It's funny how we're all different.
Non league bores the bejesus out of me.
Simply of no interest.
And I would've said that once too, 100%.
Its a bit like when you're watching a film you just can't get into because you're too busy noticing little things that are wrong.
What's required so they say is the 'willing suspension of disbelief'... you make a conscious effort to not sweat the small stuff and just go with it.
Once you do that you find the film/football match is far more enjoyable.
I wager your willy suspension (as Mr. E Blackadder calls it) hasn't been remotely activated at a non-league game, you-ve resisted. You've probably been taken under sufferance and went into it with the wrong mindset, looking for fault rather than enjoying it for what it was.
I've been there. Sniffy about what I was watching, too busy comparing it to what I was accustomed to instead of appreciating it for what it was.
Thing is though as an exiled Argyle fan I still wanted to watch live football and obviously can't/won't switch allegiance to another league team.
So I dabbled in this, dabbled in that around the local non league scene between Argyle matches. The liberation of not having a four hour drive each way and having to plan tickets way in advance was just that, liberating.
As tickets became even more of a pfaff to buy, and of course in the last few months impossible to buy, I'm increasingly watching Argyle on TV and questioning whether its worth all that pre-planning, the tank and a bit of petrol, the two meals out required and the eight hours of driving. I used to have tea at Sparkford Services and was lucky if I got back by Match of the Day. Now I'm back for tea at home.
Never want to say never again but I have to ask myself, if I'm not like a dog with two dingles to put in all that effort and cash for an Argyle match right now (even if I could), will that feeling ever come back? Especially so when the cost of all that for just one solitary game covers half a season in the Isthmian/NLS.
You're right, we're all different, we have different circumstances, different means... and crucially nowadays different loyalty points. Of course circumstances, means and points can all change over time too.
To others currently locked out of Home Park I say give non-league a try. Go into it with an open mind, find the level/team that works for you and you too may find that once you're hooked you'll look at league football in a different way.
Because the OP's point about how samey modern football at the top end can be is absolutely spot on. And even to those currently lucky enough to see Argyle riding the wave right now I say this... once all this Championship novelty morphs into year on year Championship trudgery it will, inevitably, become boring. When it does, you too may look for somewhere else to 'scratch the itch' and you may find it just round the corner.
Just like whether I get down to Home Park again one day, never say never to embracing the joys of non-league Ian.
