Today is a day for heroes and warriors. Today, someone can stand up and take a place in Hull City folklore. It is not a day for the feint of heart or the bottler of the tackle. It’s a day for sticking your head in where it’s going to be kicked, for finding a run when the tank is empty, for putting yourself on the line. Today is a battle and we need a general.
We need an Ian Ashbee, a Wayne Brown or a Justin Whittle. Someone needs to be a Gary Brabin, a Michael Turner, a Billy Whitehurst or a Gareth Roberts. Does anyone have it in them? Look yourself in the mirror Tigers and challenge yourself to be a man.
If you don’t know what it takes to be a man, ask Mr Kipling (abridged):
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you"
"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too"
"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim"
"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same"
"If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone"
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"
Today, I don’t care if you come from Hull, New York, Paris or even Peckham. If you pull on an amber shirt today, you are Hull. A City of people who work hard, who have passion and spirit and will fight for what they want and what they have. You have people in your corner, in the stands, in the pub, in the city and in the kitchen by the radio. Stand and we will stand with you. Fight and we will fight with you.
Be a hero today. Saturday April 17th 2010. Someone be a hero.