Quote: WormInHand "Quite brilliant.
Posts like this do make me hope Pearson does read our ramblings.
(But the wooden stand, in the early 80s, was quite simply the foundation of my formative youth. There has never been anything to compare to that atmosphere since, frankly. Learnt a lot about life in there as a teenager after watching the ecstasy opposite enviously as a child next to my Dad in Best stand. But that's another story.)'"
I am honestly not being dismissive of the little wooden stand, but there is a lot of bull written on here about it. To many of us the Boulevard was not that stand. Some of us actually never watched a game from it. We were behind the sticks, in best stand where ever. To read this forum sometimes you'd think there was only ever one side to the Boulevard.
The foundation of my youth was made in front of the scoreboard. My mates had family gatherings at Easter and Christmas. I had a family gathering every other Sunday during the rugby season IAKOW in front of the scoreboard. It was what made my youth (I say youth I started aged 6) so enjoyable. I didn't get pocket money. We didn't have fancy holidays. I had the Boulevard and the RL grounds of Northern England.
I can honestly say the only time I wish I'd been in that wooden stand was when we collected the championship trophy in 1983 and the Hakka was performed in front of it. Other than that I loved the ground where we stood behind the sticks. It's where I saw the last match against the kiwis and its where I will always recollect the good times and the bad supporting our club. It's a shame my boys never got that experience but hey life goes on and I'd rather be at the KC than a run down boulevard.
