Att älska ett lag på distans, del 4
Efter att ha hört historier från Portugal, Danmark och Nya Zeeland så är det dags för ett annat av våra grannländer, nämligen Norge.
My name is Runar Skrovset, and you have every right to wonder why on earth a strange-named person born and raised in Norway can support a small League One club from Burslem, Staffordshire.
Well, Wolves 1-0 win against Sunderland live on NRK (Norway’s BBC if you like, and the only national TV channel here until the early 1990’s), on November 29th 1969 was a huge success, and kicked off what turned out to be a famous tradition. Through the seventies and eighties, people young and old, gathered on a Saturday afternoon to watch the Saturday football game. My guess is that you can’t imagine how huge English football was for Norwegians. It’s important to remember that Norwegian football was utter rubbish at that time. Our club teams could lose 10-0 in Europe without anyone taking too much notice and our national team was almost as poor. That, I think, made it easy to create a myth about the English stars we watched every Saturday afternoon and the incredible noise from the crowd which we of course weren’t used to. Every year, every week I should say, the myth grew bigger and bigger. At one point you would be seen as naïve if you argued that Norway’s national team was as good as Burnley or Hull City! Today we don’t see it the same way, but many of us keep our childhood love for English football alive. Clubs like Accrington Stanley, Woking and Scarborough still have official Norwegian supporters clubs.
At 8 years old I was familiar with the Saturday afternoon football routine with my ‘Spurs supporting dad, but was without a favourite team before late January 1988 when Vale beat ‘Spurs in that game I’m sure you all remember so well. I was with my grandmother that day and at 4.00pm (3.00pm in England of course) I demanded the TV to be turned on so I could watch the game. Tottenham versus… ‘Port Vale’!? Was it something spooky with my grandmother’s TV which made a club I had never heard of turn up against one of the usual ones? I couldn’t tell, but I loved it when those unfamiliar faces celebrated their unexpected win. When returning home to Oslo the following day I was – according to my dad - very pleased when I told him I had seen the game even though I wasn’t with him. He said he had also ‘seen the game.’
From the following week everything was back to normal. Liverpool, Everton, Man United etc were the teams on the TV screen, but my dad helped me in searching for Vale’s results in the Monday newspapers. Later we got BBC Radio Five and Teletext, which kept me updated and even informed of the goal scorers’ names. Then the Internet revolution made it possible for me to find out so much more, and today it’s of course very easy to keep yourself up to date when living abroad simply by switching on a computer.
Until recently I had attended three games, a 2-1 loss at Bradford, a 1-1 draw at home to Stoke and the 2-1 LDV Final win in Cardiff. Then in October this year I returned to watch the home game against Stockport County. The game itself, a 0-0 draw, was not too much to cheer about, but it was wonderful to be at Vale Park for only the second time during the 16 years, which had gone since I almost accidentally started supporting the Vale. I desperately wanted a Vale goal, but hopefully they’ll come in numbers next time instead.
The weekend I spent in Burslem was truly memorable and for that I have you, the people who made me feel so welcome, to thank. I owe everyone I met a huge thank you. When I first arranged my trip I mentioned it on www.onevalefan.co.uk and the forum regulars took me out after the game and treated me like a guest of honour. I hope to return next season to see the Vale and to enjoy the company of the friendliest people you will ever find.
Copyright The Vale Park Beano
