7 years old, two feet away from the tele, I sat there watching Gary Bannister’s montage of goals that season. Its 1986 and QPR were in the Milk Cup Final (League Cup). The build up to any final was always great TV back then because football was rarely on unlike now as the greatest game on earth sold its soul to sky.
As Bannister smashed in goal after goal, I recognised the song being played as ‘War’ from Rocky 4. Being one of my favourite films, I was getting pumped up for what would be a great game and victory for QPR.
Wrong!
Being favourites to win that day counted for nothing, we got beat 3-0 by Oxford and when the 3rd goal went in, I couldn’t take anymore. My first real lesson of supporting QPR was being dealt out to me in the most severe way. I remember being confused and quickly shifted away from the TV and started playing with some toy cars. I needed some familiarity to ease this weird pain I was experiencing.
Pain…that’s what it was. The original disappointment of not being able to attend was nothing compared to watching my heroes crumble. I was as envious as a seven year old boy could be that my two older brothers were taken to the game by my Dad and I cried for a while.
As Wembley had a portion of the stadium as standing, my Dad rightly said I couldn’t go as I wouldn’t be able to see. I didn’t get it at the time and pleaded to him but I was short for my age anyway which remains the case to this day (5ft 7″ was all I managed in the end).
So as I crashed my Knight Rider car continuously into the wall I could barely look at the TV.
What happened to Bannister?! I asked myself.
How can this be? Wembley is the place where dreams are created.
To appease my anguish, my Dad repeatedly told me that I could go next time. He genuinely meant it and I knew that.
Little did we know it would take a further 28 years for QPR to get back there!
In that time, the stadium has been rebuilt and as (bad) luck would have it, QPR made a Play Off Final in 2003 only for it to coincide with Wembley being torn down and put back up to cope with the modern game and demands.
So off to Cardiff it was to play…Cardiff. As impressive as the Millennium stadium is, its no Wembley and it didn’t put any ghosts to bed for me. We lost 1-0 in extra time which hurt bad at the time.
You see I never wanted to go to wembley unless it was for watching QPR. I’ve turned down the chance to watch England play, via paying, free tickets or even in an executive box. My desire to see the Rolling Stones there quickly dispersed when I remembered the real reason I wanted to go. Even Oasis, who were massive when I was younger couldn’t tempt me.
When they announced the old Wembley would be torn down a part of me thought I should go as I’ll never see it like that again but I still refrained to keep my dream alive.
Another eleven years has passed since that awful day in Cardiff and QPR finally find themselves at Wembley this Saturday to fight it out for 90 minutes and see if they can get back to the Premier League. They’ve taken their time getting there and have rarely threatened through the usual method of a cup run and a tea bag stays in one longer than us.
My dream will be realised on 24th May 2014.
I got a call the day after the Wigan game at Loftus Road.
It was my Dad. He said “I’m buying your ticket and we’re going to Wembley”
Thanks Dad, we got there in the end.
deatho79 