Table of Contents

Preface The First Age: The Awestruck Novice 1. Parkside 2. Wembley Stadium 3. Headingley Cricket Ground The Second Age: The Youthful Explorer 4. Belle Vue to Borough Park 5. North Marine Drive 6. Chandos Park 7. Elland Road The Third Age: The Absent Player 8. Grange Road and Twickenham 9. Lord's Cricket Ground 10. Elland Road Greyhound Stadium 11. Cardiff Arms Park 12. Old Trafford to Minsk The Fourth Age: The Distracted Opportunist 13. Craven Cottage to Walton Heath 14. Plough Lane 15. Madison Square Garden to Sydney Cricket Ground 16. Fartown 17. Edgbaston The Fifth Age: The Detached Traditionalist 18. Murrayfield 19. Troon 20. Stade de France The Sixth Age: The Affluent Reflective 21. FedEx Field 22. Firhill and Fir Park 23. South Leeds Stadium 24. Reflections The Seventh Age: The Childlike Sage Notes Acknowledgments Bibliography Index

About the Author

John Rigg was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Economics, later completing a Ph.D. He has worked as an economic consultant in London and in the Civil Service in Scotland. His sporting career principally comprised playing rugby league at primary school, rugby union at secondary school and college, and cricket to a reasonable club standard. An Ordinary Spectator: 50 Years of Watching Sport is his first book on sport. He is married with two children and lives in Scotland.

Reviews

"A fascinating personal story ... one which will prove widely enjoyable for all who have shared that experience of being a sports spectator." 'Rugby League Journal', Spring 2013 " - a fascinating new book about sport from the viewpoint of the ordinary spectator." 'Milngavie & Bearsden Herald', 2 August 2012 " - esoteric - openly nostalgic - " Andy Wilson, rugby league correspondent of 'The Guardian'