared their interest, Rob and Ryan have said they are focussed on the community that envelops the club in a mutual embrace. Nothing builds a community like a common experience, and we enjoyed the mother of shared experiences last Saturday.
The amazing thing, for our club and for our community, is that, as the owners have always said, this is only the beginning.
I’ll see you for another party this time next year.
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