Support your local team

David Lister pupil Arron Cawthorne (15) remembers his first-ever trip to a professional football match

Don't you just dream of sitting in a football/rugby stadium? Cheering for your team, shouting at the players, wanting them to score! Well, that's how I felt when I was going to my first football game! I remember it well - it was on the 18th September 1999 at the old Hull City ground, Boothferry Park.
I want to tell you this story because I want more young people to go and see their local teams, be they football or rugby league. Trust me, it's exciting!
I was on my way to the game, just me and my uncle. We stepped onto the bus and went down. Luckily, the bus stopped outside the stadium. I stepped off the bus and there it was, Boothferry Park!
I was walking nearer and nearer and with each step I took, my heart got faster and faster. We went across to the ticket office and collected our tickets and began walking towards the gates. Just standing next to the gates shocked me, as they were huge! We then walked across to the stand where we were sitting, the west stand, and what a view it was!
We were waiting for about half an hour for the teams to come out and when they did, my adrenaline shot right up. The teams began to run out onto the pitch and I stood up and cheered for City. As soon as the match started I began to roar, but the moment I had waited for was about to happen! In the 39th minute a ball was crossed into the box and netted (GOAL!). I couldn't make out who it was until he ran near us - it was David Brown. I started jumping up and down, cheering for them. Then, after all that excitement it was half time. It was a good first half and I'm just glad I saw a goal for my team. I went to get something to eat during the break and went back to sit in the crowd - the only thing I was hoping for now was for Hull City to win!
So the game started again and it wasn't that long until they got a second. Eleven minutes after the interval it was 2-0 to Hull; now Jamie Wood got on the score sheet. By now it was getting close to the end and Swansea had a couple of good chances but, unlucky for them, they couldn't score. The final whistle went - we had won and everyone was cheering, including me and my uncle.
What a game it was and this was what it was like for me to go and see my first-ever football match.
People should support their local teams in any sport, as it will encourage the team to do well, because people want to see them do well.
So get behind your local teams and give them a boost!