It feels good to be an Aston Villa fan

Reader, dear reader. I have never felt this good in my life.

Everything seems to be coming together for Aston Villa, like slotting the last segment of a 4,500 piece jigsaw into play. The glee, and now the admiration - to sit back and enjoy the glorious design.

I’ve seen a lot of Villa. Having owned a season ticket at Aston Villa for the Martin O’Neill years, when Villa launched annual bombing runs on the top 6 of the Premier League, having seen us go down under Remi Garde, Tim Sherwood and Eric Black and having endured the struggle of last season under Roberto Di Matteo; I feel as though I am qualified to say that this is the best I have ever felt following Aston Villa.

There’s something about this side. This team. How the fans have bought into them, and their mission. It’s all very honest. I’ll have to think long and hard about this team, and my feelings about them, as that is surely worth a write-up on it’s own.

Now, about yesterday. I have never considered the Wolves match as a toxic rivalry, sure - it’s something, but there has always been a professionalism about it. It’s not as though the timing of the game had to be changed to ensure fans don’t get loaded and kick each others heads in, right? Right. Still, after putting four past them, I have never witnessed such glee, and felt such elation after a game of football at Villa Park. The match at Hillsborough the other week came damn close, and of course, our victory in the derby against Birmingham - but last night? Last night was special - it simply feels like we won by default, since we felt so good and made a load of racket.

Why do things feel so good at Villa Park? Why is the atmosphere coming to life? Why is the social media toxicity dying out? Why are the arguments stopping?

Is it simply because we are winning? Is it because we are winning well? I can’t quite put my finger on it. It can’t just be about something as hollow as winning, can it? We won’t go back to how things were if we start losing, will we? Can we back our team to the end, regardless of results, is that too big of an ask? If we do go up, do we go back to how things were, or do we make something new?

The question is, it feels good now, but who are we going to be as a fanbase going forward?

It’s a bit too heavy for that right now though. Let’s enjoy this ride. It feels good to be Villa. It’s been really tough at times, we’ve all been at each other’s throats - just breathe and take it in. Just for today.