The Excitement of the Play-Offs

This is the best time in the football season, and that's a fact.

Ignoring the Premier League, and how Steven Gerrard will deservedly lead Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, it is actually the Championship where most of the final months excitement will take place.

Only 9 points separate 5th place Wigan and 12th place Middlesbrough, with nearly all the teams within those places playing each other in their final four fixtures. Every single point gained or lost has an impact on the race for a play-off spot.


Side-note: As an Ipswich Town fan currently in 8th place, I have a sense of anticipation that I haven't been able to feel since the 2004/2005 season when we missed out on automatic promotion by 2 points, lost to West Ham in the play-offs, before selling all of our most influential players and tailing off into obscurity for 9 years. (I'm not bitter West Ham fans, I promise)

Every single team in the Championship is chasing the illusive dream of one day playing Premier League football once again, or even for the first time.
But I can't help but feel that chasing the dream is actually more exciting than living it.
Chasing the 3 spots to the Premier League offers more drama, up's and down's and feelings of will they/won't they than the race for a mid-table finish in the Premier League.

Last years play-off semi final between Watford and Leicester not only provided one of the most memorable finishes in 2013, but in football history. 
(you can watch that again here)

These moments are exactly the reason the Championship is more exciting than the Premier League. Watching your team that you've grown up with fight to succeed, not fight to avoid relegation is one of the best feelings that you can truly experience.
Experiences that many bandwagon fans of successful Premier League teams will never get to feel. 

Which is why from now until May 3rd my eyes will be glued every weekend to Soccer Saturday, Twitter feeds and video streams for the latest Championship scores, and yours should be too.

Twitter: @ryanmcevoy