Dr Ben Ives
Ben
The light of the crescent moon penetrates the bedroom curtains and bathes the walls and furniture in an eerie blue glow. The inconsiderate ticking of the old alarm clock reverberates around the room as its hands turn relentlessly toward the small hours. Gallin lays on his back, hands tucked behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.
‘Handshakes? Must have been a fair few, I think,’ Gallin recalls events of the day in an incessant loop. He’d already been over the whole match a couple of times, but still the thoughts and images kept coming back to pester him again and again like an ill-trained dog fed from the table.
‘That play-on was perfect, I got that bang-on!’ He smiles widely. ‘Yeah, they’ll remember that one for a while.’
‘Stop muttering to yourself and go to sleep!’ Alice groans, barely conscious. Gallin closes his eyes and deliberately turns his thoughts to something else, something he hopes is less consuming that he might fall asleep to.
‘Right, what’ve I got on tomorrow?’ He asks himself, but does not get around to providing an answer. The rhythm of the ticking clock immediately brings the remnants of the day just gone rolling ceaselessly back to the fore.
‘The dissent thing. Well, he had it coming, didn’t he? I let go as much as I could, but he got personal, and he can’t get personal. I was right on that. I got it right,’ Gallin thinks in his hardest, most persuasive inner-voice. ‘And the throw-in didn’t matter, no-one cared, nothing came of it. It was even kind of funny. Yeah, I did okay. I did okay. You did okay’.
Please share your response on the forum or private message us if you prefer.
When responding to our stories, you might consider the following:
o Do our stories resonate or remind you of a ‘real’ scenario that you have witnessed or been involved in? If so, please share the scenario with us in as much detail as possible.
o Do our stories reflect a problem or issue in football that you think needs to be addressed? If so, please tell us why it is an issue and what you might propose to resolve the issue.
o Conversely, do our stories reflect something that is good about the game – a reason for your continued passion and involvement? If so, please tell us about this.
o Reflecting on your own experiences, is there anything missing from our story that you think is important to highlight? If so, please share with us some of your experiences and interactions with referees, giving as much detail as possible.
We would also welcome more general feedback from the football community about the ‘realness’ of our stories.
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Ben Ives and Ben Clayton
‘Handshakes? Must have been a fair few, I think,’ Gallin recalls events of the day in an incessant loop. He’d already been over the whole match a couple of times, but still the thoughts and images kept coming back to pester him again and again like an ill-trained dog fed from the table.
‘That play-on was perfect, I got that bang-on!’ He smiles widely. ‘Yeah, they’ll remember that one for a while.’
‘Stop muttering to yourself and go to sleep!’ Alice groans, barely conscious. Gallin closes his eyes and deliberately turns his thoughts to something else, something he hopes is less consuming that he might fall asleep to.
‘Right, what’ve I got on tomorrow?’ He asks himself, but does not get around to providing an answer. The rhythm of the ticking clock immediately brings the remnants of the day just gone rolling ceaselessly back to the fore.
‘The dissent thing. Well, he had it coming, didn’t he? I let go as much as I could, but he got personal, and he can’t get personal. I was right on that. I got it right,’ Gallin thinks in his hardest, most persuasive inner-voice. ‘And the throw-in didn’t matter, no-one cared, nothing came of it. It was even kind of funny. Yeah, I did okay. I did okay. You did okay’.
Please share your response on the forum or private message us if you prefer.
When responding to our stories, you might consider the following:
o Do our stories resonate or remind you of a ‘real’ scenario that you have witnessed or been involved in? If so, please share the scenario with us in as much detail as possible.
o Do our stories reflect a problem or issue in football that you think needs to be addressed? If so, please tell us why it is an issue and what you might propose to resolve the issue.
o Conversely, do our stories reflect something that is good about the game – a reason for your continued passion and involvement? If so, please tell us about this.
o Reflecting on your own experiences, is there anything missing from our story that you think is important to highlight? If so, please share with us some of your experiences and interactions with referees, giving as much detail as possible.
We would also welcome more general feedback from the football community about the ‘realness’ of our stories.
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Ben Ives and Ben Clayton
