Bucking the trend

AT around 3.20pm on Saturday afternoon there was a big pop.
You could call it a gas explosion.
It was actually the sound of our glorious bubble being burst.
Ever since Paul Buckle arrived at the Mem we Gasheads have been immersed in a heady atmosphere of optimism and enthusiasm.
For heaven's sake, we've signed 15 new players, ditched the deadwood and performed admirably in our pre-season friendlies.
Our new manager has spoken so positively about everything he plans to achieve, and our opening day win at Wimbledon was achieved with a certain style and panache.
And then came Torquay.
This is Torquay, the team Buckle left at the end of last season after they had been beaten in the League 2 play-off.
The team we robbed and pillaged of manager, assistant manager, goalkeeper and striker.
Our little west country cousins who were left forlorn and without hope by this merciless raid by their big city neighbours.
In fact, with Torquay being our first opponents at the Mem in the league this season they were only their as fodder in an exhibition put on by our new, exciting, attack-minded, promotion favourites.
Then reality struck.
Big city slickers 1, Quaint side on the Devon riviera 2
And we were 2-0 down after 20 minutes in front of over 8,000 deflated Gasheads.
Even more irritating was the fact that Rene Howe, the burly striker who while on loan to us last season managed to accumulate one goal and a hatful of (to my mind) unfair critics.
How could it go so wrong? Is this the big con? Has Mr Buckle hoodwinked us like a clever card sharp getting the better of Penn and Teller on a Saturday night primetime show?
Or is it just that everything has gone SO right so far that, being Bristol Rovers, it would inevitably come to an end?
When you think you are nailed on for success, football quite often turns around and bites you in the backside.
But I have faith in our new manager.
I still believe that he is building a team to excite us and bring success to our club.
And I will confidently predict that Bristol Rovers will finish above Torquay at the end of the season.
For the moment, though, the bragging rights belong to Gulls fans and, quite frankly, they probably deserve their moment in the sun after all the torment we have put them through this season.
Incidentally, Rovers were the featured club on the Football League Show on Saturday night - just our luck on a day we are roundly beaten.
But it was nice to hear Steve Claridge talking about our huge potential and big fan base.
He didn't call us sleeping giants... we all know that phrase has been copyrighted by the other Bristol club.
Sleeping? They are practically comotosed at the moment.
I know it's a puerile, sad state of affairs when your own team loses but life brightens considerably when your biggest nemesis loses, too.
But listening to Radio 5 describing them going 1-0, 2-0 then 3-0 down at Cardiff City and sinking to the bottom of the Championship ... it spread a big grin across my face and helped me forget about our Torquay torture.