Football in 2020 has lacked many of the sounds which define the game. I’m just about used to computer game style fake crowds, the howls and shrieks of otherwise fit and strong adults as they’re given the faintest of touches by an opposition player adds nothing to my armchair viewing experience. Is their desire to win so strong none of them feel like idiots?
So there’s something extra reassuring about the sound of 40 balls being poured into a bowl. Even though Covid means the same person, this time former Lincoln manager Danny Cowley, pulls out both the home and away teams, televised cup draws offer a rare familiarity in an otherwise surreal season.
Familiar for Darlington is planning a long trip south and west. Their reward for beating Swindon is a slightly further trek to League 1 Bristol Rovers. Darlo fans paid for an overnight stay before the Swindon match and within an hour of manager Alun Armstrong mentioning this on the BBC cup draw coverage, over £1500 had been raised for similar provision in Bristol.
With togetherness like this, added to the considerable experience of Nicky Hunt (over 100 appearances for Bolton in the Premier League) and Tony McMahon (119 games for Middlesbrough, 61 for Sheffield United), who’s to say another famous day in the modern history of Darlington Football Club isn’t waiting at the end of November?
Glory Hunting 