Monday 8 February 2010

Doesn't that take the biscuit?

In a previous post I wallowed in nostalgia and mentioned Newport County. Out of curiosity I looked at the position of the team in the Football League today. They are now in the Blue Square South League and, surprise, surprise, they are at the top with a lead of some 15 points. Heady stuff indeed. In my days, the team's nickname was 'The Ironsides'. Apparently this came from their association with a steel town. Nowadays, they are known as 'The Exiles', after the fact that they had to play at Moreton-in- the Marsh in Gloucestershire in the aftermath of their ejection from Division 4 back in the late '80s. It would give me no small pleasure to see them promoted and, who knows, work towards regaining full league status.

Whilst looking for the County's table, I noticed that the lowest league is called the Zamaretto League. My heart skipped a beat when I thought I'd stumbled across a new sponsoring strategy - naming leagues after biscuits. I was looking forward to the Garibaldi League or the Chocolate Bourbon League or the Chocolate Hobnob League. Then it occured to me that I was getting confused with the almond flavoured confectionary joy of Italy, amaretti. Zamaretto, or so their website informs the world, is a brand of multi-coloured drinks based on amaretto. Not quite as exciting as being named after a biscuit. I wonder what lead to the sponsors thinking that being linked with such a lowly league was a good commercial ploy?

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