Wrens and Eagles in a Night to Remember

GU14 Wrens 6 - 0 GU14 Eagles

London GU14 Tier 1 League

The social media blackout that preceded the Wrens vs Eagles league game had inevitably led to intense speculation that the twins’ dad Pete would repeat last year’s efforts with a handcrafted half-Wren half-Eagle costume, reflecting divided loyalties between daughters Izzy Wren and Charlie Eagle, and once again becoming a minor celebrity in the build up to the match. It followed that Pete’s arrival at the famous Sugden Road ground wearing merely two scarves – one from each team’s fan merchandise store - was met with a wave of disappointment and rumours that Pete had fallen out with the authorities following their refusal to allow him to sing the national anthem at half time.

In fact the truth proved rather more prosaic, as Pete explained to the waiting media: “I really wanted to stitch a Wren-Eagle costume, but it proved impossible as the birds are such unequal sizes. The eagle is such a magnificent raptor and any contribution from the ordinary wren would be limited to a few brown feathers around my left ankle.” When it was put to him that the RSPB had vetoed his request to reclassify the wren as part of the parrot family, Pete clarified that “It just wouldn’t be fair on the players for me to appear as a stubby brown bird. I was worried that I would become a distraction from the occasion. After all, hockey is the real star here.”

Much has been made of the fact that Surbiton is mentioned in the same breath as Manchester, Milan and New York when it comes to fielding multiple teams of sporting excellence. Both titans of the modern game had qualified for the Supra League at the first time of asking, but everyone knew that the players would not let this local derby be a dead rubber.

As Aryana the Eagle led the teams onto the field, the anticipation rose among the supporters. Would the Wrens, serene in brilliant white, or the Eagles, flamboyant in emerald green, take the spoils?

For legal reasons, we are unable to report on the match itself but the game can be viewed again on SHC TV.

Afterwards, a much calmer Pete reflected on the experience. “As you’d expect, the match was great but Aryana the Eagle, wow, what a mascot. I had only seen a future in avian costumes from the sidelines, but Aryana has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. The walk, the wave, the outfit, just amazing…..”

In the meantime, the teams sit first and second in the table and look forward to the Supra League in the new year.