Two weeks ago was the first time she had been to a football match. Her husband went occasionally, but usually only when the team was doing well. He always asked her if she wanted to go with him, but until two weeks ago she had always said no. Partly because football didn't really interest her, and partly because it was an afternoon out for him with his friends.
His friends couldn't go this time, so when he asked her if she wanted to go, she said she would, although she didn't know what to expect. She hadn't expected to see such a large crowd and was surprised to see so many women there. They stood in the terraces. He liked to watch the game from there because, as he said, "You can jump up and down and shout and swear because it's mostly guys who stand there and they are all shouting and waving their arms around."
It had been a fairly mild day and she wore a pair of jeans and a mid length coat. It was very crowded and she felt a little nervous as they pushed their way to a spot about halfway down the terrace. By the time the game started the bodies were packed tightly around her and she smiled to herself as she was jostled, spilling the drink she had in the paper cup.
She was pleased that the view of the game was uninterrupted, and as it went on the noise and the jostling increased. The crowd of mostly men around her cheered loudly when the team did something well, or jeered good-naturedly when something happened that they disagreed with. Although she didn't really understand rules of the game she soon found herself enjoying the atmosphere of the crowd, jumping up and down when those around her did, and cheering along with them. Her husband looked at her and winked.
"Having a good time?" he shouted. Her face flushed with excitement, she nodded.
At half-time the crush eased a bit as some of the crowd went and got a drink or something to eat.
"Do you want anything?" her husband said. "I'm going to get another drink. Do you want to come with me?"
"No," she shook her head. "I'll have another drink too. Can you find your way back?"
"I know this place well. See you soon."
It was still pretty crowded and the banter between the spectators amused her. A small group of them engaged her in conversation and were good-naturedly teasing her and joking about her knowledge of the game. She was soon laughing and joking right back at them. It was nearly time for the game to start again and the crowd had flowed back and bodies were pressing against each other. Suddenly her husband was there.
"Hi there," he passed her the drink. "Just in time."
The game started again and the noise and the jostling increased. She felt the bodies pressing all around her and she thought to herself that she was really enjoying this.
So today when he asked her if she wanted to go to the match she didn't hesitate. The weather was unseasonably warm, almost like a summer's day, so she decided to take advantage of it and wore a T-shirt and a pleated skirt which sat on her hips and reached midway down her thighs. She decided to take a light sweater too, just in case it got a bit cooler in the afternoon.