Go on, before the wind changes

We’re Little Wigan, we’re having a laugh…

I used to really, really hate that song.  Not like I used to hate ‘super Lee McCulloch’, that was just football fans over estimating the abilities of one of their players.  I hated ‘Little Wigan’ because it was our glass ceiling, a reminder that we were here to annoy and little more, we were putting ourselves in our place before someone else did it for us.

I think I’d run the length of Wigan Pier naked for just a tiny ounce of that attitude right now, for someone to turn you and say “you know, why should we give a toss, we’re here, and whilst we’re here we’ll have a bloody laugh, no matter what it takes”.  The attitude where we can laugh at ourselves, but woe betide anyone who tries to laugh at us is not just appropriate at this time, it’s a good way to live your (football) life.  After all the humour, even when it’s gallows humour is what keeps football fans sane. 

I really don’t understand what makes people take the whole thing so seriously, we’ve had worse players, been in worse situations, and my over-riding memory is us laughing in the face of it.  Jason Scotland?  We used to celebrate the ineptitude of Pat Gavin, he might have been a crap striker but he was our crap striker, so there!

I mean, seriously, if we’re going to go down (not that I’m ready to believe that), how would you rather remember these last few months, as a mess of pissing, moaning and infighting or as us sticking our tongues out at the ‘establishment’ one last time? 

Fiddling whilst Rome burns usually carries nothing but negative connotations, but such is our lot as football fans that we need to try and enjoy ourselves, even if everything around us seems to be collapsing.  The violin not your bag?  Then get out your ukulele or whatever, go on have a laugh, what have you got to lose?