Sprig Quotes

As the game enters its glorious final weeks, the chill of fall signals the reality of defeat for all but one team. The fields of play will turn brown and harden, the snow will fall, but in the heart of the fan sprouts a sprig of green.

Men in flat caps and collarless shirts wander around with a sprig of hawthorn between their teeth, their hands clamped behind them. All you have to do is say "Ah," mingling pity, rage and stoicism in one breath, and everyone within earshot will echo you.