interesting thread ! i'd assumed the majority would say, born & bred soton, always sfc but surprisingly quite a few "odd balls". me? always been sfc since my dad took me when i was nineish to see saints vs mufc. i remember denis law scored, milton road end, we were in east stand lower, using his fist & i was gobsmacked that a player would cheat to try & score - talk about naive !! ref disallowed though. phew ! and there I was, sfc for ever. love my dad for that. sfc have given me so much pleasure & heartache over the years. love it. change? never in a million years. couldnt, wouldnt, never. sfc 4ever, where ever.
Born and bred in eastleigh, but dad never took me to football (ahhhhh), so as a wee nipper 9/10 was keen on spurs. Started going to football on my own when about 11/12 and got hooked on Saints. Queued up at the old Milton road end, and as I got older started trying to get a position towards the back (under cover), and the rest is history. Took all my three kids as season ticket holder first in the old dell, then St marys, until they all got jobs and could no longer commit to every home match.
When i was younger and didn't know alot about football,maybe 6 or 7 i liked every team that done well.I remember liking Chelsea,Norwich and Liverpool but when i got a bit older i starting supporting saints because that is where i am from,wouldn't and couldn't support any other team now.
Man united in 1994 till the treble 99 (saints were my second team) - then I started going to see saints and haven't looked back for double relegations, football league champions and promotions. I have supported saints for all of my football supporting career (although 71% as no 1)!
Started going to the Family Centre at The Dell in the mid 80s, standing on my stool that my Dad made for me! I was probably 11-12. Had a season ticket for most of my adult life.
I was not particularly interested in watching football as a young man as I got greater pleasure out of playing the game and add to that the fact that I was always out with my mates or a young woman in the evenings my life was already full. I saw my first professional game when I was in my thirties and I went to the Dell to watch Arsenal the year they did the double (1971), not because of any allegiance but just interest. I moved to Southampton for work later the same year and have been watching the Saints at every opportunity ever since. I think my love of the Saints was a consequence of my admiration for Ron Davies which was then reinforced by the shear pleasure of watching Mike Channon.
Born in Dorset, grew up in Andover, family all Saints mad, I never stood a chance of supporting anyone else. I would probably have been asked to leave! Worth all the pain and anguish nowadays though.
No, originally supported Leicester like the rest of my family - first game I went to was Stoke v Leicester in 1968. A very boring 0-0 draw but with Banks and Shilton in the respective goals that was probably not surprising. Chose Saints in 1974 and then we were relegated. Stuck with them though. Did not get to a home game until I started at Southampton Uni in 1980. My teachers wanted me to try for Oxford or Cambridge but I'd made my mind up 4 years earlier where I was going.
I was a Leeds fan until i moved to Southampton and worked in the OS at Maybush, I then rented a flat that looked into the Dell, being a football nut I used to watch from my flat window as it had a metal frame on it so you could open it, after a while I looked for Saints results 1st. When I left Southampton I bought a saints shirt to take with me. I have now been supporting Southampton since 1978.
My Uncle took me to my 1st game in 1997 and as he was an Arsenal supporter I fancied supporting someone he hated so supported Man Utd, went to a few Saints games around 2001 and started supporting Saints instead! I decided that supporting a club was alot better than supporting a business!!! At least 90% of our players play for us cos they love the club not just for the money. I do have a soft spot for Arsenal thanks to my Uncle and I would be an Arsenal fan if Liebherr and Cortese hadn't of saved us but thank f*** they did!!!!!
My dad took me to my first saints game for my 8th birthday in 2001 to see saints v ipswich at st marys and it was gordon strachans first game in charge!! Been supporting them ever since and getting more and more into it now starting to go to some away games don't have a season ticket as i can't get to as many as i'd like to make it worthwhile.
Never used to be in to football at all. Then my mate who was a saints fan took me to my first game, loved it, 0-0 draw, boring game but loved it so much, a few games and a few seasons later I brought my season ticket without ever seeing us win at the start of the 09-10 season, (at our lowest point, with -10 at the bottom of league 1) Never looked back, found myself completely obsessed with a sport I previously was never that interested in, still have a season ticket and plan to have it till the day I die while going to as many away games as possible. I am refusing to look to far for university because I can't attend every game from far away <okay>
Ok, Boring - but here's my 'Saints' story... I was born in the very, very late 60s (September 1969), and my first memory of a football match is May 1st 1976. Ah, how predictable you all say, but listen on. I remember sitting on my Dad's lap on that day being told to watch the telly. "Dad, what are we watching?" "It's the FA Cup final son." "And? what's that?" "It's the most important and famous cup competition in the world Son!" "And who do you want to win Dad?" "Well, the team in Yellow, or course! We are Southampton, we don't care about you" (Ok I made that last 8 words up! - but the first bit is true) "Well I want the team in Red to win then as that is my favourite colour!" (thankfully red and white is now my favourite colour) "But...Son..?" "No Dad, I want the Reds, come on you Reds!". 83 mins later... Turner a long ball, out to the wing to Channon - ball knocked into Jimmy McCalliog - who didn't look before knocking an early ball through to Bobby Stokes. the rest is history.... Now on May 1st 1976, I (like most wearing yellow that day) started crying... "But Dad I wanted the REDS TO WIN!" cry, cry cry. Tantrum, tantrum. I am now 42 years old and been a Saints fan officially since 1978 when I saw my first live game in our last promotion season to the top flight against Norwich. That day in May 1976 still haunts me and is why I hate Man U soooo much. At least I can confirm I cried on the greatest day in our club's history! I am sure though with Nicola and Nigel, I will have another reason to shed a tear soon, and hopefully blow away the demons of 1976!! No7
I'm from Fleet, so not toooo local to Southampton, but my Grandad (who is a living legend) has been a season ticket holder for something like 50 years. He would never let me support anyone else I don't think.... and I couldn't be happier about it. Even if driving down for midweek games is a nightmare...
