Seasiders!

A while ago, I decided I was going to make a real effort to watch all the Blackpool matches and to start a Ugandan fan base. It hasn't been going too well. The fatal flaw in the plan is that I'm not really that much of a football fan, but being away from home always makes the heart a little fonder! A couple of weeks ago I met a friend who was also keen to watch and support Blackpool in a Premiership match.

So on Sunday, I headed to Tickles and Giggles (what a brilliant name for a pub) to watch the Seasiders. Most, if not all, of the Ugandans were there to support Arsenal. I wondered if I could convince anyone to change their allegiance. I thought it would be better to start with someone young, so when a ten year old boy came up to my friend who was wearing an Arsenal shirt and said 'that's my team' I said that he should support the ones in orange.

"But how can you support them when they are losing 2-nil?" was his reply.

Hmmm - he had a point, but not to be deterred, I told him that they were lulling Arsenal into a false sense of security and would score 5 goals in the second half. As if ...
Anyway, after having a few chats with people around the bar, here is a draft letter to the manager so he can try and recruit a few more supporters this side of the world:



Dear Mr Holloway,

I'm not sure if you'll read this, but on the off chance, I have a few suggestions for how you could encourage a few Ugandans to support your team.

Firstly, you should try and sign a Ugandan player. I have it on good authority that Ugandans will be happy to support a team, even if they are sometimes a bit crap, if they have a representative from their country. I understand that we do have the Ghanaian goal keeper, but Ghana is a long, long way from Uganda. I am sure Uganda has many great players and that you would not be short of applicants.

Secondly, it would be a good idea to try and win a game now and again. There are a couple of reasons why I had trouble recruiting supporters. One was that the small boy feared a beating from his Dad if he started supporting the ones in orange instead of the ones playing in yellow, but I also found it hard to persuade a bunch of glory seekers to support the underdog. The argument that Blackpool were at the top of the table at the start of the season is wearing a little thin.

My final advice is to promote the similarities between Blackpool and Kampala. What other two cities have a bar every ten paces and drunks staggering around before noon? Forget the normal tourist attractions such as seven miles of golden sands or the Tower and promote the numerous bars peddling booze cheap enough to strip your stomach lining and you will win a few hearts.

If you want to go one step further, then pack up last season's strip in one of those bin liners that you believe is going to charity and they will be sure to end up on Owina Market six months down the line, sold at a considerable mark up (for transport, of course).

Yours faithfully,

Ali!