Gordie: Football and superstitions

Gordie Walker
Community worker
Belfast

Favourite thing: Manchester City football programme

It was the last game of the 2012 season and Manchester City were playing at home to Queen’s Park Rangers. And it was one of those ones whereby if Manchester City won then they won the league, and it was the first time they’d win the league for like 50-odd years.

I’m a bit superstitious about programmes and stuff, so I actually got somebody else to buy the programme because usually whenever I buy a programme at a football match, the team that I’m supporting get beat. So there’s a bit of superstition around it.

“We were offered a serious amount of money for the tickets”

The night before we were actually in a bar and we were offered a serious amount of money for the tickets for the game, given the importance of it.

On the 90th minute of the game, Manchester City were getting beat 2-1 by Queen’s Park Rangers which meant to say that Manchester United were going to win the league. The Manchester United game finished before the Manchester City game so what was happening was the Manchester United supporters and players, and manager were all celebrating a great victory and the winning of the Premiership. But then City scored twice — in the 93rd and nearly 94th minute — which meant to say that they won the Premiership.

“There is no way there could ever be a situation like that again”

So the programme itself is from that game and I’ve never actually taken it out of the wrapper, so I haven’t. So it’s still in the plastic that I got it in. And it’s just one of those things — it’s just one of those rare moments that there is no way you could ever be in a situation like that again whereby the team that you support win the league after 50-odd years and what a dramatic way to do it. Plus QPR had Joey Barton playing for them who used to play for City and there was loads of fights and loads of red cards. He was sent off for attacking two city players and, ah, it was just… it was… what a game! The 93rd-odd minute Sergio Agüero scored and made it 3-2 to City and we won the league. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Gordie Walker, at Olympia Community Centre, Belfast, holds his Manchester City matchday football programme

Are you glad you didn’t sell the tickets?

“Absolutely, yeah, completely, yeah. In the 90th minute I thought, God I wonder would they buy them now? But by the 94th minute it was like ‘yeah good idea just hanging on to these tickets!’

Yeah, it was a brilliant day, a great weekend as well.

I don’t think I’ll ever take it out of the wrapper. But if anybody wants to buy it… you know. I’ll let it go for a small price! A large price! No I won’t.

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