WHAT DERRY CITY MEANS TO ME... Being a Candystripe means something more!

Today Derry City fans hit the rocky road to Dublin for the first time in 2023 (and the first of 10 scheduled league trips to the capital this season).

No matter your age, no matter how long you’ve been a Candystripes fan, and no what where you’re based and supporting from now, the excitement and butterflies in the tummy going to bed this evening will be a familiar feeling for all of those in red and white stripes.

It’s certainly a lot easier to say that given the fantastic 2022 season that City are coming off the back of. And the fact that the FAI Cup win only felt like the beginning of a special journey, with Ruaidhrí Higgins at the helm.

Cameron McJannet recently took part in a podcast where he talked about signing for Derry and realising exactly what the football club meant to the city and its people. Throughout the years there has always been an attitude that ‘we want Derry men playing for Derry City, they know what it means’.

And as someone whose first few season tickets in Block D involved watching Higgins alongside Eddie McCallion, Sean Hargan, Peter Hutton, Kevin Deery, Mark Farren (and the list goes on…) I always bought into that attitude. If you grow up going to the Brandywell then you’ll know exactly what you must do if you’re ever lucky enough to one day take to the hallowed (astro) turf.

But it turns out, that isn’t strictly true. Of course, we are all delighted to see as many local faces as we can – Michael Duffy, the McEleneys, Ciaron Harkin – but awhat Ruaidhrí Higgins has managed to create is much more than a team. It’s a family.

As we eagerly await the new season getting underway, I have no doubt in my mind that every single player in that squad will give every sinew of themselves, through the ups and the inevitable downs, to help Derry City - our club, our city and our people, be as successful as they can. Unfortunately, as football continues to become more of a business and less of a sport, that attitude is an increasing exception rather than a rule.

These players and staff embrace the fact that the Candystripes are much more than a football club. The unique history, the giants we’ve lost over the years, the volunteers who make everything tick, the ‘ultras’, the fact that a 90-year-old and a 9-year-old share the same buzz when that ball hits the net – that’s Derry City.

It’s easy to take for granted how much a football Friday means. Looking forward to finishing off the work or school week, meeting up with your muckers, the walk down to the Brandywell, the pre-match or half-time (or both!) trip to the chippy van, the speculation about the team line-up, the predictions about what’ll happen (that go out the window after ten minutes of play), the stand up for the Candystripes, the Teenage Kicks, the drum, the half-time draw, the last minute winners, the final whistle, the new friends and old, the post-match analysis over a pint, the rush that stops you sleeping. It’s everything.

As football fans we all want to win every game, and every trophy. But the reality of it is that football, and Derry City, is so much more than an isolated 90 minutes every week. It’s so much more than one result – one good season or one bad one. It’s about the community that’s created and that continues to thrive from one generation to the next.

There will be amazing highs and what feel like killer lows ahead. But through it all, let’s stick together. This is Derry City. We are Derry City.

Let’s do this.

#RAWA