Welcome to the Odsal the home of the Bradford Bulls.
The introduction to Rugby League into my life has been nothing shorter of miraculous, I have been given great opportunities and met some amazing people. One of the amazing things that I have been introduced to over the last 6 months was the Odsal stadium.
I love sporting grounds, and I thought that I knew about most of the most famous and most beautiful but a name that had never crossed my mind was the Odsal stadium home of the Bradford Bulls. Odsal is a fascinating colosseum of a stadium which is dug deep into the ground at Bradford.
This old and famous ground which has been in existence since 1933 also has its name etched into British sporting history when in 1954 it hosted (Officially) 102,569 people unofficially locals reckon nearer to 150,000. The biggest attendance for a rugby league game ever!
This old and famous ground which has been in existence since 1933 also has its name etched into British sporting history when in 1954 it hosted (Officially) 102,569 people unofficially locals reckon nearer to 150,000. The biggest attendance for a rugby league game ever!
As you pass through the turnstiles you get what is a spectacular birds eye view of the stadium, from end to end you can see every corner of this classically brilliant ground. When I say it is a colosseum, I mean it, never I have seen such a likeness of the great Roman battle fields in this country as this ground. The walk down the steps from the top of the ground works in two layers. First is from the turnstiles to their equivalent of the concourse, burgers and alcohol for what must be 300m around the ground. The litre bottles of cider (Which despite pricey are very good) in the hands of 60% of the fans is a sight to see and the smell of the food and the grease, is enough to make a full man peckish.
The next layer is from the many burger vans down to the ground itself. As many fans would say, walking down the steps, it is the stairway to heaven just this time when you walk back up those stairs you won’t be coming back down.
The next layer is from the many burger vans down to the ground itself. As many fans would say, walking down the steps, it is the stairway to heaven just this time when you walk back up those stairs you won’t be coming back down.
I honestly love that ground and the fans who supported their team in it. I have only ever been to two matches in the ground one was this game and the other was a game that many Bradford fans especially the younger fans called it the best moment within that stadium. Earlier in may this season Bradford faced off against Super League Side and fierce rivals Leeds Rhinos. And if you don’t watch Rugby League then you should know that the step up from the Championship to the Super League is massive teams from the Championship should not be beating Super League side. However, despite the odds Bradford came out on top and the fans created an atmosphere like I haven’t felt before and I’m ranking that higher than a full capacity Hertha Berlin v Dortmund with over 50,000 fans whilst stood above the ultras group. The 10,000 fans in in the Odsal that day made twice the atmosphere than that.
What you must also realise is that at the Odsal before the two games I went to is that they have a parade around the old stock car racing track. It really is a surreal experience with two motorbikes revving there way around, and specifically for emergency services day, yesterday they had a fire engine, a police car and an ambulance. It’s quite surreal seriously.
As for the day itself I don’t need to talk about the game, Bradford played their hearts out, despite the attempts of the ref and they scored some brilliant try’s to kiss the Odsal goodbye.
As for the day itself I don’t need to talk about the game, Bradford played their hearts out, despite the attempts of the ref and they scored some brilliant try’s to kiss the Odsal goodbye.
I actually almost felt guilty about attending, the atmosphere for this match was strange. 7,000 and so fans all wanting to celebrate their time at this magnificent ground but there were also those who were devastated that they were losing their piece of heaven. I heard a story about a women who hasn’t seen the bulls play in nearly 40 years due to living in New Zealand but she had come back for this game. What this mix created was the feeling of that of a wake. The celebration of a life that had been lived, in the final 10 minutes I genuinely felt as if I was going to well up. Old Men who could have been watching their team play here for over 80 years were saying goodbye, I would look around me and see groups of people, couples and families just staring but not watching the game instead they were clearly reminiscing. Couples in each other’s arms just trying to make every second last an eternity. I spoke to a man who said “As long as we have a team, ill support them wherever they play”, but what almost made me crack was, after the game when all the fans were invited onto the pitch to say there farewells were the elderly gents saying goodbye to one another “See you next week” they said, it came as a stark reminder to me what sports means to people. It’s just not always about the team and it certainly doesn’t matter where they play, these people have known each other for god knows how long and on a sunny Sunday afternoon or wet Friday night they’ll be there. The old gang together again. After this we went onto the pitch but it didn’t feel right to me, so after not long at all I decided it was time for myself to leave.
Who am I to be encroaching on the field which so many real fans of this club had seen their dreams become reality and there hope shattered? It wasn’t my place to be, it was for them the real fans of this great rugby league side within their astonishing testament to time.
I’m am honoured that I have been able to witness one of Bradford’s finest hours in recent history and I’m even more grateful that I got to see them play their last game within the Odsal. The fans have been fantastic the games were brilliant and the ground was stunning, it is a real shame that many, rugby league fans or not, will never be able to experience the real home to the Bradford bulls, not in Dewsbury but in Bradford and in the Odsal.
Who am I to be encroaching on the field which so many real fans of this club had seen their dreams become reality and there hope shattered? It wasn’t my place to be, it was for them the real fans of this great rugby league side within their astonishing testament to time.
I’m am honoured that I have been able to witness one of Bradford’s finest hours in recent history and I’m even more grateful that I got to see them play their last game within the Odsal. The fans have been fantastic the games were brilliant and the ground was stunning, it is a real shame that many, rugby league fans or not, will never be able to experience the real home to the Bradford bulls, not in Dewsbury but in Bradford and in the Odsal.
