The Football.....

[PaulSB]

Looking at the posts here I wonder how people chose the teams they support, other than the obvious, their home teams.

I first started liking Spurs when I was a kid and they had the double winning team. I used to go to watch my local Southern League team, Merthyr, and sometimes my father took me to see Cardiff, but I lived nowhere near a first division team. Of the Premiership teams I cannot call myself a supporter of any team but I always look for the Spurs result, plus my old home town and current home town Cardiff.

I'm a Rover and have been a season ticket holder at Ewood for 39 years. It's a long story which I will keep short unless people are very interested!

No one in my immediate family liked football, the nearest league ground was Aldershot about 90 minutes by bus. I spent my Saturdays playing for the school and watching Guildford City in the Southern League. I used to get the train to London to watch the 1st Division clubs, often when Liverpool were visitors. I didn't though have a team. As I moved around the country I'd just go and watch football with no particular allegiance. York City 76-80. Aston Villa 80-82 - what a time to be at Villa Park.

So to cut it short. We moved to Lancashire and one Saturday I decided to go to Ewood Park. Rovers were playing Portsmouth and with my accent everyone must have thought I was a Pompey fan. I stood on the paddock and people talked to me. This was a novel experience for a Southern boy.

I felt like I had come home. I fell in love with Rovers that day and have hardly missed a home match since. So I may not be a Lancashire born man but I'm a Rover through and through.........as are my Lancashire born sons.

COYB.

 

[PaulSB]

Not exactly the dream start to the season for Liverpool @PaulB

Nope, not great and in the PL making up any gap is tough.

 

[Deleted User]

Nope, not great and in the PL making up any gap is tough.

Humble and pie springs to mind here.

 

[AndyRM]

I'm a Rover and have been a season ticket holder at Ewood for 39 years. It's a long story which I will keep short unless people are very interested!

No one in my immediate family liked football, the nearest league ground was Aldershot about 90 minutes by bus. I spent my Saturdays playing for the school and watching Guildford City in the Southern League. I used to get the train to London to watch the 1st Division clubs, often when Liverpool were visitors. I didn't though have a team. As I moved around the country I'd just go and watch football with no particular allegiance. York City 76-80. Aston Villa 80-82 - what a time to be at Villa Park.

So to cut it short. We moved to Lancashire and one Saturday I decided to go to Ewood Park. Rovers were playing Portsmouth and with my accent everyone must have thought I was a Pompey fan. I stood on the paddock and people talked to me. This was a novel experience for a Southern boy.

I felt like I had come home. I fell in love with Rovers that day and have hardly missed a home match since. So I may not be a Lancashire born man but I'm a Rover through and through.........as are my Lancashire born sons.

COYB.

I love stories like this. They are what football is all about for me.

 

[PaulSB]

I probably should mention my earliest Rovers connection. As a kid, 68 now, I was deeply interested in football and followed the exploits of many clubs for a wide range of reasons. My granddad supported Exeter and Newcastle, so I followed them. The story goes he supported those teams because he worked for LNER and GWR, both were the final stop and both teams played at St James's Park. Celtic for the Lisbon Lions, Hibs for very cool shirts, Wolves for European nights and that old gold shirt. Aberdeen, what was that about? Yeovil, sloping pitch and FA Cup, etc. You get the picture.

Keith Newton was in the England squad. He played for Rovers. So I'm a kid in deepest Hampshire. 12/13 years old. Where's Blackburn? Why is a 2nd Division player playing for England?

So I found out north of Watford existed. I think it was destiny, written in the stars.

 

[Dave7]

I cannot recall a reason but when I was perhaps 9 years old I shouted for Chelsea.....weird as I was 200 miles away.
Then, when I was 15 (1962) an older friend took me to Anfield.....and that was it......thank gawd he didn't take me to Goodison

 

[Slick]

My story is simple enough, I was hardly born under the shadow of Ibrox but can't be accused of being a glory hunting plastic fan either as my earliest memories are of that other mob whose name I can't mention, dominate Scottish football, although I'll always have the memories of meeting the moody blue. My dad's early years was all about hard graft and providing for those in the wider family that needed it, with his only escape (like our song says) every other Saturday was his half day off and its off to the match he went. We had family pretty much scattered all over Scotland and it must have just been one huge weird coincidence how all our trips to see them, coincided with a Rangers away game. After all that, and I started coming back to earth after my teenage years, football was one of the few topics me and the old man could sit and discuss for hours as when he stopped going, I got a season ticket. I never renewed that ticket and after he passed I stopped going and still find it difficult to go now. I took my wee nephew a few times the last couple of years to try and give him what my old man gave me, and I think I've managed it but I can still see my old man sitting beside me.

