Sheffield Wednesday fan column: Some relationships are built to last

My other half was a Reading fan. He isn’t anymore.
Terry Yorath tested my dedicationTerry Yorath tested my dedication
Terry Yorath tested my dedication

He was a season ticket holder for many years but marriage, kids and work meant that he got to see less of his team. When he moved away from Reading, he only got to see or hear the results through a third party and his long distance love dwindled.

He’s now a Millwall fan. He’s moved on.

All relationships come to an end, either through loss of love, self-preservation or death. It’s seems rare to me that your football club isn’t a monogamous relationship. That one team you find or the one that your family arrange for you to support, I don’t get it that you would want to move on.

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But then I’ve never fallen out of love with Wednesday. Yes they irritate me at times and there are periods where the passion is dampened (I’m looking at you Jos Luhukay and Terry Yorath,) but I’ve never once thought that they weren’t the one for me.

I can understand my other half’s disillusion with Reading. They have had a very similar trajectory to The Owls’ since their flirtation with the play-offs a few years ago. The Jaap Stam era for them was the like being in a perpetual Luhukay limbo and it was the last straw for the love of my life.

When you don’t love someone or something anymore do you continue to maintain that relationship if it doesn’t make you happy?

There was also a caller on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Football Heaven a few weeks ago who had changed his football allegiance from Barnsley to Sheffield Wednesday. A cardinal sin as a Tyke.  

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His reasons were similar to my other half but clearly it’s not about glory hunting if you’re going choose to be a Sheffield Wednesday fan.

So where the Wednesday v Reading match used to have some jeopardy in our house now it just passes without comment.

I can’t summon up the rivalry with Millwall because it’s a fledging maybe fleeting new football relationship. It’ll never last I’ll say but if it makes him happy about football again then who I am to judge.???????