In New Year we all look forward…

And in looking forward we look to the future…

One of the most pleasing aspects of the wonderful surge in attendances at Champion Hill in the last few seasons has been the wonderful amount of families who attend matches together, including many youngsters who have fallen in love with their local club.

Epitomised by the loyal support of one young local lad, I caution to use the phrase ‘superfan’ at such a tender age, but that is exactly what Tommy Corcoran, of East Dulwich is. He hasn’t let any pressure of leaving the ‘comfort zone’ of leaving his old primary school of St. Anthonys’ to go to secondary, where education starts to get more serious, to affect his loyal support of The Hamlet both home and away on a regular basis.

And this has not gone un-noticed in the first edition of the COPA 90 fanzine, which came out in print a couple of months ago. There was a two-page feature on him in their publication, which was also featured on-line. COPA 90 is a world-wide phenomenon…well-know and respected for their football video clips that are viewed-literally- hundreds of thousands of times all over the globe.

One of their roving reporters, namely Eli Mengem, has been to Champion Hill with their film crew more than once in the past, and he took time out to make the trip along Edgar Kail Way once more, to chat to ‘our’ Tom earlier this season. You can find their excellent video-stories on You Tube, just by searching for Copa 90, where they have over one million subscribers!

New Year, new hope is an old, traditional saying….and to old fans like myself supporters like young Tom have given me hope…in truth it is way beyond my wildest dreams to see the crowds that are flocking to watch The Hamlet home and away, none more so than young Tom, whose enthusiasm should, and I am sure is, an inspiration to us all.

As we enter 2016 with our dreams of Isthmian League titles, a new long-term stadium, potential supporter ownership, even that walk down Wembley Way; and more depending on your glass half full or empty mentality, here is what Copa 90 had to say about Tom…just one reason to be so proud about everything that has changed at Champion Hill since the start of this decade:

FOR A REAL MATCH EXPERIENCE, NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL IS THE ANSWER

As stadium security gets tighter, sports car windows more tinted and Beats headphones block out more background noise, the dream of meeting your club heroes is becoming increasingly unattainable. But for kids like Tommy, it’s different.
I first met [then] 10-year-old Tommy during a midweek 7th-division match on a chilly October night in South East London. The most exciting moment that Dulwich Hamlet and Bury Town could conjure up was when a wayward shot cleared the fence and covered an unsuspecting fan in lager. And yet here was Tommy, decked out in his Dulwich sweater, a Moroccan fez and a fake beard, leading the home fans in an impromptu half-time conga.
It turned out he wasn’t some closeted anomaly, blissfully unaware of the delights of top-flight football. In fact, he and his dad were Arsenal regulars before it got too expensive.
But neither Champions League trophies nor big-money transfers can compare to the satisfaction Tommy takes from playing a genuine role in his club’s matchday.
And he’s not alone. Once filled with a mix of players’ friends and families, middle-aged locals and the twon drunk, non-league grandstands are now populated by a generation who yearn for days they never experienced-days when affordable, atmospheric football wasn’t a pipe dream.
“When I started coming here five years ago, you could count the number of under-thirties with one hand; now they make up 30 to 40 per cent of the active support group,” says Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust member Jack Bagnall.
“Even regularly attending league football two or three divisions below the Premier League is financially out of reach for most young people. Then throw in the fact that you’re ushered out of the ground as soon as it ends, and on top of that there’s no alcohol in the stands.”
But surely for someone Tommy’s age, these factors aren’t relevant? “Tommy’s unique- he does wear a fez, after all- but even for someone his age, when you can go to the game, run around the stands and start chants that get the whole crowd going, what would you prefer? Sitting still for 90 minutes?”
I ask Jack whether Tommy’s unique choice of club leaves him out of schoolyard debates- the most important football realm for young fans- but Jack says not. “I would argue that instead he’s fitting in here. He’s got 40 or 50 people who know him by his first name, who are singing alongside him, conga-dancing behind him…I’d say it’s the other kids who are missing out.”
At a time when professional football is costing more and more and offering less and less, non-league is providing a good time far beyond the 90 minutes, crucially for under a tenner. And at the end of the day, it’s just about value, even for a kid like Tommy.