There’s this thing that fans and commentators do where we draw comparisons between football and the performing arts.

Last Sunday was the Community Shield, commonly referred to as the “curtain raiser” for the new season.

And indeed, that particular game can serve as a sort of Baroque prelude, offering tantalising hints of the music yet to come.

English fans in particular has spent at least a generation thinking of their football in operatic terms.

Since the BBC used “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot as the theme for its coverage of Italia ‘90, football has been inextricably linked with the thundering arias and lavish set pieces of opera.

But when we talk about football in those terms, we almost exclusively mean football at its highest peaks. The Premier League. The Champions League. The World Cup.

So if the Premier League is Puccini, what does that make League Two?

Wimbledon Times:

On song: Paul Robinson scored his first goal for AFC Wimbledon within three minutes of his debut against Cheltenham last weekend

I submit that if the Premiership is the province of Royal Albert Hall, then AFC Wimbledon is a staple of the indie rock scene.

The Dons are a performance meant for ramshackle pubs south of the river. Dirty hole-in-the-wall joints with cheap beer and bands you probably haven’t heard of (yet).

Wimbledon home fixtures are an occasion that require comfortable shoes (you’ll be doing a lot of standing) and earplugs to protect your hearing.

It’s a show that you either went out of your way to find out about or were dragged to by a friend (and ended up really getting into it).

Don’t get me wrong, I love opera and I love the symphony. But Wimbledon are definitely my jam.

They’ve got a show this weekend in KT1. See you there?

AFC Wimbledon fan James lives in Chicago, USA.