He’s football crazy, he’s football mad

There was a song in the 70’s called Football Crazy by Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor. Some of the lyrics could have been written about me:

‘For he’s football crazy, He’s football mad, the football it has taken away the little bit of sense he had, And it would take a dozen servants to wash his clothes and scrub, Since Paul became a member of that terrible football club.’

Yes having watched the 1974 football World Cup with my grandfather Edgar Bullock I fell in love with the total football of the Netherlands. Having been seduced into the love of football by the brilliant Dutch I then lost all sense and supported Leeds United best known and remembered for kicking other teams. (See highlights of Leeds v. Chelsea 1970 FA cup Final replay for evidence). I was to discover later in life when my brother went to Newcastle University that the Geordies were even more fanatical about football than myself. In the 1950’s they were a great team with one of the all time greats of British Football Jackie Milburn in the side.

In more recent times my passion for football continues but alongside pilgrimages. I have been lucky to walk two Santiago Caminos, walk to Walsingham in the early 90’s and to Canterbury in 2014. This week I read about a Geordie who combined these two passions in the most incredible way. Chris Pidgeon is a 41 year old football fanatic from the North East who fell in love with a football club on his pilgrimage from Jean-Pied-de-Port in France on the way to Santiago Compostela. Many people have spiritual experiences on the Camino and some of you will have been told a hundred times or more about my photograph with the morning sun reflecting my shadow down the Camino way when I was feeling very close to God’s loving presence. Chris found his spiritual experience in Ponferrada some 140 miles from Santiago. His experience was walking into the local football ground where he duly fell in love with the club Ponferradina.

Chris by co-incidence walked the Camino in 2013 the same year as myself. Following his spiritual experience at the local football ground he has since become a mascot for the Club and then moved his family to the city. He celebrated promotion with the team and has a Ponferradina Football Museum in his home in York with 3,000 items. Having moved to the city of Ponferrada in 2014 he spent the first of his two years cycling to each of the Ponferradina’s 42 league matches covering 19,000 km. He describes the town as a lovely place with beautiful mountain walks nearby, a Knights Templar Castle and warm people. He loves the meeting with pilgrims, the walks in the mountains and the food. Chris hasn’t been able to travel to Spain to see his team since Covid but he is planning to return for the match against Real Valladolid in October as Ponferrada seek promotion to the La Liga for the first time in their 100 year history.

Chris sounds like my type of man. He loves football, pilgrimages, and the food of Spain. The place he had his spiritual experience which led to his support of a Football Club is not far from the famous place depicted in the film ‘The Way’ called ‘La Cruz de Ferro’. This is high up on a mountain and in the film the 4 characters all prayed whilst leaving a stone at the cross. It was a time when I felt close to God as I danced, sang and prayed my way round Northern Spain. We didn’t stop in Ponferrada but instead walked through the city on a marathon 32Km walk ending up in Cacabelos where for the only time on the pilgrim walk other than in Santiago we treated ourselves to a stay in a hotel.  It was there that we enjoyed hot chorizo, paella, meatballs, anchovies, olives, cheese, scrambled eggs, sweet red peppers and artichokes. We then enjoyed a shower, clean bed and Spanish brandy served by a delightful Spanish lady.

Chris you may well be football crazy, football mad but your story brought back many happy memories of that wonderful pilgrimage, the friendly people, the glorious food and my love of football!

Blessings,

Fr Jeremy