Ffs, that went deeper than it was supposed to.

 

[jowwy]

My story is pretty simple….grew up in the 70s in rural south wales, with no father until i was 5yrs old. Not one of my family was interested in sport, so going to any local football of sorts was a no no. The only football i knew was that on the TV and back then unless you lived in swansea, cardiff or newport, they were virtually unknown teams to me.

First live game on tv was liverpool and norwich i think it was and fell in love with the reds from there on in….then in the late 80s a welsh legend became a liverpool legend, justice for this little welsh lad in the valleys of wales for supporting the reds.

 

[T4tomo]

Nope, not great and in the PL making up any gap is tough.

Good start for Blackburn however, despite a summer of relative turmoil.... and Diaz keeps on scoring.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My brother decided to support Spurs as a young kid so I decided to support Chelsea to be different.

It stuck.

My wife supports Chelsea as a teenage boyfriend was a supporter and took her to a game (vs West Brom).

Chelsea stuck, the boyfriend didn't.

 

[ianrauk]

I was born in South East London and my mum was a Palace supporter, my dad wasn't interested in football. We moved to South West London at a very early age. Local club was Wimbledon, I went to Plough Lane along with a few other kids from school. Then I made friends with another kid from school who was a Chelsea supporter. I went with him and his dad to Stamford Bridge. Still remember it to this day, 1974 Aston Villa, it was a 0-0. Going from Plough Lane with a few hundred supporters to Stamford Bridge with many thousands was a game changer as they say. I was a Blue from then on. Following them over land and sea. Pickings were slim for many years, in fact I remember them being relegated in 1974. Come the Abramovic revolution, I saw the Blues win everything. I started taking my oldest son at the same age as when I first went. He's remained a Blue ever since, having moved to Torquay 16 years ago.
I gave up my season ticket 4 years ago. Expense and not really enjoying the atmosphere at the games forced my hand.
I still go to the odd game now and again, but find greater pleasure in going to a pub with mates to watch the big games.
I have also started going to a few Bromley FC games in the National League. Classic old style football experience of which I was missing at the Bridge.
On another note, I am one of three siblings. Older brother is a Wimbledon fan. Younger brother is a Fulham fan.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I was born in South East London and my mum was a Palace supporter, my dad wasn't interested in football. We moved to South West London at a very early age. Local club was Wimbledon, I went to Plough Lane along with a few other kids from school. Then I made friends with another kid from school who was a Chelsea supporter. I went with him and his dad to Stamford Bridge. Still remember it to this day, 1974 Aston Villa, it was a 0-0. Going from Plough Lane with a few hundred supporters to Stamford Bridge with many thousands was a game changer as they say. I was a Blue from then on. Following them over land and sea. Pickings were slim for many years, in fact I remember them being relegated in 1974. Come the Abramovic revolution, I saw the Blues win everything. I started taking my oldest son at the same age as when I first went. He's remained a Blue ever since, having moved to Torquay at 16 years ago.
I gave up my season ticket 4 years ago. Expense and not really enjoying the atmosphere at the games forced my hand.
I still go to the odd game now and again, but find greater pleasure in going to a pub with mates to watch the big games.
I have also started going to a few Bromley FC games in the National League. Classic old style football experience of which I was missing at the Bridge.
On another note, I am one of three siblings. Older brother is a Wimbledon fan. Younger brother is a Fulham fan.

Have you seen Bromley Boys on Netflix or Prime? - can't remember which.

A good watch.

 

[ianrauk]

Have you seen Bromley Boys on Netflix or Prime? - can't remember which.

A good watch.

Not yet, do know about it and keep meaning to watch it.

 

[Dave7]

then in the late 80s a welsh legend became a liverpool legend, justice for this little welsh lad in the valleys of wales for supporting the reds.

I don't recall Max Boyce playing for Liverpool.

 

[jowwy]

I don't recall Max Boyce playing for Liverpool.

another welsh legend......oggy, oggy, oggy