Supporting Pools from Victoria Park, Kentucky
WHEN I spoke to Trevor Mason, he was gearing up to watch the Hartlepool United v Nottingham Forest game held at the weekend
Nothing unusual there, but Trevor wasn't just nipping down to the ground – he was logging on to the internet at 9.30am local time to watch it from his home in Louisville, Kentucky.
However, he was still at Victoria Park – Victoria Park is the name of his house in Yellow Pine Drive , Louisville, Kentucky.
This is a regular Saturday ritual for Trevor.
Despite emigrating after falling in love with America, having spent three summers as a counsellor at a Summer Camp in New York, he has still remained a loyal Pools fan.
His house is decked out in memorabilia and pictures of the team, his car has a Hartlepool United sticker and Union Jack flag and even his wife Lucinda, young daughters Charlotte, who turns 10 tomorrow and Emma, seven, have their own Pools shirts.
For Kentucky born-and-bred Lucinda, the distinctive Hartlepool United aura surrounding their home is part and parcel of Trevor.
She said: "I'm glad he has something that's part of his home that he grew up with, which he can get over here.
"He does get home-sick a little bit. I'm glad he can listen to the game. It also means I can get some things done around the house."
Lucinda, who works in insurance and turns 34 this Saturday, added: "I do keep track on whether Pools win or lose."
Trevor, 35, a former Brougham, Jesmond Road and High Tunstall School pupil, has been a follower of Hartlepool United since he was small.
"I can remember when I was six or seven. My dad took me to a game on Boxing Day and Hartlepool beat Darlo 2-1. From that point on I was hooked," he said in a mixture of Poolie and Yankee drawl.
But being 5,000 miles away hasn't stopped Trevor, who works as an electrician for Bigelow Tea Company, from seeing a game.
He said: "When I first came over here, the internet wasn't as big as it is now. I had to get a low-band radio and listen to the soccer scores. My dad, Brian, used to send me the Football Mail too, but I used to be a week behind.
"Now with the internet, it's right in front of me. Lucinda sometimes watches it with me, but she has a bit of a problem understanding the accents, especially the Mail's Glaswegian writer Michael Gannon."
Trevor last got back to England to see the FA Cup game against Sunderland last year. He is hoping to come again next year with his family.
"Charlotte and Emma have been to the ground a couple of times and had their picture taken. Charlotte wants to be a Pools mascot the next time she comes over," he said.
"They are very proud of the fact that they have this English heritage and that their dad's an English soccer fan."
Lucinda added: "It was really interesting seeing the ground when we came over. There was no game going on and it was neat to see it."
Trevor says his father also helps him keep up to speed with games by typing up a match report, especially for games which take place during the week, when Trevor is at work.
And the father and son bond is kept strong when Brian, who now lives in Yarm with wife Dorothy, sit down at their computers each Saturday and talk about the team selection before each game.
But it can be hard for Trevor, being part of a minority of Pools fans across the pond.
The former Edgar Phillips worker said: "When we do well there aren't many people to celebrate with and when we get relegated it's also hard.
"Often, the wife and kids will get either my celebration mode or a mood depending on whether we win or lose."
It seems the Mason household may have been under a bit of a dark cloud after Saturday.
Trevor predicted Hartlepool United would beat Nottingham Forest 2-0, but the score was 2-1 to Forest.
The full article contains 700 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
10 October 2007 1:43 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Hartlepool