I woke up one day and found I'd lost interest in every US sport except the NFL (I'm a Yank)--and even that one, I didn't care as much as I did. Meanwhile, I'd been following two or three World Cups fairly avidly. I discovered there was something wonderful about football. The finer point of it being the beautiful game took some time to register, but what I liked right away, was that, unlike US sports they actually PLAYED THE F*CKING GAME instead of sitting around, standing around, or watching an official stop the game for the zillionth time. So, I thought to myself, I'll pick a Premiere League team to follow. And I picked...Southampton, because I had three friends from there. (We all camped out together outside Munich and had a great time.) I didn't know Southampton weren't in the Prem. So I started following Southampton, but found I still wanted to have a reason to take an interest in the Prem. Crouch and Bale, not to mention Redknapp, all have Southampton connections, so Tottenham became my Prem team. I'd mention the scores to my wife, and after a while she started to become a fan. Then, last year, it wasn't actually the great wins against Inter, just as it wasn't getting the Championship slot the year before. It was sliding inexorably out of fourth at the end of the year. It reminded me of my early days as a fan of the Chicago Cubs (no championships in 104 years and counting) watching the division title in 1969 slip away, and it hooked me, along with having my wife becoming a big fan as well. Now I almost can't stand to watch games because I get too worried and nervous. I have three, yes three, Spurs shirts, which, of course, I wear with infantile pride, while trying to figure out which is the one with the right juju for that particular match. I am, in other words, behaving like a nine year old and am quite proud of it.
Good to see all these lurkers piping up! No more of this silent business please, we need as many contributors as we can get.
...I can assure you you're not alone on that one..."they're away today, but shall I wear the 2nd or 3rd away shirt? hang on, didn't I just wear my polo shirt when we won the last one!
Remember,if you lived in Tottenham as a kid?We lived next to the Gt Cambridge Road at Lordship Lane and every so often you could hear the Tottenham Roar.I don't know exactly how far the Roar stretched too,but I bet you could hear it at Ally Pally.Probably further. Pat Jennings was mentioned earlier with his one handed catches.....with bare hands!Today's goalies can't go far without mum telling them to wear their gloves!!!!!!!! Remember.....those nice Spurs players who would sign autographs for you all day....and those few stinkers that wouldn't!! I asked Alf Ramsey if he would sign best wishes.He stared at me with that Alf glare and said "I'll sign my name!" This 12 year old was devastated.....so this is what life is all about!!!!!!!!
My ex was born and raised in WHL, Smithy. Difficult to get any closer. (She ran off with my best mate a few years ago - God, I miss him......)
1983...My father,an immigrant...and the owner of a local grocer shop, would frequent to the cash and carry on weekends to stock up. Me,being the youngest of 4 brothers watched most things liverpool Fc in my house due to all 3 of them following the mousers...i was only 7 and didnt really have a clue(some might say i still dont!). One saturday afternoon having paid one of his frequent weekend visits to the cash and carry,my father turned up with a white tee shirt...or so it seemed..and gave it to me to wear...only for it to be a Le Coq Sportif,1981 FA Cup Final replica spurs shirt worn in the final against City....not like the rubbish they make nowadays....all the logosd were stitched on and even the fixture and date under the badge...cracking top..i didnt appreciate all these details of course at the time...until i started to get teased by my brothers for wearing a 'tottenham' shirt...so as i matured i found out more about the Spurs and started to follow them just to honour the shirt i was wearing...and since then ive never looked back...it was meant to be....and thank god for that...and thank god for my dad picking up a bargain one saturday afternoon in 1983,god bless his soul.....
I lived half way up Mount Pleasant Road, which has Lordship Lane at one end, and Philip Lane at the other. I used to roller-skate in the underground car-parks on the Broadwater Farm Estate. On home days, if I wasn't being taken to the match, I'd be in the garden, kicking a ball against our back wall, waiting to hear the roar, and when I did I used to imagine that I was Martin Chivers scoring a goal!
