News has emerged that celebrity Chelsea fan and broadcaster Jeremy Vine took a father and daughter who support Leicester out for lunch before the two clubs met in the final game of the Premier League season yesterday.
Vine, who takes his own daughter to all of the Chelsea games, enquired on Twitter before the match about whether or not there were any father and daughter Leicester fans attended the season’s curtain-closer at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. The appeal went onto Facebook and Colin Hood and his daughter Charlotte were eventually picked.
The broadcaster presents a daily show on BBC Radio 2 and admitted in February that he ‘loved’ Leicester and the fairytale story of their season. The Foxes were seven points away from safety last Easter, eventually going on to avoid relegation and finish in fourteenth place last season. The club controversially sacked Nigel Pearson and appointed Claudio Ranieri in his place.
Under the Italian the Leicestershire club soared to the top of the table and remained there for most of the season, having their unlikely title win confirmed when Spurs could only draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago. Ranieri was Chelsea manager when Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates, with the Russian sacking him despite the fact he led them to second in the league.
Vine wrote about the day on his personal website, saying that his daughter Martha, who is twelve, seemed to get on well with Charlotte, 8, with the two girls ‘going off to look in clothes shops’. He was also delighted to find that many Chelsea fans congratulated the Leicester supporters, saying, “All in all it’s been an incredible day – heart-warming that Chelsea fans felt so good about Leicester’s league victory”.
The BBC presenter continued, “We have our own rebuilding job to do now! Martha and I had a great time speaking to Colin and Charlotte, and a memorable lunch in the sunshine… and yes, we have promised to support Leicester in the Champions League next season. For as long as our own team aren’t present!”
Hood, who was a Leicester mascot for the club’s game against Liverpool in 1974, had an amazing time with Vine and his daughter. He said, “The whole day was superb for both me and Charlotte, we got on so well with Jeremy Vine and his daughter Martha, the lunchtime of two and half hours just flew by and we never stopped talking”.
The Leicester fan was also delighted by the way he and his daughter were treated by Chelsea fans and Jeremy Vine himself. He said, “Jeremy was very complimentary about Leicester and our season…As we sat amongst the Chelsea fans in our Leicester City shirts, all those around us wanted to congratulate us and shake us by the hand, they were genuinely pleased that we had won the Premier League, as they couldn’t, and ahead of Spurs!”
Hood compared his experience to the fortunate manner of Leicester’s season as a whole, saying, ”This experience was like Leicester’s season – beyond belief, reality and something we will never forget”.