Maxine Dodd art

Maxine Dodd Artist

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2 comments on Leicester City: Daring to dream?

Leicester City: Daring to dream?

When it comes to being a fan of football, I am a bit of a romantic fool; either getting my hopes up for England to win a major tournament or for my own team, Leicester City to do well in the FA Cup.

Two silver Foxes!

Reaching a final, let alone winning, for both teams, seem like a lifetime ago. England reached the final (and won) the World Cup in 1966, while three years later in 1969, the Foxes reached the final of the FA Cup, which they lost by one goal to Manchester City. Heartbreak!

Goodness knows that both England and Leicester have broken mine and many more hearts a hundred times over in the years that followed…Ecstasy followed by Agony for one or other of them, and like all the other broken-hearted fans, I keep coming back for more, because there’s nothing quite as thrilling as your football team, local or national, doing well in a big tournament.

It’s the unique experience that all sport gives. It brings us together, excites us and enriches us. The lows are low but the highs are the best and both live long in our collective memories.

When the event and performance are very special, it engages everyone, including people who don’t regard themselves as sports fans, the excitement draws people together in a lovely way.

Southampton fan, so proud of the badge

I watched the FA Cup semi final between Leicester and Southampton on Sunday afternoon with the customary trepidation. I was amazed and delighted by the result. But also, I was even more delighted to see an audience at Wembley, albeit small, the fans were back.

Real people, real voices and a real presence to witness this game. I made as many sketches of them as the action, it was so great to see.

Study sheet of fans in the crowd

So here we go again, Foxes fans daring to dream once more. It’s not the repeat of 1969 as we thought it might be, because Chelsea beat Manchester City in their semi final.

Chelsea are the polar opposite of Leicester City, having enjoyed great success in the FA Cup over the years, but maybe it’s the Foxes time? We know this team is full of surprises, its recent history is legendary. 2016 all over again?

I hope you enjoy my somewhat frazzled drawings and paintings! I wanted to post fairly quickly while the excitement is still fresh in mind.

Meanwhile, I can’t wait until 15th May.. will it be Agony or Ecstasy? I hope Gary Lineker has got his best pair of underpants ready if they win!

Preliminary sketch – Kelechi Iheanacho, winning goal scorer

I am now in the process of making some more images based on the TV recordings and will post them individually with details for purchase. You can email for details or sign up to my newsletter for information 💙

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Maxine Dodd Artist

I’m a mixed media visual artist working in Leicestershire in the UK. I trained in Fine Art using different media including oils and acrylics, but my recent work reflects my love of drawn media, especially pen, ink, watercolour and pastels. My theme is movement – My subjects are varied from landscape, animals, musicians, dancers and sport, especially cycling. The unifying feature of all these subjects is that they are constantly changing – there is movement and energy everywhere.

2 responses to “Leicester City: Daring to dream?”

  1. Alittlebitoutoffocus Avatar
    Alittlebitoutoffocus

    Fabulous drawings Maxine and very relevant words, considering the ESL upheaval (which already looks doomed). You won’t be surprised to read that my mind goes immediately back to 2014 when the Tigers took on Arsenal in the final. I was in Northern Ireland at the time doing a walk with my mates and I missed the first 2 goals – due to carrying a pack of Guinness back from the corner shop! (I didn’t expect anything to happen in the first 10 minutes anyway). And then we very nearly went 3-0 up! (Dare to Dream indeed!) Sad to say the Gooners clawed their way back into it and won in extra time. (Typical of them of course!)
    I also remember watching Hull play Chelsea in an FA Cup replay at the old Boothferry Park in 1966 after a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Like many other schoolkids (I was 12) I was sat on one of the tiny benches which were put around the narrow ‘track’ running around the pitch (and inside the railings). Next to me was a certain John Hawley who went on to played for Hull as an amateur for many years before he played for Leeds and Arsenal (amongst others). We lost 2-1 but it was a creditable performance for a 3rd Division club. Happy days! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Maxine Dodd - Art Avatar
      Maxine Dodd – Art

      Hello Mike! What lovely recollections about the Tigers; echoing my feelings completely. I remember the 2014 final… oh the pain!!

      Interesting too that Chelsea were Tigers’ nemesis in 1966… I’m already fearful of Chelsea’s history, they have a knack of winning the FA Cup, (like Arsenal!)
      The news of the Super League on Sunday evening was simply horrendous and the subsequent outcry proved that the feelings run deep! Thank goodness the UK teams have now withdrawn. I fear though that it will rear its head again, as there is too much money at stake…Time will tell. We can breathe a huge sigh of relief today though, and brace ourselves for the last few games of the season….And then it will be the Euros and we can go through it all again with England!! 🙏

      Liked by 1 person

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