On Thursday morning I was interviewed by Channel 4 News who were putting together a report on the excellent wheelchair platform at the Racecourse – the world’s oldest international football stadium.
This was my TV debut and I didn’t prepare. I never do for speeches at meetings and just tend to go with the flow. However, this can be a dangerous game as I always come away wishing I had said and emphasised a particular point to a greater degree. This is exactly what happened on Thursday and now I am kicking myself for not saying everything I wanted.
A fellow member of the Disabled Supporters Association was present and told me not to worry as everything I said was spot on. My PA also added encouraging words, but I am my own worst critic. It is not easy when you are put on the spot to think of an amazing, free-flowing answer to a question, but when I was asked why the majority of Premier League clubs do not cater for disabled fans I missed a golden opportunity to talk about Capitalist greed.
What I should have said was that Premier League clubs put profit before the needs of their community. Wrexham is a community run club where I am just as important as any other supporter, whereas football’s elite are too concerned about maximising profit and pandering to the image-conscious media. I could have spoke for ages about this and it would have made great footage, but instead I just said that I didn’t understand why the Premier League clubs haven’t invested in facilities to accommodate all fans.
Maybe I am worrying about nothing? I hope Channel 4 have enough footage of me talking semi-sense. If not, I would be happy to contribute more via telephone as the last thing I want to do is miss the opportunity to promote our club and our facilities in a positive light. You can judge for yourself whether or not I made a hash of things on December 6th or 7th. I will let you know when I get confirmation of the date.
On a personal level, I am also obsessing over my posture in my wheelchair. It is embarrassing that my powered chair is obviously not suitable for my ever-changing body. My long legs tend to flop to the sides and my hips roll forward leaving me in a slumped seating position. On top of this, I do not have enough trunk support and constantly lean towards my left side. And I wonder why I do not have any luck with the ladies.
I am putting as much pressure as I can on the wheelchair posture department at the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre, but it looks like I will have to wait until after Christmas for an appointment. I have been on the waiting list for about 20 weeks now. I did hope I could get this sorted before my 40th birthday in February, but it looks like I will have to be a little more patient.
It is hard work being a disabled perfectionist…
