All Yorkies have had that feeling, asking yourself the same old questions – Which of the same old shops shall I go into? Oh God is that another new clothes shop? How long has that been there? Shouldn’t you be in school? How come that homeless bloke near the cinema is always chatting to quite smartly dressed people like they’re his mates? Will these bloody skateboarders just get lost? Who on earth got that girl pregnant for God’s sake? 

And then there he is, swaggering along the street. Bright white trainers, blue Adidas tracksuit bottoms, earring in his left ear and, to top the lot, an ugly dirty yellow Leeds shirt. 

As he walks towards me I think – Shall I say something? Call him a ‘tosser’? Mutter ‘Leeds scum’ under my breath? As he passes I regret my lack of courage but, after all, he has the right to wear what he likes I suppose. Sadly, this is the York City supporter’s lot, and please tell me I’m not alone in these feelings. A fellow Yorkie parades his love of some other town’s team right in front of your face down the main thoroughfare of our great city. And we have to accept it. 

I reckon that absolutely stinks. In fact I know it does. It’s bang out of order. 

Of course I can’t help feeling utter repugnance when I see Leeds shirts all over town. They are a team I particularly dislike due to their reputation as the most fickle and nasty and unpleasant fans in the entire universe. Leeds is also a horrible city and so it’s no wonder that the supposed Leeds ‘fans’ never actually go to Elland Road. Instead, this virus, this enemy within, finds little pockets in which to hide. 

On a few occasions there have been problems in pubs where vermin have turned up to watch the ‘super whites’ play on Sky. I know people who have actually been pelted with cigarettes because they have supported the team that Leeds United, a club from a foreign town, have been playing. I know several Yorkies who have been abused in their own backyard for having the courage to stand up to people who claim to support Leeds yet probably couldn’t find the same hellhole on a map of Yorkshire. 

I found this season’s friendly between mighty York and lowly Leeds a fascinating experiment. Not only was it a satisfactory evening on the pitch, which ultimately is what it’s all about, but I think the Leeds fans got a bit of a shock. Firstly, with a good proportion of Leeds fans being from York on the night, I think the lowlife were surprised that York City, a team they laugh at regularly, were actually a very good side. Secondly, and I saw this myself, the Leeds fans were astounded by the level of hatred shown towards them by all sections of the City faithful. 

GOOD. 

Let that be a lesson to you! Who do you think you are walking down Coney Street in a Leeds shirt? Just like their team on the pitch, the Leeds fans were rocking. You could tell by the looks on their faces that they didn’t quite know what to make of it. Perhaps, just for a few moments, each of the York-based Leeds fans standing on Grosvenor Terrace had one simple thought in their thick heads – Perhaps we’re in the wrong end. Perhaps we are a disgrace to our people, our city and our community. 

Well, you live in hope. Sometimes you have to live for a ‘perhaps’. 

So, next time you are walking down Coney Street and you see yet another rat skulking along the street with ‘White & MacKay’ plastered across his midrift, just remember that the enemy within will one day be defeated. One day soon. And then there’ll be people in York shirts swaggering along the slum-filled main streets of ‘super’ Leeds! 

Because we are York City fans and we will always keep the faith.