I came across this while looking for something else this morning and thought it was a good summary This was produced by the BBC in 2003 and I could update it for the last 10 years but can't be arsed AllHell
AHLL You could have added that you don't 'become' a Charlton fan...you are born one. For me it is a badge of pride, like being English & not British.
I wasn't born one, I was born in East London not South London. I became a Charlton fan as an impressional 8 year old in 1958 when - and how many oldies will remember this - I got a collectable picture card in my bubble gum (the flat sheet variety) of a very rugged John Hewie resplendent in his Charlton shirt. From that moment I was transfixed with Hewie, Eddie Firmani and Stuart Leary. It wasn't until about 4 years later I was allowed to cycle across East London to the Woolwich Ferry and over the river to watch Charlton - and my bike was never nicked either.
No, explain. When you say 'born' a Charlton fan I assume you mean growing up in a Charlton supporting household and nothing is more natural than supporting them. Not so in my case but I was hooked early.
I think Mikey became an Addick when we were playing at Selhurst..... perhaps the only positive thing I can think of for that nightmare period.
Born in Greenwich, brought up in Thamesmead and Woolwich, and proud to be an Addick. My first Charlton hero was Nicky Johns.
I wasn't born into a Charlton family either. I got into football as an 8-year-old following Euro 2000 and decided to support Liverpool and Manchester United. All kinds of wrong, I know, but I did. A family friend had season tickets for him and his grown-up son, and occasionally because of their work they couldn't make a game, so they let my Dad and me use them. My first Charlton game was the opening day of the 02/03 season against Chelsea, when Charlton went 2-0 up only to lose 3-2 (so I can't say I wasn't warned about what it would be like to support Charlton). I wasn't yet an Addick, but 5 or 6 visits later, including the 4-2 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day 2003 , I had renounced my former ways and become a Charlton fan. Just in time for our descent down the leagues.
My story is similar to the Captain's. I can remember vaguely liking Eric Cantona when he scored in the 'Spice Boys' FA Cup Final but then EURO 96 hooked me as an impressionable 6 year old and I got taken to my first live match, Charlton versus Grimsby in late 1996; I still have the programme with Mark Robson on the front - Mendonca was playing fro Grimsby that night. It was probably the first time I remember being able to see my breath in the cold night as I walked through Charlton park with my Dad and Grandad. I've been a season ticket holder since 2003/2004. Honestly couldn't imagine supporting anyone else; there is is a mentality towards being a Charlton fan that's hard to define.
I was born and brought up in McCall Crescent, Charlton a stones throw from the ground. My mum and dad were both born and brought up in Wolfe Crescent, Charlton (even closer to the ground than McCall Crescent). They followed Charlton as it was their local club. My uncle (Albert Putnam) played briefly in the same Charlton side as Keith Peacock before retiring from football with a knee injury. My earliest memory of Charlton is my dad taking me to the working mans club that was still open at the derelict Valley. He took me out onto the centre circle where there were all sorts growing out of the pitch and stands. He explained to me that where I was standing was once home to Charlton Athletic, and once upon a time 70,000 supporters packed into this ground. I thought he’d been at the old wacky backie again… ha ha ha. It was from that moment on that Charlton Athletic was my club. I confess that I didn’t watch us at Selhurst or Upton Park, but I always looked out for our results. My first game at The Valley was Charlton vs Notts County and I sat in the South stand with my mum and some pals. There was no East stand at that point, just that big long metal gantry. If memory serves we won 2:1 with goals from Alan Pardew and Kim Grant. My boys have been carefully groomed to be Charlton fans. In spite of some hefty resistance from their former Millwall season ticket holding mother (who also dated Richard Sadlier for a bit… I really must vet my future wives more carefully… ha ha ha). We attended a good few games last season and they really enjoyed themselves. I’m confident that they have well and truly picked up the Charlton bug, and that they will continue to support Charlton into adulthood.
I took a while deciding my club as when I was 5/6 my dads company were sponsoring Fulham, so would be dragged along to Craven Cottage every Saturday and often sit in a box with Jimmy Hill who I instantly recognised from MOTD. I even played in a cup final there - so it seemed destined that they would be my team (especially every week I'd be given players shirts from Micky Adams, Terry Hurlock and Duncan Jupp etc). My first game of football was a 2-1 victory against Torquay - but I never seemed to embrace the club. I sat there and would be more excited about being able to go on the pitch after the game and kick a ball in to an empty net than anything Fulham were producing on the pitch. Then I got taken to a Charlton game - oddly enough away in Norwich. Maybe it was the partizan atmosphere an away game brings, but I was enthralled by it. Once our Saturday schedules changed, my dad took me to the Valley for my birthday (late August ) and that was it. My dad even now states he is a Charlton fan ahead of his ''beloved'' Hamilton Accy's, so much so he got involved with the financing/building of the family stand. Not a romantic story, but one that shows the pull of CAFC.
