Junior football would be mad to turn it's back on the…

Junior football would be mad to turn it's back on the Hoppers - Loony Joons

Match 482; August 8, 2015. Renfrew 2 Johnstone Burgh 0. Sectional League Cup group stage.

Renfrew's shiny New Western Park was bulging to capacity as hundreds crammed in to see Alan Kinney and Scott Arthur bury two late goals past yours truly and render the stadium officially open.

Among the hoards was one Shaun E Smith. Standing alone having made the long journey north from Tyneside to take in the 90 minutes of Renfrewshire's REAL derby.

Not through any sense of loyalty to either side. Not even because he wanted to be part of history as the Frew finally cut the ribbon on their long-awaited new home.

But because this is what the 50-year-old football fanatic does. Different ground, same objective. Every single week.

Groundhoppers they call them. Peculiar types, a bit like football's version of trainspotters only their perversion is with obscure stadia, pie prices and collecting programmes rather than pretty stations and logging those numbers on the side of carriages.

The pin badge brigade travel the length and breadth of Britain collecting memorabilia, facts and pictures from White Hart Lane to Whitehill Welfare.

And for some - like Smith - it becomes the subject of a book with his tome 'From the Toon to the Joons: On the trail of the Scottish Holy Grail' now available to anyone who wishes to know the nearest pub to Petershill Park or the beefiness of a bovril at Bathgate.

And so the aforementioned Frew v Burgh write-up comes in around chapter 482.

Bizarre? Perhaps. Bonkers? Without doubt. But all teasing aside, these fanatics could be a huge asset to the junior game.

Today, apparently, is Groundhop Day. No, not that film with Bill Murray although most Saturday mornings feel that way when you've football OCD like me.

The groundhoppers' fraternity have militarised themselves into a small army ready to descend on grounds across the land.

We'd be mad not to jump on board the #ScotHop as it's being dubbed - particularly with it being Junior Cup semi final day.

Okay these guys might be once-in-a-lifetime customers but why not get involved? Word of mouth is everything in this day and age and one thing the hoppers do better than most is detail their game on social media. Right down to the smoothness of the terraced step they made home for 90 minutes.

Some in the East of Scotland League - the pyramid version not the juniors - have gone the extra mile by reorganising kick off times to accommodate a few hoppers.

Camelon v Edinburgh United is now 11am on Saturday while Linlithgow Rose v Jeanfield Swifts is 8pm.

I've got to say neither appeals to me as a player, coach or even fan and those clubs could well lose more fans than they gain for the day.

But Dunipace v Bonnyrigg Rose which was rearranged for last night is a different matter and I've long argued the junior clubs with floodlights should take advantage of Friday Night Football.

Three games in three days sounds a bit like a junior footballer's nightmare schedule come May. But for the groundhoppers it's a way of life.

In case it's not too late then, could I suggest the first legs of the Junior Cup semi finals this afternoon are the biggest non-league games in the land?

Largs Thistle take on Hurlford United at Barrfields while up in Tayside Lochee United lock horns with Auchinleck Talbot in a re-run of last year's barnstorming semi.