Now Is The Time To Enjoy Watching Huddersfield Town Again
(Image: HTAFC)
Brady Frost, Feature Writer
Twitter: @brady0894
13 games unbeaten for The Terriers but due to the constant nature of football, have we as fans really stood back and enjoyed it?
20 June 2020 was one of those days in football as a fan where pre-game you’re full of excitement and then post-match you’re hit with crushing disappointment. It was the first full lockdown and after a three-month hiatus of no Championship action, Huddersfield returned to an empty John Smith’s Stadium to take on Wigan in a bid to stay in the league, 18th in the table against 20th.
The months of waiting for football to return in the most unusual times, with the backdrop of a virus that had confined everyone to their homes was palpable. There was nothing to do, this only intensified everything about Huddersfield coming back. Religiously talking about the game in advance. Triple checking iFollow will work before. It did, barely. Arranging a group call to watch the match together. Getting appropriate beverages and snacks in before. Clearing a non-existent schedule. Debating all the talking points. What’s Danny Cowley going to do? Who will start? How will the players react? Beep. The game kicks off and even if Town had won, the weight of expectation was too much. Still, the 2-0 defeat was one of the most dejected times I’ve felt watching Huddersfield Town.
Niceties were made, positive notions about there’s still time and matches to be played spoken but when logging off the call, months of anticipation turned into a gut punch that waters the eyes. It’s only football, of course, but there was nothing to do. Routines were broken, matchday traditions went up in smoke and following Huddersfield Town felt less like a shared experience and more like having to sit through the end of a mediocre TV series that you’ve committed to and there’s no escape. Emotions around the game felt more intense because it was a distraction from the uncertainty of everything else.
Well, look at Huddersfield Town now. Another season passed with games behind closed doors in between that fateful day on June 2020 and with it another frustrating experience, but this season, fans are back and The Terriers sit 5th in the table, 13 games unbeaten in all competitions. It’s just a joy going to games again, this group of players seem united, the atmosphere feels better and the connection between the team and fans is back in so many ways that we haven’t seen since that fateful 16/17 promotion season. Even the wave is back! Yet, it doesn’t feel the same judging by the reactions online.
What happened in the world over the past two years has changed us all, it put things into perspective. What has happened at Huddersfield Town in its own small way has also felt seismic to fans. Dean Hoyle left as Chairman. Phil Hodgkinson came in. Successive relegations nearly happened, iconic players departed, new ones came in, managerial changes. Phil has basically left, Dean came back.
In that time, some fans said they had enough and supported local non-league teams, some had issues with the chairman’s stance and vowed never to return until he left. Some, like me, questioned what was happening but stuck by, others ignored the noise and just carried on supporting the club regardless. This isn’t the opportunity to become all high and mighty about what the correct path to take was, we’re all different. Yet, if the metaphorical parapet is vacant for some preaching, here goes.
All the lows we’ve had watching Huddersfield Town over the past two years with the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, it’s important to acknowledge that life has felt miserable at times for so many reasons, not just football related. So, when an opportunity comes along for some highs, revel in that joy where you can. A team that many predicted, including me, would be in a relegation battle this season are six points off the automatic promotion spots. A team made up of free transfers and loan signings have won more matches in 31 games than they did for the entirety of last season. A team with 15 games of the campaign to go, have the same number of points (49) as they did last season.
A 0-0 defeat to Preston in the immediate aftermath is annoying, but Huddersfield’s previous three fixtures at Deepdale saw them concede three goals on each occasion. This isn’t a call for all our fans to become happy clappers regardless of what happens but as someone who doesn’t do this enough themselves, it’s worth sitting back and taking stock about how far this team has come in a short space of time. More importantly, how good it feels to go to football again.
Football fanbases are made up of people from different backgrounds, different circumstances, all with different opinions, it’s what makes football great and continually interesting. The majority might agree that it’s a great moment and we need to enjoy it, some might think it’s a false position because the league is weak, some fans might not feel connected to Carlos Corberan and his team.
When I think back to the day in 2020 staring at my computer screen being stuck in my house, compared to where we are now, it feels like a complete transformation. Who knows what will happen in the last 15 games of the season, it could end in glorious failure, the team could fade away with a whimper, Town could even defy the odds once again. A lot can change in three months but come Saturday, I’ll be stuck in my house due to a positive COVID test but when the whistle blows for kick-off, the outcome feels brighter.
