Hey you all.....let me relate a story for you. I came to Canada on the final sailing of the Empress of Canada to the colonies.....we left Liverpool on December 23, 1952....bound for Canada......we docked in St. John, New Brunswick.....holy shit, even as a 14 year-old, I thought this was worse than arriving in Australia on a prison ship in the 1800's.....we hit a whole gale....force 10 on the Beaufort scale the final day out.....I was one of only 23 people out of 300-odd who showed up for dinner. We eventually made it to shore. The ship sailed back to Liverpool and on January 25, 1953 was set afire by a welder's torch during the annual refit. The Empress of Canada was no longer....it keeled over on its side and later was hauled off to Poland for scrap. From then on, I have despised everything Liverpool....never mind Manchester......
On the trip over though, I saw the highlights of what in Canada is called the Grey Cup.....like the Super Bowl....Canada's football championship. It was between Toronto and Edmonton....Toronto won 21-11....the game had been played a month earlier. I couldn't believe what these players were wearing.....shoulder pads....padded pants and a bloody helmet, some with a steel-wired guard in front. Each play from scrimmage, the players clapped once as they moved into formation....I figured they were giving themselves an ovation before they even did anything. And on it went. I was brought up with rugby at grammar school in Ripon.....we weren't allowed to even talk about what I called "real football"........but I fooled them.....my grandparents lived in a city called Leeds, 26 miles north of Ripon.....I used to take the number 34 bus from Ripon to Leeds by myself on a Friday.....watch my beloved United on some Saturdays.....and ride the bus home on Sunday. I was a very fortunate lad.....from age 10 to 14.....I was at Headingley for the fourth test match......I saw Sir Don Bradman on his final tour.....I saw Neil Harvey as a 19 year-old phenom......my favourite Denis Compton and his pal Bill Edrich.....and yes, Yorkshire's heroes, Sir Leonard Hutton and Norman Yardley, Johnny Wardle et al. Freddie Trueman a wonder......even liked Cyril Washbrook, Evans, Bailey, Statham and Tattersall. But as much as I loved cricket.....real football was something special.....it was so special that I managed to play the game at an early age in Canada.....through to juvenile.....and then be a soccer broadcaster when the Vancouver Whitecaps joined the North American Soccer League.......I was there when David Harvey, Johnny Giles and Peter Lorimer joined out club....and others followed. Football was, is and always will be my game. I am turning 69 next month.....I have lots of years ahead of me......and I'll be the first to raise a glass when my beloved Leeds United goes back to its rightful place......first in the Premier League. And it won't be a lifetime either. As much as the preceding was rather lengthy, I hope you all appreciate the fact that as I am so far away from Elland Road.....it's only by way of a map. In mind, I am there with you all. Cheers to all Leeds United supporters, John "Grampa" Sykes _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist Join The Leeds United Supporters Trust at www.lufctrust.org
