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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2019 16:44:56 GMT 1
What a fantastic post venceremos.the best I've read on here so far.that post encapsulates all that salop are about,in my view anyway.
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Post by Mr Brightside on May 21, 2019 18:18:29 GMT 1
Well. Essay time... I was originally brought up as a Wolves fan. Not by my father (who claims to be a Manchester United fan but like so many couldn't tell you who they're playing this week, nor name more than 50% of their starting 11) but my Nan, and her son, my Uncle. My first match was Wolves vs Tranmere Rovers in 1991 and over the years I was taken occasionally but not regularly. As I grew older and was at secondary school I started going with my friend at the time more often and as a college student had a season ticket in 2001/02 but never really got into it. My personal and family life imploded shortly after, with my being kicked out of home and losing my job within about 6 months - and following a difficult few years any sort of enjoyment of football generally was beaten out of me watching Wolves struggle to do anything other than draw 1-1 under Glenn Hoddle. So football was by and large forgotten by the time we got to 2005. My flatmate at the time, Iain (BirminghamShrew on here) commented why didn't I come along to a football match at the club he supported, after I'd said I'd been looking for some local lower or non league football to try and bring some enjoyment back for me (I'd been to watch Stourbridge FC (my hometown team) and it was alright (I still go back occasionally if there's no Salop matches and work allows) but there was no 'pull' as such. So I said why not and headed to Shrewsbury for as far as I know the first time... My first match was at Gay Meadow in November 2005 vs Chester City (not Carlisle as in my post - must have got confused!) and it was a cracker to be honest - a 3-1 in a local derby in front of 5.5k people with Town scoring in the opening minute and going 2-0 up within ten! Looking back now I can see why I was hooked (even if it wasn't the norm week in week out)! I still vividly remember the atmosphere in those early home games in the last couple of seasons at the Meadow - and that undoubtedly helped get Blue and Amber under my skin from that first match standing on the Wakeman Terrace (something that was totally alien to me as a young Wolves fan with my first matches being in the family section after the opening of the all-seater Billy Wright Stand). Perhaps it's partly rose-tinted specs now, but I remember the balmy late spring and late summer nights, the wander down Wyle Cop with a steady stream of folk, the floodlights peeking over the tree line as you crossed the English Bridge. Going through those ancient turnstiles you felt the weight of history, of the thousands that had done the same over the decades. Walking round onto the 'Cecil Duffill Terrace' (to this day I don't know the relevance of the name - who was he?!) on the Wakeman End - I loved being so much closer to the action than I'd ever managed before, being lucky to sometimes have a little chat with the players as they came out to warm up and I was very quickly bitten by the bug and smitten by that owd girl along the banks of the Severn... Looking back at my tone in my first B&A post, I was clearly still an outsider looking in at the club but it didn't take long for Town to firmly take place in my heart, and I'm very much an (adopted) Proud Salopian and Town is my one and only club. We moved to Shrewsbury in late 2005 and that afforded me the opportunity to have a season ticket with my best mate for the last two seasons at Gay Meadow and that was an experience I'll be forever thankful of. When it came to moving to the new ground, Iain and I volunteered over the summer for work in the Ticket Office under Judy and Sean when they were around, to try and give a little back - and that was a thoroughly genuinely enjoyable experience! Anyhow. Fast-forward those last twelve years and I'm still here, at least in spirit. University as a mature student and then work me far away from Shropshire - to Manchester initially for five years, then via Wolverhampton briefly to Birmingham where I am now, but I still attend matches whenever I can, home and away - I've had so many great experiences and special moments thanks to Salop (even enjoying the four seasons in 90 mins during the 4-1 loss at Saltergate in 2008 just days before my Nan died - perhaps it was a welcome distraction from what was a really difficult time for me. She was my hero and didn't blink an eyelid when I started going to Town even after trying her best to have me follow her in the Gold and Black!). I was privileged to be accepted to write a fan piece for the Shrewsbury v Grimsby match in 2008 which was printed in the programme (though frustratingly I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy of that matchday programme!) and I've been a long term contributor to B&A, in recent months via Salop Twitter accounts - and many of you will know about Proud Salopians by now . When I head back to matches and to Supporters Parliament I still get a warm fuzzy feeling seeing the Severn Bridge Junction signal box as you arrive into Shrewsbury, remembering those occassions when you'd crane your head for a glimpse of the old girl off the embankment as you pulled into the station. Sorry for the essay. I guess it's not your normal STFC story. As may have been suggested by some of my posts over the years, I'm also in a slightly different position to most supporters being a gay bloke. I'm very much just your average bloke, but I guess through things I've experienced around the grounds in the last 20 years it does sometimes give a different insight and take on things too. Anyhow, that's me, my history, and why and how I fell in love with Salop.
