How one Sheffield United-mad family kept love of Blades alive during lockdown - by creating their own version of Monopoly
Premier League football has been missing for almost two months now because of the coronavirus crisis - but two young Sheffield United fans have come up with a novel way of getting their Blades fix, and alleviating a bit of lockdown boredom in the process.
Blades fan Paul Bramall and his wife Donna helped their daughters Hollie, eight, and Isabelle, five, design a Blades version of Monopoly that featured famous United landmarks as well as players, and quickly went viral.
The idea proved such a hit that Hollie and Isabelle were enlisted by family members to produce versions of their game for West Ham United, Leicester City... and even city rivals Sheffield Wednesday!
Paul told The Star: "The girls are out doing their daily exercise but naturally, a lot of time is spent indoors currently so we have been playing a lot of games. One of our favourites is Monopoly and they were keen to do their own version.
"It was a family effort. Donna designed the board and drew the badge and the girls decided on which 24 players they wanted to use, and put them in order of value (I supervised that part!)
"Our United landmarks replaced the stations; Man Friday chippy, The Cricketers, London Road and, of course, Bramall Lane."
The girls used Panini cards for the Blades players, and used the Monopoly money as millions. Other Blades 'in-jokes' include Chris Wilder going for a pint, Ben Osborn's love of reading and Garth Crooks' criticism.
"The girls are big Blades and are season ticket holders," Paul added.
"Isabelle has been to four away games this season and Hollie has been to them all except two.
"We are missing it a lot so this felt like something to keep the Blades in our minds. Hopefully, the school appreciate this more than they did me collecting Hollie at 2pm to take her to Reading for an FA Cup game!
"I can honestly say it was fun making it and we have all genuinely enjoyed playing it. We can't play when their baby sister Jorgie is about, though, as the game gets turned upside down!"
A message from the Editor:
Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.
With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.
Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.
Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.
