Growing up in a family that worshipped at the church of rugby league, a Saturday trip into town usually meant one thing... Hull City were at home.
Whilst thousands would descend upon the KC Stadium to get their football fix, those less inclined towards the beautiful game would prey upon the vacant city centre to go about their day, shopping in peace.
A few years out from the information explosion that is social media, the now rather primitive methods of gazing into pub windows or receiving text updates from those in the know were often your best options for following your team from afar.
Rarely losing any sleep over missing inconsequential league fixtures, it was an afternoon in May 2013 in which my families' agnosticism towards football reached its boiling point.
Arguably the most important home game in the club's history, Hull City came into their final day fixture against Cardiff knowing that a return to the topflight was in their own hands. A win would guarantee promotion however, drawing made for a slightly more precarious scenario, requiring Watford to fall short against Leeds United. For many Hull fans it was a strange feeling willing on their Yorkshire rivals with many hoping that the assistance of their adversaries to the West would not be required.
As the KC Stadium was a cauldron of nerves and excitement, I was spending my day shopping in the town centre, a brisk walk from the ground but as far as I was concerned, I might as well have been in a foreign country. It was Schrödinger's football match; I was burdened with the uncertainty of not knowing what was happening in the game. We could be three goals up and already planning for the premiership, on the flipside, we could be losing and seeing our chances at promotion dwindle by the second. Arguably this was a sense of dread worse than those within the ground.
Upon my return home, before bags could be unpacked and shoes off feet, the radio was on. The unmistakable voice of BBC Humberside's Burnsy was there, the voice of Hull City for those unable to attend and reluctant to fork out the excessive fees that came with satellite sports coverage.
Burnsy delivers an update on the scores and with it comes an overwhelming sense of relief. Hull led Cardiff and Watford found themselves held at a goal apiece against Leeds. With an hour on the clock, Hull look set for promotion and now begins the real nerves. Minutes feel like hours as the game drags on. From feeling a million miles away from the action in the city centre, hearing the commentary on the radio transports you to the ground, able to envisage each passage of play as if you were witnessing it with your own eyes.
That was the value of local radio for me. For those at the ground, Burnsy's voice was the soundtrack to the queue out of the car park or the wait for the bus but for those not in attendance it was a ticket to the match without ever having to leave your house.
Whilst even the greatest writers could not spin a tale like the events on that day, Burnsy told the story perfectly, conveying all the emotion of a fan whilst never letting the moment eclipse him. Every moment, every detail, every minute of action was delivered impeccably as Hull returned to the Premier League in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
Penalties scored and missed, late drama around the league and fans descending on the pitch as promotion was confirmed, even neutrals taking a glance at their TV's would've struggled to not get swept up in the excitement of the day. Through it all Burnsy remains professional, knowing his role in informing the countless fans celebrating in kitchens and living rooms across the country.
As the voice of Hull City for over twenty years, Burnsy recounts to me what these moments mean for people, regardless of whether or not they're supporters of the club.
"It permeates right through the city. People are interested in it, even if they're not football fans, and have never been football fans. It suddenly gives the area a profile".
Swept up in the emotion of the game, individuals who have never stepped in a football stadium are converted into lifelong fans formed by a chance encounter with a game on the radio and it's the job of reporters like Burnsy to make the uninterested feel like they've had a season ticket for years.
Whilst the good times spread like wildfire, when things aren't going well it can be poisonous; sucking the life out of the city and alienating even the most loyal of supporters. Any conversation with Burnsy would not be complete without addressing the Allam era. A twelve year reign overseeing Hull's most successful period in club history, undercut by a constant struggle between supporters and those in charge.
"It's a great shame, two bad decisions, badly-handled, the name-change and the membership concessions, tarnished the most successful period in the club's history."
“It gets you a different sort of publicity, it gets you a bit of notoriety." Burnsy tells me of when things weren't going well at Hull City. "You look at the name change proposals from the Allams, that sort of went around the world in the wrong way because it wasn't a positive story".
"It's not the same as the positive of an underdog coming through and a city that was punching way below its weight suddenly at least punching its weight".
Promotion to the Premier League will put you in the national spotlight for all the right reasons but undergo a vicious campaign to tear apart the club's heritage and you'll end up in a pit that no amount of wins can pull you out of.
