Exactly right.ninestein wrote:We have been at the Hive just over 4 seasons now (doesn't time fly!), and apart from the Gateshead match which clinched the Conference title, we've not yet had a proper big cup tie or playoff match to last a long time in the memory bank as fans.
Since 1992, we had 3 x league playoff semis (Blackpool, Colchester, Posh), 1 x conference playoff semi (Shrewsbury), plus well attended cup games against Man City, QPR, West Ham, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Watford, plus the two seasons we made the 4th round of the FA Cup, which despite the poor draws against Plymouth & Rovers, still captured the imagination of the occasion. In 20 years that's a reasonable number of big occasions. You could also argue the Chelsea game fits in there as we were actually drawn at home but switched the tie to Stamford Bridge. The long and short of it is we need to start building more memories at the Hive. The cup draw is always down to luck, we can't influence that, but we can help by getting into the hat for the next rounds, and competing well in our division to give ourselves a chance of a top 3 or top 7 finish.
Big occasions build bonds between fans and their club. It invokes pride amongst fans, provokes discussion at home, at work, at school. It puts the club on the map.
Big competitive games at the Hive and appearing at Wembley through play offs could entice casual fans and those who live near to the ground. It only needs a small percentage of those who go to this kind of match to be persuaded to come more often and it will have a significant impact on home support.