By Aaron, 13, #UpgradeTheParade reporter

When asking fans what the experience is like on match days the most common answer is ‘it’s awesome’ but what makes it like that? What’s even the best bit? The chanting, the sound of the drums or the food, people have many different answers but which one is the right answer I ask myself, what truly is the best bit about being a fan on match days…?

On the day of the match against Millwall, I sat in the press box to take down notes for this article. Normally as a regular fan I’d be sat with my friends in the Bantams Bar but for just this game I got to be a match day journalist thanks to #UpgradeTheParade, this new side of the experience inspired the idea for this article. The day started out cold and wet as the press box wasn’t dry from the morning rain shower, it’s not very different from the seats you’d normally sit in on match days, fortunately the woman giving out buns and drinks had paper towels. As I sat down, I looked around to see well known people the pulse, sky, BBC radio Leeds and Bantams Banter to name a few.

For the article, I interviewed an average fan about their experience and when the match ended I was able to ask a few questions of Phil Parkinson, Bantams Banter and James Mason. This article includes their comments as well as my own opinions to find out once and for all which is the best part of the match day.

I asked the fan if he could describe the experience in one word, he said it was ‘atmospheric’, he’s not wrong. The atmosphere of the stadium could change at any moment and it did as the football soared like a bullet into the goal! Explosions of cheer emerged from the stands as fans celebrated clapping, singing, their hearts raced with excitement as they waved their hands in the air like they just didn’t care!

There are people who work in the stadium behind the scenes like James Mason the Chief Operating Officer, he thinks that the best part of the match day is the social activity that brings people together and gives them chances to bond. Bantams Banter said “one of the best parts of the match days is painting a picture with words for the audience to give them the same feeling of the atmosphere as if they were actually there”, the picture I saw before me were stands lined with claret and amber scarves wrapped around fans, clapping in rhythm with the sounds of drums supporting their family, friends and heroes - the stadium was consumed by chants for the entire match.

What about the players and the Manager? That is hard to answer but I imagine for the players that they feel adrenaline, mostly for them the pendulum of time swings faster and just like that the match goes by like a race car in the Grand Prix. Fresh from the match I interviewed Phil Parkinson, what’s the best thing about match days for him? He immediately answered ‘WINNING!’ He then went on to say ‘driving to the stadium to see the happy fans, it gives me pride to be the manager of Bradford City’.

So you see, many people have different opinions about the match day experience, but which one is the best? I chose two elements, hey who said there couldn’t be two. The first is the social activity becausemagic can also happen off the pitch like making friends, meeting your future partner or just spending time together as a family. The second in this writer’s opinion, as a journalist and as an average fan, is the commitment and the pride everyone shares after every match day when they walk home. There is one thought that repeats itself, one that will live through the future generations of Bradfordians “I’m city till I die…I’m city till I die…I know I am I’m sure I am…..I’m city till I die”.