So the waiting’s over and we are on the brink of another emotion fest of tears and joy, but inwhat measure for each? The World Cup of Soccer is with us again. If you are like me of a certain age, you may remember where you were when England lifted the Jules Rimet Cup. The picture above says it all.
But picture this.Cup Final day in 1966 and England are playing West Germany at Wembley. Where am I when Peters scored and a nation’s spirit soared? Why at a wedding , of course, and not a black and white (no colour then) TV within miles. Good friends of ours had planned their wedding for many months, and had managed to cover every detail, except one. Then,why could they have predicted that England would reach the World Cup Final, even if they had realised the significance of the date itself.
On the day, I did ask for forgiveness of the joy I expressed when, like the way messages were carried in the trenches during the first World War, that never to be forgotten message arrived along the pews: ‘Peters has scored!’
When the wedding guests arrived at the reception, delayed because the photographer was being updated constantly by the driver of one of the wedding cars who was listening to the soccer commentary on a small transistor radio, they were somewhat distracted by a tiny TV broadcasting extra time being played! The sight of the new bride standing alone in one corner of the reception room with virtually everybody, guests and staff, struggling for a sight of the TV screen in another corner, is still clear in my memory.
And, what of my friends? They emigrated to Australia soon after, in 1967. Not, I might add, as a consequence of that great day. We are still close friends today.
Hope you enjoy World Cup 2010! C’mon England!
If you would like to relive the final minutes of the Cup Final of 1966, you can by going to this link at sporting memories network