Paws Around the Potteries - Bears at the Match

 Ay up, everybear!  It's time for another Paws around the Potteries with me, Hanley Bear.  This one is about football, my favourite subject, and supporting the best football team ever, Stoke City. 

I almost always go to home games with Grizzly.  Sometimes, Polar comes too and brings some of the other bears, particularly if we think it will be a tough game and we will need extra Bear Luck to win.

Stoke City didn't need Bear Luck when they had the famous Sir Stanley Matthews or the bear-illiant Mr Gordon Banks playing for them.  There is a great statue of Sir Stanley near where the coaches park, so look out for it if you ever visit.

The Boothen End is the Stoke version of The Cop at Liverpool, and it is where Grizzly and his friends have their season ticket seats.  Before the game, it's become traditional for the fans around us to pat my head for luck, and I get lots more pats if we win!

Here I am with Sonning and Huddlesford (and Polar) for the game against Hull last month.  I decided three bears would be enough to get us a win in that game, and I was right!

Stoke didn't play particularly well but still managed to score two goals and Hull didn't get any, so that was another three points for us.  Yay!!

After the game, we went to get the bus back to Stoke, where Polar had parked the car, which meant waiting in a long queue, but I don't mind as that is where the statue of Mr Gordon Banks is.  

Our last home game was against West Bromwich Albion, who are top of our league at the moment.  Grizzly was going and so were Polar and Grizzly's son Mr George.  It was going to be a tough game, so I said we needed as many bears as possible to come too.

I tucked into Grizzly's coat, which is what I usually do when it's just the two of us going, and the other four bears went in the Bear Bag.  We saw the International Space Station fly over, and I remembered that Captain Tim Peake had taken a Stoke City flag up to it, so decided it was a lucky sign.

Polar and Mr George were at the opposite end of the stadium to me and Grizzly, so we could send Bear Luck to the team from behind both goals!

It didn't seem to be working, though!  Stoke City hit the post, then they hit the crossbar, then a West Brom "Own Goal" that would have put us ahead was disallowed, and then we missed a penalty!  It was looking as though this needed to be a six or even seven bear game, when Mr Nick Powell scored a late goal - and we won!

I cheered and cheered, and everyone patted my head.  If we can beat the team who are top of the table, maybe we can be top ourselves and get promoted again?  I have my paws and claws crossed!

I was very happy and very cosy, wrapped up in Grizzly's lucky scarf on the way home.  We had all enjoyed a very exciting game.  

The team will have to manage without Bear Luck in their next home game, which is against Bournemouth, as Grizzly has decided we will be away on Uppie that night!  I gave him a hard stare when he told me.  But we will be listening on the radio, wherever we are, and cheering them on.

Come on you Mighty Potters!  Yaaayyyy!!!