Early Dart

The other night, Tuesday to be precise, I did something I have never done before in my life. I left a football match early!
I have been attending football matches now for over 6 years and my basic maths tells me that I must have notched up at least 150. But this was the first time that I have left early.
There were a few reasons for my premature departure, the most prominent being that I had had enough. Hereford were 3-0 down to a very good Bristol Rovers side, with absolutely no likelihood of getting back into the game. Add to that the fact that my friend, who was with me, had a train to catch and also the fact that we were cold and downright fed up. So with around 5 minutes of normal time to go, with a stoppage in play, we made our move towards the exit. I would like to point out that we were certainly not the first. People had started leaving with 15 minutes to go and, the next day, I heard of a gentleman who left at half time, when the score was only 2-0.
I have to say though, despite the woeful performance from my team, despite the fact that we were cold, and despite the fact that my friend had a train to catch, it was still a very odd experience, and one I wouldn't like to do on a regular basis. Week in, week out, up and down the country, you will see people leaving matches early, whatever the scoreline, however exciting the game is. How on earth do they do it? For me, the feeling of walking away from a game while it is still in progress, was an awful one. What if we missed something? A goal, a red card, an injury. Predictably, we didn't miss anything. But still, walking out into a relatively empty street, whilst behind you, the game is still going on and, to their credit, our fans were still singing, is an experience I found it difficult to get my head round.
So it looks like I am a final whistle kind of person. There to the bitter end, whatever the score, whatever the weather, and to all those people who leave early every week, you don't know what you're missing!