Regulars at Nottingham Foresters know not to react when a coin lands on the pitch a few minutes before kickoff. It happens at every single home match, thrown by the same man from the same spot in the stands, and has done for thirty-one years.
Harold Instone started the ritual the season after his son died at nine years old, having never once seen Foresters win at home in the matches they attended together. Harold says he's still throwing it for him.
A new steward, unfamiliar with the tradition, briefly moved to intervene at a recent match before colleagues quickly stepped in to explain. Several nearby fans filled in the rest of the story afterward, as regulars there have done for newcomers for three decades.
Nobody has ever suggested Harold stop. Nobody, club staff say, ever will.