Easter message for Bees United Resurrection at the GTech – what a season!
What a difference nine months can make. From firm predictions of Brentford’s relegation, to speculation about whether the Bees might qualify for Europe.
It’s been a year of twists and turns and, for me as a Christian priest, a lesson in hope and resurrection.
Because I confess, at the beginning of this season, I felt despondent and much less optimistic than I probably should have been.
Nick Hornby, author of the brilliant ‘Fever Pitch’ – recommended reading for every supporter – famously wrote: “The natural state of the football fan is bitter disappointment, no matter what the score.”
In truth, that was me, last summer.
Just before the beginning of the season, I put my tongue firmly in my cheek and published online ‘A Prayer for Brentford FC as the new season approaches.’ I said that, after the summer departures, people were saying that the club didn’t have a prayer. So I wrote one.
It read:
Dear gods of football
We look to you as the Bees begin their fifth season in the Premier League.* *Give our players skill, stamina, drive and enthusiasm and our coaching team strategies that succeed.
May our referees be gifted with good eyesight, and VAR always treat us kindly.
Help us to keep faith in the Club, as together we remember the journey we’ve been on, and the spirit that holds us together.* We give thanks for the family and friends who introduced us to the Club, especially those no longer with us. *May we do our part as fans to fill the GTech with songs and shouts of support and bring us safely to a good position in the league – mid-table or above would be good. Amen.
I’m not saying that this prayer turned around our performance. I’m not claiming any credit for this, nor seeking any credit for the Almighty. Hopefully, he or she is too busy trying to bring peace to the world’s trouble-spots. But it did express how I was feeling back then. One vicar took me to task, saying they were “sorry-not-sorry to get all shirty about your jokey little prayer.’ A fellow Bees fan commented simply that they thought the prayer would certainly solve the Club’s problems. I’m pretty sure they were being sarcastic.
Yet look at what the Bees have achieved this year. Back last summer, I screenshot a table predicting how the Premier League would finish, based on the predictions of a range of football pundits.
They had Liverpool winning the League, with Manchester City second and Arsenal third.
The Bees were down at 16th place, with Wolves just below us, and Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland for the drop.
At the time – forgive me – I might have considered that as a good result.
At least, I thought, they had not forecast that Brentford would be relegated. We had a season to regroup, rebuild and come back stronger for the following year. Maybe, as a bonus, I thought we might have a bit of a cup run.
And here we are, months on, having had some brilliant league performances and an FA Cup run that was going strong…until the randomness of penalties. We achieved 40 points with that thrilling 1-1 home draw with Arsenal, where extra minutes might have gifted us the win.
Easter, for Christians, is about Jesus Christ coming back from the dead to bring new life to all. It’s about hope in the face of darkness. It’s about good news when everything appears bleak. After the resurrection, Christ’s disciples went on to change the world.
It’s a good parallel for the season we’re having, a season when so many people wrote us off as finished, and heading back to the Championship.
And look at us now. What a difference a few months can make. Resurrection. It’s happening all around us.
Wishing you a happy Easter.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, and a lifelong Bees supporter.