The inside story of Harold the Heron – Sheffield Wednesday’s little plastic superfan who will be at Plymouth Argyle

The hopes and dreams of several thousand men, women and children will be carried by Sheffield Wednesday this season between now and May. That’s several thousand men, women and children and one plastic heron.
By Alex Miller
Published 8th Sep 2022, 16:30 GMT
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Harold is his name and the long, long journey to Plymouth Argyle this weekend will be his third away day with the Owls since he was purchased from Bolton market by a group of travelling fans ahead of Wednesday’s 2-0 win there last month.

The image of a tall plastic heron bobbing about in an away allocation isn’t a regular one and photos of Harold have attracted a frisson of confusion on social media.

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Harold the Heron has quickly become a cult figure on the terraces at Sheffield Wednesday.Harold the Heron has quickly become a cult figure on the terraces at Sheffield Wednesday.
Harold the Heron has quickly become a cult figure on the terraces at Sheffield Wednesday.
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Among his keepers is 19-year-old Joseph Lomas, from Woodhouse, who explained to The Star why and how Harold became one of the more remarkable members of Wednesday’s famed away following.

“It’s been a running joke to have a mascot on the minibus that takes us to the games,” Joseph said on a heron who has already seen the highs and lows of Wednesday away performances.

“We got it at Bolton and we managed to get it in the ground. That’s where he was first seen.

“There’s no actual reason behind him, it’s just one of those things. We thought Harold would make for a funny mascot and to be honest we didn’t know if we’d get it into the stadium.

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“They didn’t question it they just waved us through and said it was fine. He stood on the seat next to us and he was hooked. He’s coming to every away game with us now and he’s coming to Plymouth on Saturday.”

So Alex Turner, Jarvis Cocker and now Harold the Heron. As he heads for his third Owls outing, there’s a confidence that becoming Wednesday’s latest celebrity fan won’t go to his little plastic head.

“He lives on the coach and came with us to Bradford where it seemed to get a bit more attention,” said Joseph.

“We thought he was going to be our lucky heron after Bolton but Bradford proved different in just a couple of matches he’s seen it all.

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“People can come up to meet Harold by all means. A few people came up to ask for photos with him at half-time at Bradford. He’s doing his best to stay grounded.”

Related topics:SheffieldBoltonBradford