You’re not from Wigan but you support Wigan

I was born in Wigan but as one or two others on here had family from Liverpool. Mum was a blue & dad was a red. So i naturally followed my dads team Liverpool. My brother took me to a game at Springfield park in 78 but i can’t remember much about it (other than some bloke walking past me with blood streaming down his face) Got to about 85 and started taking an interest in Wigan and then in 86 asked me ewd chap would he mind if i supported Wigan!! He’s half converted now :lol:

Loads of great memories over the years following Wigan.

Agree that this is a cracking thread and the first person to de-rail it should be banned :evil:

I’m also a Wiganer having spent the first 18 years of my life in Ince. However, I’ve now spent more years living ‘down south’ than I did in Wigan. I met my wife in Cambridge and my children were born in Luton and raised in Milton Keynes. So it’s really my son’s story I’m telling.

From the moment he could walk he wanted to kick a ball. He’s now fifteen, but in those early years his only football teams were the ones he saw on TV and David Beckham quickly became a hero for him. He even got a Man Utd shirt with 7 and Beckham on the back. Then, when he was four, I decided it was time he went to see a ‘proper’ match at what was then the JJB.

He actually concentrated for most of the game and at one point when a player was booked turned to my dad and explained that meant “he’s been naughty, but doesn’t have to go home. If it was red he has to go home.” Bless.

Anyway, following year and he gets his first season ticket which also meant I got my act together and attended more games than usual. What makes his story for me is that he went to a small vilage school in North Bucks. Every other kid supported Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool or Man Utd. He got picked on and teased something rotten, but never, ever waivered in his support for us when it would have been so easy to switch to a big club. Coming out of Portman Road after seeing us lose for the first time he burst into tears (he knew he’d get teased at school and thought we’d blown our promotion chances). When he got his first shirt (Lidell on the back) we held a ceremony in the back garden and burned his old Man U shirt on the barbecue!

Today, he gets less stick from his mates (being six foot tall at 15 really helps). He’s never seen us lift a trophy, but he’s travelled the length and breadth of the UK and been to almost every away ground. He comes to almost all home games (320 mile round trip). He was the mascot at Highbury in the semi-final on that wonderful night. He was at our first game in the Premier League against Chelsea even though I was stuck on a plane in Iceland. He was at Stoke when Hugo scored and Bramall Lane when we clung on with Heskey as our best centre back.

His bedroom is blue and white and, if you cut him in half, so is he!

God knows what I’m really trying to say here, but I suppose I echo GL’s comments – This club is growing and this is how we are getting new supporters. The thing is, we should embrace everyone that shows the slightest interest in our amazing and wonderful ‘little’ club and get them converted to the WAFC religion.

I want to hear Donnelly’s story to see if he tells it himself or copies and pastes it.

Contrary to what my name suggests, I was born in Wigan. Supported them for as long as I can remember, first thing I can remember from my childhood is being a little lad at Springfield park watching Wigan vs Chester in ’93, crying my little eyes out because I couldn’t feel my feet. Moved to Southport when I was quite young, all the lads I hung round with hadn’t even heard of Latics, by the time we were in division 2 half of them had JJ’s cards and come with us for a cheap, good game of football to watch.

Everyone in Southport supports United or Liverpool and have very rarely been to a football match, even 8000 people at JJB can get you addicted to the atmosphere, and £2 a game or whatever it was wasn’t bad either!

My 18 year old son Joe and I live in Bedfordshire.

When I was a teenager I followed Bedford Town in the old Southern League.

In March 1975, I visited a very wet Springfield Park to see the Eagles upset the form book and beat Wigan in the FA Trophy quarter final, going on to lose to Scarborough in the two legged semi final. When they folded I continued to follow and be involved in local football and also held a season ticket at Luton Town in the eighties.

So who would have thought that nearly forty years later, that I and Joe would be proud season ticket holders travelling a round trip of 360 miles from Sandy Bedfordshire for every home game?

The reason?

Well Joe, he somehow ‘adopted’ Wigan as his favourite side. Having been dragged around the United Counties League with me (I was a director at non League St Neots Town FC) he obviously favoured the under dog. However similar to ‘Northern Primate’s son, he has suffered merciless teasing through his school years, living just 50 miles and on the main rail line to London, most of his mates are all Arsenal/Spurs/Chelsea/West Ham fans..

To his credit he never waivered and stood his ground and continued his support, gradually enticing me in also, so when he damaged his cruciate ligament and couldn’t play, he pestered me to take him more regularly to the DW. The rest his now history…I probably now shout more loudly than him!

When we met Roberto at the Wrightington the day before the Chelsea game back in August, I have never seen my lad smile so much.

Footnote: Interestingly, Bedford/Scarborough both folded and have became phoenix sides and Luton is now non league, whilst the mighty Latics have gone from strength to strength.

Some great takes here, lads – keep ’em coming!

And this is how we will grow our support, and in fact HAVE grown our support. A factor that most pundits/lazy journos etc fail to see – a lot of us started out not by going to Goole Town in 1825, but by moving away from the boredom of the bigger names that surround us.[/quote]

Im from Orrell,as a nipper I supported Orrell Celtic,but decided to become a Pothunter and support Latics, and my first Latics game WAS against Goole Town! goodpost

Whats this `karma -21` shit

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