And as you may or may not know (or care), I am a Birmingham City fan. Which in itself could be considered a mental health condition. Alas, if it is, it's an incurable one. On the bright side, I am not alone in my er, affliction. Which is a real bonus. Knowing that when you're driving hundreds of miles, in the middle of winter to far-flung locations, other deluded souls are doing the same. They may be on a coach, a train or in a car but the calling is the same. And as a Birmingham supporter, that calling is often unrewarded.
Now if you have no interest in footie, that's fine. This is more about shared emotions. There can be moments of great joy. Sheer, unadulterated happiness and euphoria. There can be long periods of tedium, frustration and anger. And there can be times of desolation, despair and utter hopelessness. And all of these emotions are shared with thousands of strangers.
Sharing such intense emotions with people you don't know can be a liberating experience and one that is hard to replicate outside of a football stadium, unless you consider other sports which attract a lifelong, generational following. It's just that football seems include a wider spectrum of the population. A broader demographic range of people which makes that sharing of feelings so much more surprising.
And travelling to an away game intensifies the experience even more. You're surrounded by people who really care about their club. They make the time and financial commitment that others don't. So their passion and emotion is concentrated and heightened. And being amongst hundreds or even thousands of people with that much investment in 90 minutes of sporting action can be addictive.
Which is why I drove a 310 mile round trip to see my team take on Ipswich Town. I won't bore you with the details of the match or even an account of our season so far (that really is another story) but suffice to say that 'turgid' is a word that springs to mind. OK, it was 1-1 but even this drab affair resulted in passionate discussions, shared frustrations and a sense of all being in it together. A kind of dark humour. A shared struggle couple with a wry smile and of course, some rude songs.
It's kind of appropriate that the club's anthem (sung at every match) is 'Keep Right On (To The End Of The Road)'. And we do indeed keep right on.
Even when the road is full of potholes.