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Post by gainsparkshrew on May 21, 2019 19:27:01 GMT 1
Wimbledon at home, 1-1, Gary Stevens either scored or got sent off, 1986. Spent most of it looking at the crowd around me. But nonetheless I was hooked by the atmosphere, the noise, the ground, the bovril in plastic cream cups, the smells, everything. Not quite the same now we’ve left GM. But still love it regardless of how s***e we are! Remember the sending off very well !. End of season game,Eric Young,Wimbledons big centre half had been kicking Stevens all over the park during the first half. Half time approaching, long goal kick, Stevens goes up with Young and elbows him full in the face. As Stevens lands on his feet he just looks at the ref and starts the long walk to the tunnel without waiting for the inevitable red card. That was the end of Gary Stevens at Shrewsbury, got a ban which ended his season and was released at the end of the season a few weeks later. Then signed for Brentford
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Post by venceremos on May 21, 2019 22:51:01 GMT 1
What a fantastic post venceremos.the best I've read on here so far.that post encapsulates all that salop are about,in my view anyway. Thanks for that, very kind.
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Post by stuttgartershrew on May 22, 2019 17:11:38 GMT 1
Some great contributions to this thread. I'm also from outside the county, I'm from Rugeley in Staffordshire. At my school growing up it tended to be Wolves, Villa, Manchester United or (the most successful side at the time) Liverpool. I was a Liverpool fan. But there then came a point where I wanted to actually support and watch a club and so I looked for a club that was close enough to go and watch. Looking down the tables and Shrewsbury popped up (back then we were a second division side so we popped up pretty quick). Town were at home and so I asked my dad if he would take me to see them. He did and bless him, he did so many times after. It was just something about it, I mean we all know how captivating the Meadow was and I just loved the experience. I think my dad was happy with the choice because it was a time when things could get a bit hairy at the football but Town was a pretty safe option to spend a Saturday afternoon with your kid watching some football. So with my dad it was a drive down Abbey Foregate, easy parking, fish and chips and a quick walk to the ground. Just loved the whole experience and just wanted to go back again and again, I mean it was never the success (there was none). That was 1986. Been a huge fan ever since. Just mad though when I look back and think about how it became such a huge part of my life, how important it became (and remains so of course). I mean the time and effort you put in at times and people just look at you daft...but yous know what its about.
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Post by wakemanender on May 22, 2019 18:30:13 GMT 1
Some great contributions to this thread. I'm also from outside the county, I'm from Rugeley in Staffordshire. At my school growing up it tended to be Wolves, Villa, Manchester United or (the most successful side at the time) Liverpool. I was a Liverpool fan. But there then came a point where I wanted to actually support and watch a club and so I looked for a club that was close enough to go and watch. Looking down the tables and Shrewsbury popped up (back then we were a second division side so we popped up pretty quick). Town were at home and so I asked my dad if he would take me to see them. He did and bless him, he did so many times after. It was just something about it, I mean we all know how captivating the Meadow was and I just loved the experience. I think my dad was happy with the choice because it was a time when things could get a bit hairy at the football but Town was a pretty safe option to spend a Saturday afternoon with your kid watching some football. So with my dad it was a drive down Abbey Foregate, easy parking, fish and chips and a quick walk to the ground. Just loved the whole experience and just wanted to go back again and again, I mean it was never the success (there was none). That was 1986. Been a huge fan ever since. Just mad though when I look back and think about how it became such a huge part of my life, how important it became (and remains so of course). I mean the time and effort you put in at times and people just look at you daft...but yous know what its about. Think you've summed it all up there with the phrase "just loved the whole experience". The Gay Meadow wasn't just about the football. Drive down Abbey Forgate,easy parking, fish and chips, a quick walk to the ground. It was a day out to look forward to. We have to move with the times but do feel a bit sorry for the new town fans over the last ten years who didn't get to experience all that.
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