Took my Dad to the Bolton game on Monday, first time he had been in the new LEAZES end( as he calls it). Unlike me he has actually seen the lads win stuff, 1955 cup and the Fairs cup. I have to say watching my 77yr old father verbally abusing the away fans was an eye opener for me. I lovehim to bits but after he was asked to sit down and stop being abusive by the stewards he achieved GOD-LIKE status for me. I have to say I was a bit despondent after the first half but he told not to worry. "It only take a moment of brilliance from BEN ARFA son", he told me. The guy is some sort of soothsayer I think.
I think old people are hilarious, especially after a few drinks! Fair play to your dad, can't beat a bit of geology all passion!
A lot of jobsworths but a canny few are genuine footie fans. I remember when I was new, I asked someone to stop swearing. The amount of stick I got for the rest of the game was unreal, his sarcastic chants of "the referee is silly" and stuff like that were pretty funny. Since then I've learned to just go with the flow, if it's not upsetting anyone then stewards shouldn't butt in. The banter between home and away is a part of the game. Tend to find older fans come out with the best stuff.
I got tapped on the leg and warned just before half time of the Liverpool game for giving a linesman stick, not helped by the fact I sit front row of the second tier so she'd just sat down at the top of the stairs to stop people passing at half time (which I never quite understand, is it really that unsafe if lower tier people go upwards or vice versa?). Felt a bit daft to be honest... Its a strange one for me, I hate when people swear really abusively all game, but I sit in the East where there's no kids anywhere and everyones a season ticket holder who knows everyone around them, there's little dislike between anyone (as far as I know!), so no one has an issue with a shout at the ref every so often. I wouldn't do the same if I was in the Family End, but I remember going to our first Premier League game against Spurs as a 9 year old and spending the whole game laughing at the guy in front of me dropping f-bombs all game. We actually counted second half, 48 in 45 minutes. Impressive.
At the Man U away game this season, there was a steward that was being arsey all game (and actually supporting Man U as if he was a paying fan!) and when they scored late on he cheered, so when it was called offside I couldn't help but cheer and pull him into a bear hug
I'm in the East stand, yes it's like you say everyone tends to know everyone, I know some complain that there's not much singing, but there's certainly plenty 'Commentary'. The guy in front of me has a right 'Potty' mouth on him, I know he holds two season tickets, he brings various family members with him each game, this season for most of the games he's brought a very young little girl, looks to be 3-4 years old, he's absolutely silent when she's there, (might be the fact she's fallen asleep once or twice) The thing is he is a right laugh, I know some of the guys around miss his banter, even though he swears, (a lot) I should point out he's a Grandad as well!
Many moons ago I met an old boy in London that came from up here and had gone down for a Cup Final, met a local girl, married her and settled down there. He was just a little slight thing and only had one leg, but was as large as life and never forgot his Geordie roots. He had the traditional B&W photo's of his travelling group around the fountain at Trafalgar Square in the 50's and loved nothing more than talking about football ( and horses to a certain extent, he had a bet every day) and his love of NUFC. Small in size but massive in stature.
