Did He Really Mean It?

And so, once more we reach the Monday morning aftermath of an FA Cup weekend. Later on today I shall write a proper blog entry about the experiences of the day and the game, but before I do, I have to write about my feelings of what happened before the game.

As we approached the front gates of AFC Hornchurch stadium, we were greeted with the site of around 20-25 bunches of flowers, a flag and a few Hornchurch football shirts emblazoned with some simple messages, the main one being ‘RIP Harry’.

Now, I didn’t know ‘Harry’. None of our intrepid FA Cup Run team did. But before the game kicked off, a minutes silence was held. Harry Martin, it transpired, was one of those fans who help make a club much more than just a club - they make it a lynchpin of a community. Harry was a real Hornchurch man, who’d been following the team for 55 years. A man whose passion was known throughout the club, from players to fans. A man whose attitude on the terraces helped brighten up any game. Who led the way with his singing, and encouraging comments. A man, basically, who deserved to be remembered by all at the club. The two-minute tribute paid to him by the stadium announcer, and the subsequent impeccably-observed one minute silence are amongst the most incredible things I’ve experienced at a game of football in a long, long time.

As the referee’s whistle blew to signify the end of the minute, the crowd next to us stood up as one and sang together. Sang for Harry Martin, for AFC Hornchurch. And it was one of the most moving moments of not only this FA Cup run, but of my football-watching life. I’ve had the song in my head ever since.

Harry - I may not have known you, but the way people spoke and sang about you on Saturday, I wish I had. It was an absolute privelege to be allowed to intrude on such a celebration of such a great man.

Jesus said ‘Harry, you sing it so well’
So Harry got up and he sang it again
Over and over and over again…

RIP.