The Fan in the Stand became a fan on the terraces last Sunday on the nostalgic trip to Eden Park. The last time Bay fans made this journey was the historic Ranfurly Shield victory on August 15th 2004. I'm still surprised it hasn't been made a public holiday.

The first stop on the trip north was the Bombay Service Centre. Two years ago there were busloads of Bay fans parked, HoriBOP with a leprechaun, and blue and yellow everywhere.

It wasn’t so busy this year but this was all put to rights on arrival on the terraces where the Bay colours were plentiful and a cheerfully noisy (mascot formerly known as) HoriBOP was present. However, there was a rare and genuine full minute long moment of silence for Dame Te Atairangikaahu. 

The game got off to a promising start, and at 20-6 this fan was wondering why it had taken Andre Bell so long to start Mike Delany at first five. However it seems Celebrity Referee Steve Walsh is also a fan of our colours and after he displayed a yellow banner twice the scoreboard became a bit grim. Seriously though, this new handicapping system in the Air New Zealand Cup will take some getting used to. I know we beat Auckland in 2003 and 2004, but making us play 13 against 15 seems a little harsh. I hope Walsh realised he wasn't at a Warriors game. I still haven’t forgotten the knock on he missed to deny us a draw against Wellington, harbouring long term grievances is a speciality of the Fan in the Stand. 

At least Aleki Lutui appeared for a 5 minute cameo of epic proportions. If that is the last time he plays in a Bay jersey, it was a fitting exit. 4 charging runs in a single movement topped off with a thunderbolt fend to sit Kaino on his rear end. Cory Aporo looks a real handful in the midfield with pace and power, the Fan in the Stand really hopes we can give him some good ball this Saturday afternoon in Rotorua. Hopefully all true Steamers fans make the effort to be there and we notch up a convincing victory. Although we cannot reach the top three, a 4^th place finish would position us well for the repechage leading to 2 more home games for the Bay. 

Five more reasons for Bay fans to be cheerful:
-           We play Manawatu this week
-           Mike Delany looks at home at first five
-           Waikato lost to Otago
-           We scored three tries at the weekend
-           There are better hotdogs at home games than at Eden Park