1991. The season after Italia 90 awoke my love of football (Can't think why. Wasn't a great tournament. Might have been the Cameroonians).
Cannot remember who we played but it was a rare win under John Bond in the old division 3 1985. After loads of nagging from her 13 yr old son, my mammy finally let me travel 'the big distance' from Baglan to Swansea with my mates all alone on a matchday! I couldnt believe the intensity as the multitudes built up around Sandfields and totally blown away as we walked through the tunnel under the North Bank into the cocophony of noise. I felt liked I new all the songs already and learned swear words I have never heard before. The feeling I got from the surge forward on the North Bank when we scored is something I will always remember and dearly miss. I also left knowing the ancient Tommy Hutchinson (watching him score for each team in the 1981 FA cup was the first live game on TV I remember watching in full) was my favourite player closely followed by fellow Port Talboter Pascoe. That was it, HOOKED! A great season to start as we had the multiple derbies with the scum...even if we did get relegated (at least the scum came down with us for many further infamous head to heads to come!). GOOD TIMES. STID
Well I wasn't even into football. My two younger brothers were Liverpool mad and I guess I knew their team just from my brothers constantly talking about them. It was the late seventies and life at those times in ogmore vale (about 7 miles north of Bridgend) was about the mines and school. And long hot summers playing football and cricket in the local park. I was always last to be picked for the teams but always loved it as loads of kids would get together every day and play until sunset. Then my brothers started nagging my mother to take them to see John toshack play in swansea. I wasn't that bothered but went along for the experience. The swans were playing Southend in a near end of season game and my mother payed for us all to sit in the south stand. Well I didn't like sitting down so I took my brothers to stand behind the goal on the railway sleepers of the east. And do you know? I bloody loved it. Over 18000 for a third division game. Alan waddle scoring a hat trick to make it a 3-2 win for the swans and an amazing atmosphere. I even got on the pitch at the end of the game and took a close up photo of tosh as the team walked off. I was hooked. Couldn't stop talking about it and tried coaxing my friends to come with me on the bus for another game. It was the next season in division 2 before I managed to get one to come with me. And eventually there would be about five of us coming down for the games. I rarely missed a game after that. Catching the train down for midweek games it became an obsession. Unfortunately my friends stopped coming as they were getting fed up with all the hassle we'd get in Bridgend bus station from all the scummy knuckle dragers. I later started going to away games, my first being at old trafford in 81 at age 16. I've now seen the swans play at all 92 clubs that were the original 92 from the early 80s plus a few more that have joined the league since. i was one of the 300 that went to torquay for the first playoff final. I moved to swansea in 86 and married a local girl. I've tried taking my two girls to games home and away but unfortunately they are not that interested at the moment. Through all the hard times and the amazing times, I'm still just as obsessed with the swans now at 47 as I was when I was 14.
My gran used to give us 20p a week pocket money and I used to save it up and sneak off to the vetch with my mates. I was 12 and not allowed into town on my own, so I lied to my parents and got the bus down from penlan. 26 years later and I don't get to see the swans as often as I like but work pays the bills.
Same here Mab, or at least it's the first game I remember, but I'm pretty sure it was 6-0? Went too Anfield in the next round as well lost 0-3 but an amazing experience for a 6 year old. Sat right next to the Kop, when the kop really was the Kop!
Blimey Fernanda I was at that game at Anfield and must have been sitting close to you. I sat in the main stand towards the back. I was on the end of the row right next to the Kop and had some vile scouser kids spitting at us through the wire fencing that separated the Kop from the main stand. If I recall it was 0-0 untill they brought Ian St John on the crowd went beserk and we lost 3-0!
Thats correct, all goals came in the last 20 mins. And yes, they were a vile bunch. My Dad who was only in his twenties at the time was threatened by a mob of 10-12 when we were leaving the ground despite being alone with a six year old kid!
Now you asking me something I know it was Aug around the 24 1956 it was my 14th Birthday and my dad would always go up stairs in the Double Decker .on my B/Day my dad always took me to the first game as that was when the season started cant remember the team but I do know we won.Im now going on 71 this mth,seen some great games at the vetch ,Even saw wales a few times I was also there when there was 32.000 there standing on the north bank with your hands in your pocket and that's were they stayed until you went for a pis.or a cupper
for my first game, my dad took me on the North Bank to the Arsenal FA cup game in 1968, i was only 7 so spent much of the game on his shoulders when other fans weren't telling him to put me down as i was blocking their view- but it was so packed it wasn;t very safe on the ground on the terraces that day, plus i could only see other fans legs! don't remember too much of how the game went other than that gobbledegook scored and we lost 0:1. but abiding memory was the thousands of passionate Jacks and their incredible signing and chanting - i was instantly hooked. after which dad used to take me to the stand under the double-decker until i was big enough to go to the north bank and see for myself.
Would like to echo Mikra's thanks "for sharing" Loving some of these recollections, keep them coming lads and lasses. Mikra Could you put up an account of your first Swans game in this thread please? Would be a very interesting juxtaposition I think
Now I know your not going to believe me, and keep it from the other guys yeah, but thats not actually me!
That is my passport picture. I wear a Burkha! Which begs the question, do radical muslim transvestites wear burkhas?
My first game was a preseason friendly against Crystal Palace when Iain Dowie was playing (1994/1995-ish I think), Roger Freestone was my hero and I remember the excitement and nerves standing on the North Bank. The shove and chanting was my abiding memory (I don't remember much about the game). My family aren't football fans so me and a mate one day just went down to chance our luck. Fell in love right then. Being from PGF I wasn't going to support anyone else was I! STID
Same match for me - enclosure. Crowd was insanely over capacity. People were bribing turnstile operators and jumping over them into the ground. I was 8.
Sure I'll make a thread about the match - got my ticket for the Swansea-section, but I'm convinced that some of these childhood memories will beat my impression by far...
Fair point. Time tends to do this. I tend to forget little details like feeling warm feet all of a sudden, then realising there was a waterfall of piss cascading down the North Bank terrace over my brand new Hi-Tec Silver Shadows
