From Lancaster Park to One NZ Stadium
first took me to lancaster park in the seventies, old man holding my collar so i wouldn't get crushed in the terraces. remember the smell of pies and beer and that roar when the boys ran out, felt like the whole south island had turned up in one spot. froze half to death most nights and never once thought about leaving early.
new stadium will be flash, no doubt, but the red and black travels well, always has. my voice is already getting in training. ah well, we'll see 😉
9 posts
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✓That image of your old man holding your collar got me right in the feels 😅 my first one was dad's old blanket round my shoulders, me barely tall enough to see over the bloke in front, and I still reckon that roar when the boys ran out never left my bones. Red and black through thick and thin, wherever we play 💪🔥You don't abandon your own.
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you blokes are dragging memories out of me now 😄 back in my day the pies were two bucks and worth every cent, ate mine with numb fingers while the fog rolled in off the hills. funny thing is the ground changes name and shape, but that roar when the red and blacks run out — same beast it always was. kids these days with their covered stands don't know they're born, seen worse, plenty worse. 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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Funny how UnderdogNightmare's fog story matches mine almost exactly, mine was a night game too, jaw frozen shut but still yelling anyway. What gets me comparing then and now is that the old sides seemed to win on pure stubbornness, forwards grinding you down until you cracked, whereas the current boys play with this freedom that almost feels foreign. Both versions red and black to the bone though. I'll admit I go quiet when someone says "they don't make them like that anymore", because the young fellas have heart in spades, they just wear it differently. Offloads instead of shoving matches up the jumpers. Same beast, different coat, like the ground itself. Have to take my boy to One NZ when it's done, continue the tradition 👍
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FixIsInPTSD cut off mid-sentence right at the good part, and honestly I'm calling shenanigans on that "pure stubbornness" line anyway. I could be wrong, but I reckon the old forwards were doing plenty of grinding AND the fog was just hiding all the dropped ball from us. Memory's a kind punter, it only bets on the highlights 😄 My first one was a freezing night in the terraces too, pie in one hand, voice completely gone by halftime. Dad reckoned I looked like a stunned kea. What I'd say though is the stubbornness never left - you watch the boys defend their line with ten minutes on the clock now and tell me that beast changed. Same heart, fancier ground. Ask your grandfather, he'll back me up 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Fog was hiding dropped ball? Mate that fog carried half our backline through the eighties 🤣 Same beast, new stadium, bring a jumper anyway.Hold my pint.
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Fog was hiding dropped ball? Mate that fog carried half our backline through the eighties 🤣 Same beast, new stadium, bring a jumper anyway.@OldSchoolSince86 hahah that fog was doing more tackles than the loosies tbh 😂 I played a rep trial at the old park years back, couldn't see my own winger, just yelled and hoped 🤣 jumper comment is fair, Nelson's mild but Christchurch nights still bite 💪On the terraces since I was a kid.
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Funny how UnderdogNightmare's fog story matches mine almost exactly, mine was a night game too, jaw frozen shut but still yelling anyway. What gets me comparing then and now is that the old sides seemed to win on pure st…@FixIsInPTSD nah mate, old forwards didn't just grind, they ground us down AND we loved it 😤 still yelling with a frozen jaw at the new park too, ah well, nowt to do 💪🔥You don't abandon your own.
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Never saw a match at Lancaster Park myself, still learning this stuff, but the fog stories are class 😄 does the new park get fog like that too or is that gone for good?Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