By Monkey1
July 20 2005

Supporting the Falcons away from home may not be what you imagine. Planes, trains and automobiles are fine for European treats, for the Premiership games the bus takes some beating.

One of the functions of the supporters’ club is to organise transport to away games. Apart from a few special games, this support usually fills just one bus, many a game not even half filling a bus. With the level of support that has grown for the Falcons this seems to be a very small contingent travelling to support them away from home.

 

As a regular of the away supporters I wonder why more people do not travel. I can only guess that many people do not realise what they are missing.

 

I do know that there are still people who think that the bus will be a clapped out old minibus, full of beer crates and farting drunks singing rude songs. Well it may once have been just like that, and great fun I am sure it would be, but I travel to all games with my 9 year old daughter and something more civilised is required.

 

The bus nowadays is very respectable. The vehicle itself is no longer an old Transit with blowing exhaust, an air conditioned ‘luxury’ coach with ‘facilities’ is the order of the day. The ‘facilities’ are important as unlike football coaches we do not have to be dry. There is even a fridge to cool down a few cans of beer if necessary.

 

Our regular driver for many years has been Malcolm. He is an expert at finding new & exciting routes to rugby grounds, and his tours of housing estates are legendary. You get used to it eventually and respect his ability to avoid traffic jams & get us there on time.

 

The people who travel on the bus may not be quite what you expect either. Just about every type of Falcons supporter is included. The farting drunks are still represented by Andy & Sarah, but the bus is a civilised place where anyone can be comfortable.

 

Maybe another reason why many people do not travel is that every trip is a long way from Newcastle except Leeds, and if they suffer relegation we get to swap that trip for Bristol next season. Lovely.

 

So sitting on a bus all day, possibly having had to set off from Kingston Park early in the morning and coming back late at night may not be an appealing prospect.

 

Or is it?

 

Well this all depends on your point of view. Some people take a book to read and just enjoy the peace. Most people spend the whole trip talking, usually talking rugby. If you coop up a bunch of like-minded enthusiasts in a sealed room they tend to talk shop. Quite often we get to our destination too quickly, before we have finished speculating about the day’s game and catching up on all sorts of falcons related chat.

 

So then we arrive at a rugby ground a long way from home. All rugby grounds have bars, so in we go. This is all beginning to sound a bit booze orientated, which it can be to a certain extent, but there are some of us who don’t drink, and many like myself who have to drive when we get home so a pint or two is our lot.

 

But there is more than just booze in the bar. In there you will find the home supporters, and one of the pleasures of travelling is meeting the home supporters. Our game is renowned for good relations between supporters and for very good reasons. The welcome from the home supporters is genuine, and I suspect we may be welcomed more than most in appreciation for the distance we have travelled. Many a friendship is formed, and meeting people you know from the message boards is a real treat.

 

As well as the home supporters, you will also meet Falcons supporters from other parts of the country. Some rarely make it to KP, but are regulars at the away games.

 

Then just as the conversation really gets going, we all have to disperse to our seats and terraces. In case you had forgotten, we had gone all this way to watch & support our team.

 

Now supporting the team at Kingston Park is one thing, but when there is just a small group of us in the midst of thousands of supporters for the opposition, we have to make a bit of an extra effort, pretty much yelling, singing & cheering for the full duration. We have been known to make more noise than the home crowd, and the players not only appreciate it, they also find it helps to diminish that mysterious home advantage.

 

And then the game ends, the battle is done.

 

If our Falcons have won, there is much ecstatic cheering & celebrating. More often than not though they have lost, so we head back to the bar for a quick restorative before getting back on the bus. The home supporters are gracious in defeat, and even more gracious in victory, the time to share their company is all too short.

 

The journey home begins. For some reason the bus is always pretty subdued after a win. It could be shock, it could be that we wear ourselves out celebrating, I am not sure. Perversely, some trips home after a defeat have been mobile parties, the singing & nonsense dafter than ever.

 

Well the last away trip of this season has been and gone unless we get some sort of away play-off game. The premiership games alone will have seen our supporters travel nearly 6,000 miles this season. We wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t enjoyable, we wouldn’t have 5 children travelling to most games if it wasn’t civilised, we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think it helped our team, Andy & Sarah wouldn’t do it if they couldn’t enjoy a drink.

 

If this has changed your view of travelling to the away games, why not give it a try next season, pick a game you think you will enjoy & give it a go. The team will value your support, and we will welcome your company.

Some frequently asked questions can be answered here.

Yes we do have stops where you can get a coffee & a fag on, A packed lunch is a good alternative to hunger. No the bus is not exclusive to supporters' club members, yes you can take booze on board (except trips to Scotland) but in moderation please. Yes we can pick up on the way, popular stops being Washington services & Scotch Corner, but we can make stops anywhere on the way within reason if it helps. Yes you do have to get your own match tickets, usually from the Falcons ticket office as you would a home ticket.

Bus departure times are announced on the supporters' club site www.onthewing.org.uk and on the message board where a contact number for booking will be given.