I remember a tape my Dad had in his old Vauxhall Viva, the same songs played every time we drove to Stainfield to pick my Mum up from work. The lyrics have stuck with me forever.
“Those were the days, my friend,
“We thought they’d never end,
“We’d sing and dance forever and a day,
“We’d live the life we choose,
“We’d fight and never lose,
“Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days.”
Those were the days. It’s a saying about nostalgia, about looking back at times we’ll never see again. Danny Cowley’s Lincoln on the FA Cup run. Those were the days! John Beck’s hoofball, beating Manchester City. Those were the days. Keith Alexander’s Imps getting to the Millennium Stadium. Those were the days.
What we forget is context. The 2016/17 season was great, but enough people moaned about Tom Champion at the time, or bitched in the stands about us only beating Altrincham 2-1. John Beck might have overseen us beat Manchester City 4-1 and then 1-0, but few will remember us losing to Wigan in between, having a man sent off after 11 minutes, and also getting thrashed 7-1 at Colchester. Were those the days?
There is a point to this. Before getting misty-eyed about the past, remember that times we now think of as being ‘the days’ had their setbacks. They had the moments we worried, the moments we booed. We laud that win at Burnley, but I remember immediately drawing back-to-back games with Aldershot and York, and rather than enjoying the moment, getting concerned we might not go up.
My point is not to devalue those seasons, but to point out that while we lived those moments, they were offset by the everyday worries. Would we get promoted? No, not in 2003 and not in 1997, but they are still ‘the days‘. At the time, did we think they were? No, because you rarely stop to enjoy the wins. You rarely stop and think, ‘wow, these are the days, aren’t they?’
This came from a conversation with Michael Hortin on Saturday. He referenced an episode of The Office, possibly the American one, where a character said ‘I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you leave them’.
These are the days we’ll one day look back on as the good old days, right now. I’m writing this ahead of the game with Bradford, so whatever the result, we’ll be caught up in the next thing, the next new face, the fear over losing our manager or some decision maybe Michael made that you don’t agree with. We won’t stand back and look at the big picture, Lincoln City at the top end of League One, established in the division, with a great ownership model and board, strong management across the business and playing side of the club. We won’t fully appreciate the fanzone when we go there tonight, some will complain that the screen is causing a bottleneck, others about the queues.
These are the good old days. Sadly, for me, there is an element of having already lost some of them. The good old days, when me and Dad went to Gwynne’s beforehand, or the Poacher on an evening game for a mega mixed grill and a pint. Those were the good old days, and I hope now I am starting some more, working as media, watching successful football.
Michael Hortin’s point really resonated with me. Maybe there is an existential thought process going on with me now, having lost something, it is maybe making me appreciate what I have more. But from a football perspective, it can get better and it can get worse, but in 20 years, there will be people out there saying, ‘do you remember the good old days when we used to put five past Peterborough at the Bank?’.
Whatever happens, these are the days. This is my reminder to you that you’re living the good old days, you’re making the memories of whole seasons, rather than campaigns like 1992/93, or 2013/14, where we had so little to cheer, it was moments, not entire eras that formed the memories.
“These are the days, my friend,
“We hope they’ll never end,
“We sing and dance forever and a day,
“We live the life we choose,
“We fight and never lose,
“These are the days, oh yes, these are the days.”
These are the days we’ll look back on and enjoy. These are the games we will remember, this is when the club is at its strongest, on and off the field, for a generation, maybe even a lifetime. Whatever the outcome, whatever substitution you don’t agree with, or player you don’t like, try to look at the positives, always.
Up the Imps.
You must have read my mind! This is the song I’ve been singing to myself 😊
My memory goes back to the bad old days – the slide from the 2nd Division down to the non-league hell. And the lifetime’s wait to – maybe – return. There were some uplifting moments inbetween, notably 75-76. The difference then was that we cruised through matches, rarely an anxious moment. In the current campaign every match seems like a cup final. I find myself starting to pray for the final whistle long before the end.
Like Mike my memory goes back to those days when applying for re-election was on annual standing order. The Graham Taylor days brought a period of pleasure and that was it, until Danny Cowley came along.
During the Bradford City game my son messaged me at half-time to say how impressed he was with Lincoln (he’s been brought up on Premiership football NUFC). Lincoln is his 2nd team.
So as Gary says “these are the days”. There will be other highlights in time but in the meantime let’s all enjoy the moment.
Absolutely cracking article, succinct to the point, let us enjoy these days even before they become those days come what may!