ANYONE who's wandered through the Rookery End's glorious halls this season will have witnessed two very strange occurrences that have been totally unique of the 2007-08 campaign.
The first oddity is the sight of the outlandish voyeurs that dwell inside the turnstiles, even though the gates are now completely automated. What the hell are they doing in there? Technically these former stump rippers just "watch" you as you click through the entrance, and frankly they scare me a little.
The second peculiarity is the sheer weight of thirsty fans now opting to watch the game on the shiny new Rookery TVs, even though the live action is just mere metres away.
At any given moment during the 90 minutes, when the curse of my weak bladder strikes and I scuttle to the loos, I'm constantly shocked by the sheer number of Hornets gathered around the screens.
They could be found in their dozens during the Charlton game, which for me seemed even odder, as the game was also live on Sky - if they prefer to watch it with commentary, surely they could have watched it on TV at home?
Of course, the reason behind their bizarre in-stand box watching is presumably beer. The pumps never run dry in the Rookery these days, and frankly the new area at the back of the stand is a remarkable spot to watch a game as frantic and equally fought as Saturday's.
Not only is there Carlsberg, banter and snacks readily available, you can usually keep an eye on Sky's Jeff Stelling as he bursts out the other vital results from WBA, Bristol and L*ton. Seems perfect.
In fact, to see what the hell these people got out of it, I tried out this Rookery telly watching for a while on Saturday (largely due to the late kick off messing with my body's Saturday night beer clock).
To start, it was all good, if a little weird. Ice was popped into Magners as the horns battled it out on the other side of The Rookery's new doors. But then, I started itching for my red plastic seat.
Things got unbearable when super Al Bangura was subbed on. How could anyone ever justify not being in the stand to applaud the pint sized midfielder back onto the pitch?
Watching the game on the Rookery TV's might have its merits, but there's certain things you just can't miss witnessing in live action.
Season Ticket holder Lee Coan will be bringing you regular updates on life as a Hornet and following the team on the road throughout the season. To see past articles click here.
The views in this blog are not necessarily the views of Watford Football Club.
