Groundhopping24

 On 19th April 2025, Banik Ostrava beat Bohemians 1-0 thanks to Lukáš Hůlka's own goal in front of a 14,385 strong crowd, this being the last game before the league was split into the three groups. I choose that game in particular, as it's one I had planned on attending, though various medical issues had other ideas.  Suffice to say, Banik were riding a high they hadn't ridden for a long time before, during, or after that game, sitting pretty comfortably in 3rd with no danger of falling out of a European place. They would end the season there and finish in their highest ever league position since 2010. Moreover after this Bohemians game was a semi-final at home to Sigma Olomouc, and a chance to make even more history in reaching a first cup final since 2019, when Banik finished runners up to Slavia Praha (0-2). The dream died in a fesity 3-2 defeat, as Banik spurned the opportunity to give themselves a chance of picking up a first piece of silverware in twenty years. The cr...

When it comes to groundhopping and keeping count of all the grounds you've watched a game at, there inevitably come milestones. This weekend's game of choice marks ground number 300 for me, which seems fairly insane to say the least. That said, when it's a weekly hobby for the best part of two decades in various home cities over the years, it's not as difficult as it might seem. But when reaching those milestones, you spend so long pondering - should I make it a special one? Should I finally try and tick off Cork City, club of my grandad's hometown? Would I have enough time and money to head to Berlin and tick off Hertha? And while I was quite annoyed that I couldn't make Lokomotiv Plovdiv the 300th ground, it led me to think - why does it matter?  In many ways, it doesn't. After all, the hobby of groundhopping for me was essentially an extension of following Stevenage home and away, and moving from Stevenage and essentially being unable to do so on a weekly...