I could probably be described as belonging to the Ceefax generation. It’s a statement which serves as a reminder of my advancing years and may also alienate a certain number of people who will have no idea what I’m referring to.
Ceefax was the world’s first teletext information service. It was started by the BBC in 1974 and represented a step change in the accessibility and availability of news stories.
A genuine precursor to the internet, it was a service that was available through the television, which carried different pages and allowed viewers to find out the latest headlines without waiting for the next news broadcast or newspaper run.
It also played a major part in my life-long obsession with Norwich City football club.
Prior to discovering Ceefax, my only source of football information was my dad who would provide me with snippets on the comings and goings at Carrow Road.
I still remember the sense of anticipation I felt watching Dad in his armchair, his face obscured by the Evening News as he digested the contents from the sports pages. I’d wait patiently for the paper to be lowered to signal that I was about to get my latest installment of Norwich news.
Dad was the source of all my City knowledge. He was the one ‘in the know’ – the original #ITK (more of that later).
Knowledge is power and it would be fair to say that Dad would use this power as both reward and punishment.
“I don’t care if she started it, apologise to your sister. Oh and by the way, City have sold Robert Fleck to Chelsea. Now go to your room.”
My discovery of Ceefax represented a shift in power of seismic proportions in the Cook household. Armed with the TV remote control, I declared independence and had access to all the news I could ever want, whenever I wanted.
Or so it felt. The reality was that Ceefax would run the stories from the local media so at best it would be updated twice a day. As such, my insistence of checking it every 30 minutes was the equivalent of repeatedly picking up the EDP off the coffee table to see if the sports section had miraculously updated.
My dependence on Ceefax reached new levels during the transfer saga of Darren Huckerby in the period between his loan finishing and that glorious Boxing Day when he signed permanently.
The desperation for Hucks to sign was reflected in my desperation for news. I spent hours checking Ceefax for updates, whether it was a quote from the Man City manager Kevin Keegan or the pantomime villain of the piece, his agent Phil. The fact I can still remember his name is in itself a reflection of the time and emotional investment I made.
Ceefax was finally removed from our TV sets in 2012. With satellite news channels broadcasting 24/7 and the rise of the internet, Teletext had effectively become redundant.
The subsequent growth in social media, and in particular Twitter, has meant that the previous trickle of information has become a raging torrent. The challenge is not where to find it but rather how to make sense of the deluge of available information.
Anyone can set up a Twitter account and use it to share whatever information they want, whether that’s news of a goal at Carrow Road, a potential new signing or just the random thoughts in their head (as those who follow my account could testify).
When it comes to transfer news, the problem is that 140 characters in a tweet often provide content but very little context. Rumours can snowball; gaining momentum and credibility with every retweet.
As each new name enters the frame, you’re left wondering whether there’s any substance to the link and whether the source is credible.
It may just be someone commenting on the latest piece of tabloid rumour. Or possibly someone suggesting a transfer target based on hours of playing Football manager and a resulting knowledge of the highest rated free-agents across the European leagues.
There are also those who claim to have genuine inside information and that they are ‘in the know’ using the hashtag ‘ITK’ as if to rubberstamp their credentials. Their source will never be revealed on the basis that doing so would instantly jeopardise the deal. Or possibly because in reality they are as clueless as the rest of us when it comes to knowing what David McNally is really up to.
The fact is for those of us searching for who will become the next player to walk through the gates at Colney, Twitter is an absolute minefield.
Deep down I’m still the same bloke who spent hours on Ceefax and my desperation for City news remains the same. However whilst the world has changed, after all these years, I still won’t believe anything until Dad reads it out from the EDP.
I’m with you wholeheartedly on this one. The agonising wait for the page to flick round again when you were on teletext checking the scores was the height of tension in my teenage years where I was the only football fan in my household.
I find the constant stream of rumours interesting but irritating in equal measure. I’d go as far as to say I spend less time on my Twitter feed when it’s full of ‘dead cert’ signings. I’d rather read a daily round up of rumours which is helpfully provided by the Pink’un website.
The whole rumour mill is just a way to help fill a summer devoid of any meaningful games to watch now the Women’s World Cup is over. I’d say to anyone who thinks that spreading rumours about transfers is a good use of your time that there is plenty of other sport to watch and participate in so get out there and enjoy the summer!
What a blast from the past!
Page 302 for football, 380 for local football!
Ceefax watching on a Saturday afternoon was a close second in terms of tension to being at the game!
If the latest score pages for Division One were 3 pages long and it suddenly and without warning jumped from ‘2/3’ to ‘2/4’ you knew someone had scored and the space needed to insert the details meant they’d added a page.
But was it our game? Was it us? Or, *shudder*, the opposition?
Joy at the sudden appearance of:-
Arsenal 2 Norwich 0
Bould 28,
Campbell 39.
To-
Arsenal 2 Norwich 1
Bould 28, Robins 69.
Campbell 39.
…and all that followed. Good times!
Agree with Andy (1) on new signings-believe it, comment about it, start finding out a little more about the player in question once the signing has been confirmed at club level. Not, and never, until then.
Any true ‘ITK’-agents, well informed journos etc-would neither have the time, inclination or need to post anything on Twitter. 99.9% of them on there are using guesswork and rumours of rumours. And yes, they’ll get lucky once in a while. But take them all with a lorry load of salt.
Happy retro memories, cheers Steve.
*Gary, think local sport/football was p.390 on Ceefax?
And then……… there was the ‘UPDATE’ button!!
I completely agree with what you have written.
I used to spend all my spare time on ceefax, especially on a Saturday afternoon seeing the latest scores, i used to memorize them. It was better than any kid’s cartoon that was on for my age group back then.
Those where the day’s without the ITK’s, how they make up there stories i have no idea. I remember the wait for Messiah Huckerby’s signing and i can remember playfully, man handling Nigel Worthington’s son in a changing room away to Lowestoft begging him to tell us that he was going to sign.
watching a game on ceefax was hard work, staring at a score and waiting for it to change, did this many a time.
It would be nice if some journalists could do some investigation…?!
It seems that there was a press conference yesterday re: th Gorleston game, but no quotes seem to have been obtained regarding how things are progressing with transfers. Are we close to signing anyone? How many? No names needed, necessarily, but it would bring some solace if we could at least know that some news is on the horizon…
Great nostalgia trip!
The moments between seeing there was an update and learning what it was = definition of tension.
I prefer what we have today to be honest.
Ceefax? Luxury.
We had it tough back in my day when we’d stare at the sky waiting for the carrier pigeons to bring us news from the Nest.
I have some video of my son’s birthday party on a Saturday afternoon, obviously taken by my wife. The kids playing games in the middle of the living room. Me, my brother-in-law and my best mate (all with kids in the melee) are staring at a screen with teletext on it!
@3 Ed – local sport was indeed 390, but I think these were non football pages, as I’ve just got a vague recollection that local football had its own section under 380?
I can remember moving into a house at uni and being the only one whose TV had Ceefax capabilities, it was instantly installed as the main TV in the living room, much to my annoyance but keeping track of Norwich scores and indeed everything else on our accumulator bets came alive!
What a great thread!
Ed – your reference to the page renumbering is absolutely spot on. I always waited to see what the update was – even though it could take several minutes to reveal itself!
Even though times have changed, I recall that the ITV equivalent (teletext) even in those days had tantalising “ITK” style adverts for transfer gossip “city track midfielder ace” call 0898xxxxxx etc – I’m sure people called these numbers even though the info was as unreliable as it is now. Things haven’t really changed all that much.