A new breed of football supporter can be seen in Hull and around Yorkshire nowadays, one which many an expert never thought would be. The sleeping giant has awoken from his eternal nap and what an effect he is having on the finest football league in the world. The well publicised 104 year sleep has come to an end and only a few months on it is the supporters who are in dreamland.
Will the generation of today be as fortunate as those in the past though? You might think that a silly question, I mean how could sitting at a state of the art Emirates Stadium possibly compare to standing at Moss Rose throughout the monsoon not so long back? It can't, but I wonder if those who have not been to Moss Rose (home of Macclesfield Town) or similar venues can really appreciate the difference in stature. Will they ever have the pleasure of witnessing the toilets at Bootham (sorry Kit Kat) Crescent or the now empty Vetch Field? Comparing the stadiums we visit now to those back then is like comparing Kwik Save to Harrods.
I wonder how many of the present Tiger Nation can envisage just how bad it became and exactly how close the Tigers came to extinction before Adam Pearson rode into town in his shining armour. Of course time moves on and the club will always be bigger than one person but is it possible that during time, Adam's success will be forgotten as City progress? If the majority of those watching now can not remember it, why should it remain?
Will the supporters who stood by the club during their hour(s) of need still remain faithful? Again, that may seem a stupid question but I assure you it is not. The travelling City fan is accustomed to relative obscurity. Being able to go just about anywhere and blend into the background of some lower league footballing city. Not anymore! The travelling supporter of yester year is used to having cheap tickets to visit places of beauty, £12 for Torquay, compared to £50 tickets for commercial paradises like Manchester. Indeed the travelling Tiger Nation of not so long back is actually used to obtaining tickets for away games with ease, this is now no longer the case.
Without doubt the corporate side of football has a massive impact on City. Home games are all sell outs and hospitality is raking in pound after pound for Mr Duffen to play with. Do corporate supporters and non corporate mix though? Suit and ties mixing it with shirts and jeans? Business discussions and terrace chanting/banter?
Of course every single one of us has dreamed that City get to, remain in and eventually become a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League. With those demands weighing on our chairman's shoulders, will he be able to get the balance right between all the different types of supporter now wanting to be part of the Tiger Nation?
For what its worth from my opinion, to see Geo, Cousin, Zayatte and Boateng play is fantastic. To realise just how good it is, you would have had to have seen Goodison, Whitmore, Johnnson and Jamie Wood, all of whom were recent internationals whilst in the colours of Hull City.
So many questions, so many supporters, so many "so many"'s!
One last question for you to ponder: With the success now in full flow, do wasps actually still exist, or are they really just flies in Hull City shirts? With what has happened over the past 5 years, it would not surprise me.