Heat 1, Lap1, Turn 3. Hello!
Another afternoon spent at the Church of Noise that is Ashfield Stadium, watching the Glasgow Tigers in action. Such a curious culture the old Speedway. Fiercly partisan of course, but it has that 'maw, paw and the weans' feel to it that football or many other close quarters spectator sports generally can't touch. It's also not uncommon for the opposing fans to applaud the efforts of each others riders, though when you consider the danger inherent in the sport, this is should be no surprise. A jammed throttle for Monarchs rider Andrew Tully during the warm-up saw the ambulance out for the only time today, but rib, chest, leg and arm/shoulder injuries are common and the balls needed to ride at any level in the sport seems to be deeply appreciated. Former riders returning with a new team and stuffing the home team are especially given due respect (though often slightly grudging). Try that at a football match and see how far you get without being lynched.
Shane Takes the applause after the final heat victoryTodays tie against the Edinburgh Monarchs was probably the closest I've seen since I started going, with the scores tied right up until the last heat. The Tigers top riders George Stancl and Shane Parker had been posting decent results all day, along with Trent Leverington but the middle and lower order had been disappointing. Both Stancl and Parker did the business in the final heat and did enough to put the Tigers into the Premier Trophy semi's.
Anyway, Shane Parker managed his second maximum points tally on the trot. The guy is a genius and I just wish the Tigers had a little more strength in depth.
Captain Fantastic Shane Parker interviewed after the tie. Blog posts of the week -
The Great She Elephant and the German pensioner horror. Not being a great deal of fun in the morning myself, I can only sympathise.
The Flying Rodent and something about mice, political dogma and computer code. I actually recognise the computer code being referred to. The best I could manage with it as a kid was to make the screen fill up with messages for my brother like "Ruaridh Is A Cunt" and "(Bloggers name removed) is Fucking Ace" I've since grown up and realised that my brother isn't a cunt. He's an arse, and a rather loveable one at that. Bless!
2 comments:
Cheers Ill Man, although the best I ever did was scroll "Celtic are the best!!!!" infinitely down the screen, at a time when the statement was obviously untrue.
Wayne Biggins, if you know what I mean.
God! That was Thistle's golden period as well. Charnley, Irons, Farningham, Britton, Shaw, Foster..........I'd be here all night.
Ok, modest talents but good times and a fair few OF scalps.
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