Letter: Footie at its best

Letter: Footie at its best

MAY I suggest that Jeremy Clarke (End of Story, 14 February) goes west for a touch of nostalgia, although I doubt he'll experience a better atmosphere than that at the recent FA Cup match when Bristol Rovers met Leyton Orient.

Rovers play at the Memorial Ground, home of Bristol RFC, where there is limited seating, and as a result this game had it all. A capacity crowd of 9,500, with fans locked out, jam-packed terraces, children on the touchline where at half-time they were handed boxes of sandwiches and mugs of tea by parents standing on the terraces. The chanting and singing, mostly directed at the Rovers' deadliest enemies, Bristol City, left us crying with laughter. Then there was the group hugging when Bristol Rovers scored - physically impossible in all-seater stadiums.

Despite the cold and rain, and standing without cover, it was 90 minutes to cherish and talk about for a long time to come, as well as being a reminder of the Saturday afternoons in the 1950s when my father used to take me and my brother to White Hart Lane.

M STICKELS

Bristol