Portsmouth opinion: Getting to heart of what it's all about

Something a little different this week '“ a column pointing you in the direction of another column.
The Fratton faithfulThe Fratton faithful
The Fratton faithful

Every so often, someone writes something about football, or particularly about Pompey, that hits a nerve '“ well, not so much a nerve, but the heart.

Scrolling through my Twitter timeline the other evening I was alerted to a piece by Tom Evans (who I'd never heard of) on a website called The Football Pink (which I'd never heard of).

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I was curious so went and had a read, and I'm so glad I did. For if ever an article sums up what Pompey can mean in terms of football and family, this is it.

I'll summarise it for you, without spoiling it for those who want to go and have a rwad of it themselves (and I do urge you all to do just that).

Tom and his dad started watching Pompey regularly in the 1992-93 season, when he was 10.

They had a memorable (despite all the relegation battles) decade in '˜their spot' on the Fratton End watching the highs and mostly lows of the Blues' 1990s and early 2000s trials and tribulations.

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Tom's dad's health then deteriorated and eventually Tom cut himself off from Fratton Park because of this. Now, though, he's ready go back with his own son, and begin another generation of Pompey-supporting in his family.

It struck me that this will ring true for so many Pompey fans (and supporters of other clubs, of course). It was my dad who introduced me to Fratton Park, and me who introduced my son to it. I did try to get my daughter into it, too, but to no avail.

The people we experience Pompey with over the years come and go. The family and friendship groups change, but the football is constant.

It's a way of life Tom describes so well.