Off Season Blues Kicking In Already

With Vancouver Whitecaps season coming to an end on Saturday, I’m now left with the prospect of nearly six months without competitive action to watch in the flesh. Six friggin months.

It’s only been two days since the season end, but already I’m feeling low at the prospect ahead. Sure there’s all the action on TV to watch in these cold winter months, but nothing beats going to a match in person and nothing ever will.

East Fife’s season is still in full flow of course, so I have that to occupy two hours of my time on a Saturday and with East Fife TV coming by the end of this month then that will help incredibly.

But it’s the live action I crave.

Thankfully I’ll be taking in two Fife games in person in November, so that will ease the withdrawal symptoms a little, but six months is a long gap to have for any professional football season.

Last season East Fife played their last game of the season on May 9th. Just 51 days later and they were playing their first pre-season friendly, with their first competitive game 26 days after that. Hardly a close season at all!

Football in North America doesn’t have to look far for it’s difficulties. We’ve covered the lack of media coverage several times already in this blog, but even when you have an exciting end of season, that gets some media attention, it’s hard to then build on any momentum built up when fans have to wait nearly half a year to see more action from their favourite team.

The vastness of the continent, coupled with the very different weather patterns in winter, makes the USL April-October season the optimum time for games to take place. The MLS start a month earlier and finishes a month later, so at least Vancouver fans have that to look forward to come 2011.

There’s not a lot that the Leagues can do about it, as the extreme weather in some parts of the continent would make playing football impossible, so it’s just something that fans have to put up with.

It’s just so disappointing though. The Whitecaps playoff run had so many of us on such a high and living and breathing football thoughts 24 hours a day. Our drug has gone and already I feel deflated and cold turkey symptoms, although that may just be a possible case of swine flu.

Now I just have to count down the days until I see East Fife at Clyde next month. 33 if anyone’s caring!