Timing is everything

Careers, friends, women, and apparently ... books. I picked this one up years ago when I probably had just finished reading (ok watching first, then reading) High Fidelity, How to Be Good, and saw that Nick Hornby’s name was on the cover. I remember only two of the chapters stood out to me, and I’m not even sure (and it was confirmed as I read it again) that I even finished this book. I don't know why I didn’t get through it – schoolwork, another book on the backburner - or perhaps I just couldn’t connect with the authors. Fast forward six years later and I can now understand why.

My Favorite Year is a collection of short stories of just that, the writer's favorite year of their favorite football club. At first take you might think, Oh, I'm going to read about the glory years of Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa, maybe even England of '66. This is where there the major difference for me occurred reading this then and now. Six years ago, there was no TFC and I was resigned (woe is me!) to following Liverpool. Knowing now what I didn't know then, how much a difference it makes to have a local team of your own to follow and physically cheer for live because now I can understand the passion each of these writers have for the clubs they support. Not only that but the clubs that are written about aren't huge powerhouses - so stories of Raith Rovers, Cambridge United, Watford, Bristol City, Norwich City and the Republic of Ireland to name a few, can truly connect with a supporter of TFC or Team Canada.


It all starts off with Roddy Doyle's account of the Republic of Ireland's 1990 World Cup run. This story sets the tone for rest of the book as he is able to capture the emotions of nostalgia, passion and pride. Stories of his youth, following clubs in England and their national team and then discovering that Ireland can have a successful team and finding pride in his heritage through football.

You go through stories of Middlesbrough, Raith Rovers and Oxford United before reaching Olly Wicken's chapter on Watford. This is the one that stood out for me then and still does now. Wicken recounts the 1974/75 season of his favorite club, but through his eyes from when he was an 11 year old ball boy. Stories of idol worship and memorabilia collecting, despite the fact it was a different sport, I remember being the exact same way with the Maple Leafs. This Watford team was far from remarkable but in the eyes of a small boy they were the best. How can you not compare the name Billy Jennings to Rick Vaive?!? Obviously they were the most lethal goal scorers EVER, with the COOLEST names! Wicken's account of that season feels like those 84-87 seasons where I know I thought they were the best team ever but looking back they were totally brutal and barely made it into the playoffs. I mean two words - Ken Wregget ... come on now. For Watford this was before Elton John and Graham Taylor took them from the FOURTH division to the first. Yes, fourth division, so to compare this to Toronto it was no different then going from the Ballard era into the days of Cliff Fletcher.

The other story that really made an impact was Don Watson's 1974/75 Leeds United story. Looking at the ones that I seem to connect to it kind of seem obvious, Roddy Doyle was in his 30s when Ireland was qualifying, Olly Wicken was 11 and Don Watson was 14 - all three of these (to me anyways) periods were so crucial in life. Child, teen, then a man. Don Watson comes across like this guy who just didn't give a shit and followed his club to one of their most remarkable seasons. 73/74 was the season after they won the first division, but this (74/75) goes through their path to the European Cup. It tells you as much about what it was like being a 14 year old football supporter than what was going on with Leeds.



My Favorite Year was something I didn't really think much of the first time around, but reading it now as a TFC supporter and being hopeful towards our national team, it comes across as a guide for what it means to have passion for your club. TFC or Canada doesn't have to be the best ever, or all the time, but if we could experience one season like the ones written about in this book then I think we could consider ourselves pretty lucky.