The attempts by the Allam ownership to rebrand the club, to what they saw as a more corporate friendly 'Hull Tigers' name was a virus, corrupting the most successful period in the club's history. Ultimately, the FA voted to reject the proposal just four days before Hull's first ever appearance in an FA Cup semi-final. Success on the pitch contaminated by toxicity behind the scenes.
"I think back to the name change, [the Allams] said because they'd put so much money in and saved the club, that if fans didn't agree they'd pull the rug and all the money would be gone."
“They saved the club from oblivion but there were too many fall-outs, with the biggest one with the fans. That never ends well."
"It was avoidable, me and others warned them not to do it but as Assem Allam once said: nobody tells me how to run my business."
"That was part of the great contradiction in him because he'd also said he knew nothing about football! "
"I liked him, he was charming and generous, as is Ehab, but they were both ruthless."
"Somehow they managed to be thick-skinned and thin-skinned at the same time."
"You can give [the club] all the money in the world, but if you don't understand the fans, that's the be all end all. The fans are the most important at the end of the day. It's the people's game, isn't it? "
"It was such a whirlwind period”, Burnsy tells me, "But they made for interesting times as a broadcaster”. Very much the man on the frontline during this period, his job was often a thankless one. Juggling the impossible tasks of informing fans whilst not making yourself an enemy of the people you're reporting on.
"The fans deserve to know what the club might not want to tell you... But it's the journalist's responsibility to try and get under the skin. But if you can do it in a nice way and everybody's happy, it helps when things are going well".
"But you soon detect stuff at a club where it's not going well. That might sour relationships as it has for me over time, but I think as a journalist, you're duty bound to try and find out what's going on".
Banned from the stadium on multiple occasions by the ownership whilst still being criticised by fans for going soft on those in charge, it's always going to be challenge when you find yourself in the middle of such a contentious period in a club's history.
Naturally, conversation turns to the current ownership and the contrasts with their predecessors. Speaking about Acun Ilicali, the Turkish media mogul who took over from the Allams in December 2021, Burnsy points out the clear differences in how he conducts his business.
"He's an exciting figure to have in the city, he's a master of PR essentially. He knows what he's doing. When he walks down the high street, he knows how to win people over. I think that's quite a big thing."
"He's been a breath of fresh air. He's engaged with the fans, he's engaged with everybody else, he's restored the love for the club. People had fallen out of love with the club, which is, a terrible thing and there was divide and there was rancour, but he's brought it all back together."
"He's done it skilfully; he's done it with great charm and people believe in what he's doing. People believe in the project and people feel they're part of the football club and they also feel the football club's part of the city again."
Without a doubt, Acun Ilicali has brought the feel good factor back to East Yorkshire with over 15,000 season tickets already sold for the upcoming season, a stark contrast from the dwindling attendances seen under previous owners.
Whilst thousands more will pack into the MKM Stadium this season, those unable to attend in person will find themselves cut off from their team. The managed decline of BBC local radio has been deeply damaging for communities like Hull, overlooked by the mainstream press but with a population still relying on traditional media for news about their area.
Back in April, Burnsy announced that his morning show on BBC Radio Humberside would be coming to an end after twelve years on the airwaves. Whilst his position covering Hull City is still up in the air, the loss of local services is a disappointment for the countless individuals who view local radio as not just news but a companion.
The following month saw all ten MPs representing the Humberside area sign a letter to the BBC Director General, Tim Davie, voicing their frustration at the proposed cuts. When you have both Diana Johnson and David Davis agreeing on an issue you know it stretches beyond the mudslinging of Westminster and actually impacts the areas they represent.
Johnson, even at one point proclaimed within the House of Commons that those at the top of the BBC should "give their heads a wobble", a phrase commonly used by Burnsy that typified not just the lunacy of the cuts but the cultural impact that one presenter had on their local area.
Moving to London last year left me once again disconnected from Hull City, this time by geography rather than family reluctance. Once more looking for ways to keep in touch with my club I found that the local radio services I had reached for in previous years were no longer there.
The days of entire football matches broadcast locally are sadly gone and to an extent so is a small part of the beautiful game... At least for those who can't make it to the stadium on a Saturday afternoon.
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