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| Bradford ecstatic as Bantams humble mighty Arsenal | Bradford ecstatic as Bantams humble mighty Arsenal |
| (25 days later) | |
| Some people are born without the DNA which interests you in sport, and I am one. But whose heart doesn't lift at the news of Bradford City beating mighty Arsenal in the quarter-final of the Capital One Cup, whatever that may be? | Some people are born without the DNA which interests you in sport, and I am one. But whose heart doesn't lift at the news of Bradford City beating mighty Arsenal in the quarter-final of the Capital One Cup, whatever that may be? |
| Sporting clubs play a part in defining cities and the Bantams (or Paraders for older readers or Wasps for really old ones) have done an enormous amount for Bradford. Their long history hasn't seen a major trophy since they won the FA Cup in 1911, eight years after they were founded, but it is full of feisty struggles against the odds, and general pluck. | Sporting clubs play a part in defining cities and the Bantams (or Paraders for older readers or Wasps for really old ones) have done an enormous amount for Bradford. Their long history hasn't seen a major trophy since they won the FA Cup in 1911, eight years after they were founded, but it is full of feisty struggles against the odds, and general pluck. |
| There is great jubilation in the city today with my old paper the Telegraph & Argus awash with scenes of claret and amber ecstasy and an almost spiritualist reference to "an electric atmosphere emanating from Valley Parade." Appropriately, the paper's Hannah Postles describes how Janette Raistrick from the wild and windy heights of Queensbury spent the decisive penalty kick deep in prayer. She was one of 23,971 fans, the club's biggest gate since an FA Cup game against Burnley in 1960. | There is great jubilation in the city today with my old paper the Telegraph & Argus awash with scenes of claret and amber ecstasy and an almost spiritualist reference to "an electric atmosphere emanating from Valley Parade." Appropriately, the paper's Hannah Postles describes how Janette Raistrick from the wild and windy heights of Queensbury spent the decisive penalty kick deep in prayer. She was one of 23,971 fans, the club's biggest gate since an FA Cup game against Burnley in 1960. |
| That was 52 years ago. The Bantams leapt 65 league places to beat Arsenal, an achievement in line with previous defining moments in the club's history. They and the city recovered and rebuilt after the terrible fire at Valley Parade in 1985, even though the lessons of the tragedy were not learned more widely; there were also extraordinary scenes, including a memorable blessing in a Manningham mosque which I attended, when the club won promotion to the Premier League in 1999. | That was 52 years ago. The Bantams leapt 65 league places to beat Arsenal, an achievement in line with previous defining moments in the club's history. They and the city recovered and rebuilt after the terrible fire at Valley Parade in 1985, even though the lessons of the tragedy were not learned more widely; there were also extraordinary scenes, including a memorable blessing in a Manningham mosque which I attended, when the club won promotion to the Premier League in 1999. |
| This story is good for Bradford, whose economic challenges have traditionally gone with a self-deprecation different from the bombastic uppitiness of its neighbour Leeds. Way back in the English Civil War, a spirit is supposed to have appeared at the bedside of the besieging Parliamentary commander Lord Fairfax and urged him: 'Pity poor Bradford.' That has often been the line since; for all its past reign as the world capital of wool, the city has been too quick to lament its failings and too cautious about blowing trumpets and beating drums. | This story is good for Bradford, whose economic challenges have traditionally gone with a self-deprecation different from the bombastic uppitiness of its neighbour Leeds. Way back in the English Civil War, a spirit is supposed to have appeared at the bedside of the besieging Parliamentary commander Lord Fairfax and urged him: 'Pity poor Bradford.' That has often been the line since; for all its past reign as the world capital of wool, the city has been too quick to lament its failings and too cautious about blowing trumpets and beating drums. |
| That is appealing, though, in the way that modesty always is, and it makes a triumph such as last night's especially sweet. It also goes with the friendliness which is very strong in Bradford, even in institutions such as Morrison's which manage to keep a sort of cosiness in the cut-throat supermarket world. | That is appealing, though, in the way that modesty always is, and it makes a triumph such as last night's especially sweet. It also goes with the friendliness which is very strong in Bradford, even in institutions such as Morrison's which manage to keep a sort of cosiness in the cut-throat supermarket world. |
| Unfortunately, this doesn't appeal to the creators of great literature who have shown much more interest in Leeds United, with its controversial history from the era of Don Revie to the trial of players after a brutal attack on the British Asian student Sarfraz Najeib in Leeds in 2000. There is one exception, though. Get hold of a copy of How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup by that great Yorkshireman JL Carr. It'll give you a sense of how Bradford feels today, and in the run-up to the semis and, let's hope, final of the Capital One Cup, whatever that is. | Unfortunately, this doesn't appeal to the creators of great literature who have shown much more interest in Leeds United, with its controversial history from the era of Don Revie to the trial of players after a brutal attack on the British Asian student Sarfraz Najeib in Leeds in 2000. There is one exception, though. Get hold of a copy of How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup by that great Yorkshireman JL Carr. It'll give you a sense of how Bradford feels today, and in the run-up to the semis and, let's hope, final of the Capital One Cup, whatever that is. |
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