Viva Lewes Issue #138 March 2018

FOOTBALL
'Cynical' Dave McKay
Home and away fan
Photo by James Boyes, McKay centre in denim jacket
If you’ve ever witnessed an away-from-home goal
by Lewes FC Men’s team in the last 12 years,
you’ll almost certainly have noticed the unfettered
celebration of one fan in particular, a seriouslooking
fellow with sandy-grey hair who generally
stands at pitch-level, near the back of the goal.
It’s at moments like this when Aberdonian Dave
McKay belies his nickname, ‘Cynical Dave’.
Chances are, the scorer of the goal will run into
his open arms, and a joyful huddle of fans and
players will form, divided only by the advertising
hoarding.
Dave started going to away games in the 2006/7
season. “It was the promotion season, to the
Conference National. I’d been following Middlesbrough
away until then, but I was sick of the
excessive stewarding, meaning that any sign of
emotion was immediately quelled. I decided to go
to a Lewes away game against Eastleigh. We lost
3-0, one of our players ended up in hospital and
[manager Steve] King was sent to the stands for
protesting. I was hooked.”
He hasn’t missed many away games since, even
though Lewes’ away form has, in the intervening
decade, been pretty dreadful. “The worst game, I
think, was at St Albans in the season we got relegated
from the Conference South: it was bitterly
cold, we barely created a chance, and lost 3-0. We
were so bad I could hardly watch: I’ve never spent
so long staring at concrete.”
This season has been a little different, with
Lewes, as we go to press, having won 10 of their
17 away games. This has led to something of a
spike in the number of away fans. “In the past
it’s been between 12 and 20, irrespective of how
we’ve been doing. This season there’s been at
least 30 every game, with a maximum of 150 who
went to Bromley to see the top-of-the-table clash
against Cray.”
He describes the average away fan as “male, and
over thirty”. Unlike some, Dave has never made
a list of the football grounds he has visited: he’s
more there for the football, and the camaraderie.
He always travels on the train, meaning he and his
companions can enjoy a “can or two of McEwans
Export” on the way back, to fuel the post-mortem,
or celebrate a win. A drink is had before the game,
too. “We don’t really do any sightseeing, but we
do research the best pub in the area, meaning the
one that sells the best real ale.”
There have been a lot of miserable defeats over
the years, but a smattering of real high points too.
He cites an FA Cup win at John Hollins’ Crawley,
in 2006, as being the best of all. Steve King and
the players ran over to the 250-or-so Lewes fans
after the final whistle, to celebrate together, as
Lewes reached the First Round proper for only
the second time in their history. “It’s that sort of
moment that reminds you why you fell in love
with football in the first place.” Alex Leith
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