I found myself with Arsenal information constantly swimming around my head with not enough outlet. This cult was driving me a little insane because it was difficult to channel those emotions. So I decided to throw a couple of html pages together, give it a name and pour out my thoughts without spell checking or proof reading anything, It was a bit of a shambles to be honest. Very haphazard but it helped. It was very strange for me when I realised that some people were actually taking time to

We are almost here, almost at the end of another mentally challenging round of Internationals. One more game to go before we can get back to reality which is a little strange really. Strange because International weeks actually confirm how disturbed so many of us are.

If you can get through the International games without a second thought then you are probably going to be alright in the long run but if like myself, you have massive withdrawal symptoms, enough to distract you from normal every day life then you know that you suffer from ‘The cult of Arsenal’

I have had to miss watching Arsenal games because it has been one of my children’s birthday and I was agitated and miserable. That cannot be right but that is what the cult of Arsenal does to you. The better half was ranting about something that had been upsetting her the other day and no word of a lie, I started to zone out and up popped the question in my head about how do we fill the Cesc void. Formations, players, new players, different summer outcomes all flooded in and out of my head all while I am nodding away at Mrs Lean.

It is weird how the cult of Arsenal sneaks up on you. All during Primary school I had no interest in football, let alone Arsenal. Yeah I swapped Panini stickers because everyone else did and I copied all my mates and called myself a Liverpool fan because they were the team of the eighties. As a kid, you often follow the trophies but I would have been much happier sat in front of my Nintendo games console than watching a ball being kicked around.

Even in 1989 where I had just previously converted into a distant Gooner I couldn’t quite comprehend why winning at Anfield merited my mates dad going absolutely berserk. It wasn’t until 1990/91 that I was persuaded into going to Highbury against Crystal Palace where we spanked them that I started to change. That was my first fix. It was weird being a youngster around so many men, women and children who all shouted and screamed together. I felt a little intimidated and self conscious that it took me quite a while to join in with those around me.

I stood on the clock end where all these people sung chanting songs. I should have known it was a cult from back then. How did all these people know all these weird songs? Who made them up? And when are you aloud to sing them? were some of my thoughts standing in the noisy stand. It was far more atmospheric back then, than it is today.

I started to go to more and more games with the same friend who took me in the first place. I also started to go with a different circle of mates who were also Gooners. That was it, I was already hooked and I didn’t quite know it.

The smell of the burger vans on the way home from late night kick off’s insert strange emotions into a part of your brain that is not easily accessible. The mutterings of Gooners walking in herds down Gillespie road towards the stadium is still a very vivid memory.

The cult of Arsenal started to affect my school work. I spent geography lesson after geography lesson jotting down Arsenal line ups and formations in the back of my work book. I mean, how else are you going to try and incorporate the new up and coming Mark Flatts into your starting line up?

Fast forward through some wonderful times and plenty not so great times and I end up as an adult who is still part of this crazy cult but it becomes much more difficult. You have to share your love with partners and children. It becomes complicated and there has to be plenty of time juggling to make sure nobody feels hard done by.

I found myself with Arsenal information constantly swimming around my head with not enough outlet. This cult was driving me a little insane because it was difficult to channel those emotions. So I decided to throw a couple of html pages together, give it a name and pour out my thoughts without spell checking or proof reading anything, It was a bit of a shambles to be honest. Very haphazard but it helped. It was very strange for me when I realised that some people were actually taking time to come back and read my poorly converted thoughts onto computer.

Eventually I had to improve on a hand coded html website so a designer and mate of mine cooked up a new website. I had a new logo created with the outline of the Emirates as part of the logo. So now I have a place to share the cult of Arsenal with other Arsenal cult followers.

While writing a blog is a good way of getting the Arsenal off you chest, it actually makes you think about the subject a hell of a lot more. Especially when it is the International week and I should be trying to rest my mind, instead I end up waffling about things like the cult of Arsenal.

Anyway, this started out with me talking about the International break which has transformed into something completely different. I think I will get back to talking about the actual football in tomorrow’s blog.

til then.

Oh and I failed GCSE geography by the way.