Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SCUNBELIEVABLE
Pair spend £60k to see 1,000 consecutive Scunthorpe United matches in 18 years
“We beat Millwall 3-2 at Wembley. It was a cracking game.” “Plymouth, got beat 5-0. There were just 47 away fans.” MK Dons.
York City or Bradford City. FOOTIE-MAD Tracey and Richard Bailey have not missed a single one of their team’s 1,000 home and away games in the last 18 years.
And the Scunthorpe United fans do not even live in the town... or the county.
They have clocked up 65,000 miles just travelling to the Lincolnshire club’s home matches from their house in Derby, a 160-mile round trip.
The pair became hooked after watching Scunthorpe, nicknamed the Iron, draw 0-0 with Cambridge and have since celebrated 340 wins and spent £60,000.
Tracey, 46, said: “People say we’re bonkers but we’ve stuck with the team and we’ll continue to do so while we can.”
The couple have had a few close calls on their travels and almost missed a Bournemouth tie because of traffic.
Tracey said: “When we finally started driving again we had 90 miles to cover in 90 minutes. We made it... but only because a kind steward threw us into a parking space outside the front door.”
Health and safety consultant Tracey moved from Scunthorpe to Derby more than 20 years ago and married aerospace analyst Richard, 56. The former Hereford United fan said: “We fell in love with the atmosphere and the fans.”
The pair have seen 11 managers and four relegations but have yet to celebrate any silverware. They celebrated their 1,000th match with their side’s away win at Northampton and were given a special shirt by the League One outfit.