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I was born in Liverpool (well, Everton to be precise).
Brought up a Red. Had a Kop season ticket. Went to Rome in 1977.
Moved to Garswood. Started to take my lad to watch my local team. Now dislike what Liverpool have become.
Now take 3-year-old grandson along to Latics. If I hadn’t swapped allegiance there would now be 3 more Liverpool supporters, and 3 less Wigan supporters. That’s how it works.
I think it’s really unusual for someone to swap their allegiance as a football fan, so unusual that I personally only know of one other instance of someone doing it after the initial getting into football and picking a team off TV as a kid. My cousin was a lifelong Man Utd fan into his early forties to the point where around his locality, and as a teenager, his name could be seen everywhere in spray paint along with MUFC. He was home and away Man Utd too. He’s now a home and away Latics fan (I go to a few away games and he’s at every one that I am) and I’ve never asked him what happened to turn him away from United to Latics because, personally speaking, I find what he’s done would be impossible for me.
I’m on my second wife but I could never imagine changing my football team.
I think it is possible with a team like Latics, because Liverpool/United/or whoever and Latics were in different Universes. You could quite feasibly support both.
Until we started our rise, and in fact until we (notice I say we for Latics) got in the Premier League I did. I looked out for Liverpool’s results, bought my lad Liverpool kits and annuals, but we went along to watch Latics in the same way I now go and watch Ashton Athletic. At the point we got into the PL I had been actively watching Latics for a large number of years (yes, even back in the days at Springfield Park with 1,800 on), and hadn’t actually watched Liverpool for the same time. It’s at that point you realise where your true allegiance now lies.
It’s a bit different from someone who supports Chelsea this week and United next week, or even Latics this week and Blackpool next week. The Universes were never supposed to collide, but when they did then a decision had to be made.
At that point it would have been ridiculous for me to say “actually I support Liverpool”. It wasn’t a conscious decision to change allegiance – it happened. And I think you’ll find a number of Latics fans that this applies to. I know of at least a couple who have United tattoos, but I would not doubt their Latics supporting credentials now.
What the frig is wrong with anyone having supported other teams in the past and also what the frig is wrong with anyone having a soft spot for another club. Jesus H we had 10,000 home fans on last week and comparing that with the 1500 to 2000 that once came to watch us that leaves a good 8 to 8500 thousand who would probably have had a soft spot or supported another club.Nothing at all. Ask the knobhead who decided that I should be hung, drawn and quartered because my mates’s dad took me to a couple of United games when I was 7.
What the frig is wrong with anyone having supported other teams in the past and also what the frig is wrong with anyone having a soft spot for another club. Jesus H we had 10,000 home fans on last week and comparing that with the 1500 to 2000 that once came to watch us that leaves a good 8 to 8500 thousand who would probably have had a soft spot or supported another club.
Nothing at all. Ask the knobhead who decided that I should be hung, drawn and quartered because my mates’s dad took me to a couple of United games when I was 27 and I share a season ticket in the Stretford End with him.[/quote]
Edited for accuracy
For me it’s easy. It is (and I know this sounds corny) that Family Club Feeling I have whenever I’m there. I still see the old sweats who trudged through the turnstiles of Springfield Park – with their grandkids now. There might only be 10,000 but I feel as if I know every one of them. There is no nowtiness with the young (on-the-whole) as I’ve seen many a time young lads having the craic with elders in the queues. I now feel that we have a generation, coming through, who completely get it and wouldn’t have it any other way.
I agree with the sentiment of those who did support other teams in their formative years as this may have been the only way of actually getting to a match – times were bleedin tough then. I’m doing my bit to keep the interest going but if that stops then – what the hell, I’ll still be there God Willing.
I have to admit if I ever had to give up watching WAFC and had to choose a new team it would be Man Utd for me.
I hadn’t even been to Old Trafford before our first season in the PL, but now, due to freebies from work, corporate days out and my daughters boyfriend having 3 family member season tickets it is climbing up the list of grounds I have visited the most.
It will never reach the heights of Springy or the DW, but has outstripped most other grounds now, and will soon pass the likes of Burnden, Deepdale and other shitholes like them.
I have however only paid to go twice, and have turned down freebies on numerous occasions as it has clashed with a Latics match.
Its a bit like watching a match on telly to me, because there is no emotional attachment and I am not really bothered too much who wins I can relax and enjoy the football without getting too irate with players, managers and officials.
As for the ground and the atmosphere well, those who say there isn’t any noise at Old Trafford must be deaf, or have the volume turned down on their telly.Jeezus most of my age group followed either Utd, City, Everton or Liverpool and there wasn’t that many of us Latics fans about then. Why would they follow non-league football when 4 of Britains biggest clubs were on the doorstep?. So what if as a kid you wore a red shirt it doesn’t matter one jot. You are Latics fans and support the most amazing club on the planet and that is testament to what this little town’s football team has achieved.The more of you out there who have seen the light and have become Tics fans after following the big boys in childhood the better it is.Hats off to all of you whoever you supported as a kid for joining the religion that is Wigan Athletic ;) ;) ;)
After all is it not the same as saying “Put down that Daily Express you read the Beano years ago”
so come on then lets all be honest, before wigan got into the league most of us must have supported another club. i supported city in the seventies, started going to the odd latics game when we got into the league when my dad took me but was stil considered to be a city fan then found out a few lads from school in golborne were going regularly so me and a few mates latched on to them but because of the gap in leagues i used to say i support city but watch wigan. I dont know how it happened but gradually lost interest in the city thing, going to all latics home games and quite a lot away to the point when someone asked who i support i said wigan athletic. this must have been how was for most of us so come on who did you support before you were a latics fan ?
When I was 5 I was in the now defunct Astley Hospital having me adenoids out. I was in there on the night of the 1970 FA Cup final replay between Chelsea and Leeds. I was allowed to watch it and Chelsea became my team after that.
My dad took me to watch Latics v Runcorn (3-1, Geoff Davies hat-trick) in August/September 1970 and that was my first Latics game. I carried on the Chelsea affair via Match of the Day, newspapers etc. and my interest in them dropped off after a couple of years as I was taken to watch Latics more. I never bothered with any other team after that.
When I was 5 I was in the now defunct Astley Hospital having me adenoids out.You dont hear that much these days, do you? Do people still have their adenoids out? Or has it disappeared? Like ricketts
No, Ricketts retired I believe.
Got done for common assault for punching and headbutting his ex-girlfriend. Probably why you don’t hear much of him these days. ;)
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