I support Brentford Football Club by mistake.
Several years back, at the dinner table, my husband and son were dominating the conversation with their beloved Reds. For a laugh, my daughter and I offered our bullshit opinions on tactics, and the like. We told them we loved football, they had just assumed we didn’t. Sexist bastards.
When asked who we support, I glanced at a pile of freshly laundered sheets and said ‘Brentford’ (out of date reference) and that we were off to watch a match that very afternoon.
And so we became football supporters, as much as two people who are totally uninterested in football can.
Due to ongoing random questioning about Griffin Park, we have been forced to follow the Bees for real. Turns out we are lucky charms. I kid you not. Since the day we gave them our magical blessing, Brentford FC have risen through the ranks to the Premier League. It’s uncanny.
Or it could be that they are a ruddy excellent team, with brilliant management and a great work ethic.
In the words of Steven Bartlett, ‘Brentford are special. Very, very special. Based on their resources, they are objectively overachieving’.
Steven goes on to ask Ivan Toney, who has played for many teams so can ‘compare and contrast’, what makes Brentford different?
“Everybody just mixes together. You just get your lunch, you just sit down here, and you talk with whoever. Nobody at the club thinks they’re better than nobody. That comes from the manager and his philosophy at the club”.
I recommend listening to the full interview. Especially if you are my old boss.
Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO. Interview with Ivan Toney, 19th August 2023.