My Grandfather moved from Liverpool to Ardleigh Road, North London in 1908. My mother was brought up there until she was about 10 when my grandfather moved the family to Sussex just before the war. He was more of a fan of football than a supporter of a particular team, although he always had a soft spot for Everton, Liverpool and Spurs. He was a big fan of Jimmy Greaves. It's probably when I picked up on Tottenham. We couldn't afford a tele in the mid sixties, I had to go to his house to watch football (always recorded, nothing live). He hated Ar5ena1 because they played such boring football, it was always 'Lucky old Arsenal' whenever they scored. My dad bought a tele for the 1966 world cup final so by 1967 I was ready with my Spurs scarf ready to watch us destroy the Chavs. From about the age of four, my grandfather took me to watch Lewes, a local team who were playing in the Athenian League in those days but from about the age of six I was longing to get to White Hart Lane. I first managed it at the age of 8 when, as a birthday present to a friend, his father took us both to the Lane. We saw a draw between Spurs and £ity but in my eyes we thrashed them 0-0. For many years after I was reminded (at those most embarrassing times-in front of relatives etc.) that on my return I refused to wash for a week because it was 'White hart Lane'dirt.
Some great stories. I'm afraid I was an infant glory hunter as I started supporting Spurs about 1960. I was born in north London so I'm allowed, though probably I was born nearer Arsenal's ground than Spurs. But Spurs were much better than Arsenal when I was growing up, so it was an easy choice, confirmed when I started going to Spurs matches with my friends, though I think my dad may have taken me to my first game, I find it hard to remember it all exactly. The earliest game I clearly and vividly remember was on TV when we beat Dukla Prague 4-1 in 1962. I almost certainly watched the 1961 Cup Final on TV, but I can't be 100%, anyway we were the glamour team, and I followed the bright lights. My first time at the Lane was around 62/63, it was a team of giants and legends, the crowds were amazing, the spell was cast.
My grandad was a season ticket holder at WHL and it seems we always were Spurs supporters in our house even though we lived 10 mins from the Orient ground. I was about 7 or 8 when my mum told me the lady she worked with at the nearby Whipps Cross hospital her husband was one of the coaches at Tottenham- his name was Pat Welton (who sadly passed away recently). Through Pat I was invited to go to Cheshunt to watch the 1st team play a friendly against a visiting asian team (don't know who it was), anyway my dad took me to the Lane where I met Pat Welton- lovely man and I was told to get on a coach going to Cheshunt and I sat next to Keith Osgood ( anyone remember him?). When I got there I saw all the 1st teamers of the time -Chivers,Peters,Jennings etc, but the most memorable was a young Steve Perryman stopped and chatted to me said he was happy to see young fans come to watch them train I even shared some sweets with him- hence he was then to become my favourite player. My first match was 1972 we played Stoke at the Lane I went with my sister and we stood in the Park Lane end. Gordon Banks was the Stoke keeper and was just coming back from his horrific car accident and we gave him a great cheer.Oh and we won 4-3 that day.
My twin brother started using the money from his paper round to go. He earnt just enough for a ticket and a programme, so he walked from our house near the Bakers Arms in Leyton to WHL and back again every home game. I have him to thank for saving me from being a glory hunting scouser. (It was close.) The first time I went with him, I was hooked too. We used to go in the shelf after first getting into the boys enclosure. Happy days. He passed away last month and it's good to think of the old 45p to get into the boys enclosure days and the walk home talking about the game, him in his brown "budgie" jacket, both of us with our scarves proudly around our necks.
Chirpy-sorry to hear about your brother. I lived in Leyton too- up near Whipps Cross Hospital. Spent a good amount of my pocket money in the wimpy bar there.
Is this the one where he lost an eye? I was v young at the time, but surely he didn't come back from that?
My recollection is that he did try to play again! He became known as Gordon "smoke me a kipper for breakfast" Banks
Its not too bad as more often than not the results between us go our way! he has kept quiet about the football topic recently though come to think of it COYS
Started supporting Spurs from conception in the Chinese year of the Cockerel 1957, in north London. It was written in my DNA. My oldest friend and his family were all Spurs fans so that helped too, as for my Dad and 3 elder brothers only one followed football and for some strange reason he supported Everton (muppet). After that 5-0 exhibition of football excellence today, I thought I should go from Lurker to participant.
