It was the first round proper of the FA Cup and in rounding up the 'interest' stories of the non-league clubs that were in the draw, a broadcaster opted to focus solely on a supporter whose post match entertainment involved playing the spoons to his friends in the clubhouse.
For me it represented a nadir in the coverage of this level of football and summed up a general media attitude. The media approach seemed to be premised on the belief that the quality of football and spectacle on offer in the non-league game was so irrelevant that the main story was the 'quirkiness' of the characters involved in the clubs.
Let's face it for many professional journalists non-league was synonymous with Sunday League football. They expected overweight footballers playing a long ball game on a pudding of a pitch (even in August), in front of a handful of supporters who were probably only distracted from the game by exchanging notes on train timetables.
The image of the spoon playing supporter has never left me but to be fair the national media are now more accurately profiling non-league football based on its merits rather than media misconceptions.
Thankfully the exponential growth of Internet radio, satellite TV, and social media has enabled many more voices and opinions to be heard and to provide an increasingly representative view of the national game at our level. We now have a national Non League Paper, BT Sports highlights show, regular live TV coverage, and countless quality independent media and club productions.
As the major broadcasters see the rise of players such as Jamie Vardy or Dwight Gayle they realise that the quality of football is good and players have the potential to smash the glass ceiling.
More than this though there is a realisation that the game at our level represents a quality that has been lost higher up the divisions. The ability of fans and players to chat over a drink in the bar post match, the fact that clubs are pinnacles of the community (and not international brands seeking to break into a global market), the commitment of dedicated volunteers to running the clubs, and the friendly family orientated atmosphere that awaits new spectators, are now unique to clubs lower down the football hierarchy. These aspects - in my view - make places like Nethermoor a higher quality match day experience than the Premier League - not a second rate alternative. The media have cottoned onto this and I believe an ever increasing number of football fans will be drawn to clubs like us thanks to this wider exposure.
Guiseley's October has so far epitomised how far the media has come. Hot on the heels of our first ever live TV match here at Nethermoor, we had Non League Day at Forest Green Rovers. As well as our in house media team, the fantastic coverage we receive now enables fans to follow the Lions home and away via national broadcasters such BBC radio and BT Sport, but more than just coverage, we are treated with increasing respect for our status as a football club.
The spoons can stay in the cutlery draw.
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