The First Annual ArgyleUSA Get Together
On Saturday, 21 January, while Argyle were beating Cheltenham Town 4-2 at Home Park, some 3,371 miles away the first annual ArgyleUSA-in-real-life event (ARGIRL) was taking place in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Troy Mayne was there, and here is his report of the occasion…
New Hope is located in eastern Pennsylvania, across the Delaware River from New Jersey and a few miles upriver from the site of General George Washington’s crossing in 1776. But let’s not dwell on that. It is also near the home of Simon and Jane Hallett, our weekend hosts.
The event was the first in-person meeting of the US-based supporters known as ArgyleUSA, from the Twitter account of the same name. Some of us are ex-pats from Devon and Cornwall and other UK places, relocated to the US and hopelessly Green. Some are ‘Yanks’ that found Argyle through Football Manager, Janner camp counselors or the youth coaches of our impressionable youth.
We began watching matches together in 2019, with individual Argyle TV accounts and a simultaneous Zoom feed for banter and communal agony/ecstasy. By 2020, these match days were an important connection to the outside world.
Early morning television is not quite the same as the long trip to Portman Road, but we like to think that we have some skin in the game. Since we began, we have experienced a promotion; befriended Sparksy and mourned his loss; sponsored Director of Football Neil Dewsnip; and greeted those from Canada, Germany, Cyprus, Bermuda, Denmark, and even England as ‘one of us’.
Anticipation was high for the in-person meeting. Pilgrims arrived from 10 states and one district (PA, NJ, NY, MD, VA, FL, MI, WI, TX, CA, and DC). The furthest journey was 2,736 miles, from California. Lansing, Michigan was a hotbed of Argyle support with four attendees. We missed those absent, including a Chicagoland member who needed to play Captain Hook in his school’s fundraiser panto.
All enjoyed a few beverages at Jane and Simon’s home on Friday evening, comparing notes on whether persons were taller (or looked older) in real life. Multiple spouses who prefer not to appear onscreen on Saturday mornings observed that they recognized only people’s voices. Argyle director Nick Giannotti was in attendance, but this was strictly a fans weekend.
The Cheltenham fixture was sold out at Home Park, as was it at The Dubliner-on-the-Delaware in New Hope, which now sported an Argyle flag above the front door. Some 43 attendees turned out for a breakfast of sausage, white and black pudding, rashers, beans, tomatoes, boxty and eggs. Guinness, cider and mimosas were also popular. The crowd included fans whose support long preceded the concept of watching Argyle in the US, let alone video-conferencing it. Richard Grubb, host of a viewing party in 2019, amongst them. We converted a few new supporters, naturally.
The Chairman, who once let slip that he coveted a training top like that of the coaching staff, was surprised with an “SH” version secured with the help of the Superstore staff. We linked in absent Zoomers to watch us watching Argyle.
The team did not disappoint on the day. Four Argyle goals offered ample opportunity for limbs, hugs and exclaimed adoration with minimal abject terror. Songs were sung. “Green Armies” were answered. Bold predictions may have been proclaimed. A trip to the courtyard for a group photograph (thanks to photojournalist James Breeden, who cut his teeth at Home Park and is now one of our own, for photos). A distribution of new stickers from Nigel Rick concluded the Dubliner part of the day.
Some of our number took advantage of the break to have a nap. Others sought adventure in New Hope. Plymothian tales were shared, and we enjoyed a mid-afternoon set by a band performing prior to the Philadelphia Eagles NFL playoff game (unsurprisingly won by the team in green). Our Florida member surprised us by playing Semper Fidelis on a jukebox. It may just catch on here.
Saturday evening, we were back at the Halletts’ home for dinner and cake. The weekend ended with lively FIFA PS5 battles, foosball and Subbuteo (Argyle 1966 v 2021). The Chairman has a sneaky little backline foosball shot that might just trouble Michael Cooper. Argyle talk was everywhere: Jay Matete’s run; feels for Morgan Whittaker; Dan Scarr’s scar. These conversations simply do not otherwise occur in our daily lives.
The wonderful Greens on Screen has a page detailing the 1954 Argyle US Tour, which Gordon Sparks helped to compile. Eugene Melaniphy and James B. Cook, two former Argyle players with new lives in the USA, met with the team when the tour took them to Chicago. We can only hope that our humble ARGIRL event was a spiritual successor to that day. We are all Greens together and that is all we need.
Now, time to start planning for 2024. Come on you Greens!
