Another World Cup has passed with England not bringing the top trophy home, but when you’ve been a Villa fan for over thirty years you’re kind of used to that… (until this year anyway.)

I love watching the World Cup, but it’s never really about whether or not England will win, as nice as that’d be. It’s the atmosphere I relish most, and it always has been. Seeing athletes from all over the globe take centre stage, passionate fans, national anthems. The unique way this simple game involving a ball and two nets unites people from every continent, all sat watching the games from hemisphere to hemisphere, mountain to desert. Some in the middle of the night, others first thing in the morning. A universal talking point that isn’t war, climate change or anything else depressing.

France ’98 was always my favourite. My older sister and I had decided to try and complete the official sticker album in the months leading up to the event, and I feel like I can still name most of the players who took part in the competition because of this. Scotland’s David Hopkin is the first that springs to mind, because he appeared in virtually every other pack we bought (the surplus David Hopkinses would end up being stuck all over various household appliances), and Fabio Cannavaro because I thought he was fit and particularly enjoyed looking at that sticker as we tried to complete Italy.

And also probably just because it was 1998 and the world seemed a brighter place back then somehow. Cheesy pop music in the charts. Inflatable furniture. See-through telephones. Pot Noodles that still tasted decent (i.e before they took out all the salt). Saturday night T.V. Gladiators. Cilla Black, before we found out she was mean in real life. Fun House. Everybody having an opinion on what was happening in Eastenders. Sonia’s trumpet.

…I’m digressing away from the football… but after some deliberation, I’m not going to delete any of that. ’90’s pop culture should never be erased.

No World Cup has felt the same for me since 1998; maybe it’s because I no longer attempt to complete the sticker album. I’m sure I’d still get some entertainment from doing so, even though I’m now a 40-year old woman, but the reality is that it’s very expensive to do and somehow I feel like I have even less money now than I did when I was 12.

But I still watch, any game, if I can. Remove England VS Ghana which sent everybody I know to sleep, and most of the games were pretty entertaining this year. As World Cups go, this has been one of the better ones in my view.

And no, England weren’t victorious on this occasion and that will disappoint many, but it doesn’t really disappoint me. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from being a Villa fan this year, it’s that the longer the wait, the better when it actually happens.

And it will happen. One day.

In May, I watched my Villa win a trophy for the first time in all the three decades since I’ve been a fan. It was incredibly special, and although I may not be as big a football fan as I was when I was younger, I was still pleased enough to shed a tear and celebrate the sight of a team that has been so troubled in not so distant years finally get to hold some new silverware. Somehow, it was the thirty year wait that made that so special.

Conversely, I’ve seen fans of other, more decorated teams bemoan the fact they finished the season empty-handed. It’s not an outcome they’re used to; winning is the expectation, trophies are the norm. A rite of passage, not a bonus. And so I’m just not sure that when they do experience their usual success, that they do so with the same levels of excitement or appreciation as those who rarely manage to experience the same things.

One day, England will win the World Cup, and when they do the celebrations will be massive, probably beyond current comprehension. The highs will be higher because of the lows endured in the years to get there.

The less you have of something special, the more you appreciate the bits you do have.

Pretty much like a lot of things in life I guess.

We’ll all enjoy it when it happens. And it will mean even more to us than it would have done this year.

Up the Villa! Or whatever team you support.