Iron supporter-from-afar Leigh Norris this week made his first-ever visit to the town.
He’s supported the club from Australia for the last six years, but journeyed over to North Lincolnshire for a day in a week-long trip in England.“I’ve travelled from Melbourne, Australia and it’s taken me around 30 hours to get here,” Leigh explained.
“It started with a game and I was watching Scunthorpe versus Millwall at Wembley in 2009 and I just fell in love with that era – Nigel Adkins, Martyn Woolford, Matt Sparrow etc. That era in the Championship was fantastic, especially when we stayed up.
“I love it here. Glanford Park is a nice, small and unique stadium and I love the terracing in the Britcon Stand. I’m quite sad that Scunny are leaving here to be honest because I would have loved to have seen a game here but I don’t think I’m going to be able to as I haven’t got the budget for it.”
He added: “The seats are so close to the pitch, which is so different to what I’m used to. It’s awesome.”
Leigh provided an insight as to what it’s like to support an English club from afar, particularly with kick-off times being during the night – or very early in the morning.
“It’s not easy to follow with the games generally being from midnight until 2am in Melbourne,” he continued.
“I do try and keep up to date with things on The Iron Player and Facebook, which is fantastic and the Scunthorpe Telegraph site. I read anything I can, listen to BBC Radio Humberside and watch all of the highlights on YouTube and on Player.
“We have a small amount of support for Scunthorpe in Australia. It’s a dedicated following though and we have a Australia and New Zealand Supporters’ group on Twitter."
He added: “You’ve got to be dedicated to it when it’s so far away and there are definitely a couple of dedicated supporters down there.”
He’s already looking ahead to supporting the club once more in 2015-16, targeting the play-offs and possibly promotion back to the Championship.
“I think the Chairman and everyone here is building something special,” said Leigh.
“The new stadium looks great and the team is building towards the Championship. I’m really excited for next season, we will have to see what happens. Hopefully we can get a few new signings in the building and it’d be wonderful to begin at the new stadium in the Championship.
“This is my first trip to England and it’s all new to me. I’m hoping to come here a little bit more often after I’ve saved some more money. I’d like to see Scunthorpe at Wembley in a live match – but I’ve been there this week cheering on Bristol Rovers against Grimsby in the play-off final.”
He added: “I’m not from here, so I don’t have workmates to brag to, but it’s a special rivalry to the club, so it’s special to me.”
See much more from Leigh Norris on The Iron Player.