How did you first start supporting the saints

[EFMTFTV]

Inspired by the bloke from Darlingtons thread below, what is your story about first supporting the saints?

Mine - Myself and my mate Nick started coming with John Sherwood, who was the club photographer in the early 90s, pre-season 92/93, my first game was London Colney away in a pre-season friendly, first home game was a 0-7 defeat to WBA. At the time we'd just finished mid-table and nobody had an idea we'd have such a good season
I think the fact the season was so good helped me stay, imagine if your first season was our last one in the Conf South
I've been coming ever since, Nick moved to Liverpool but still looks out for us

[Aries]

My first match was in 1986, I think, against Hendon, although I'm not too sure. I wandered down to the park with a friend. I saw a few games that season and few sporadically after that but it was the 92/93 season that I started coming down reguarly. The first game that season was a 3-3 draw with Stevenage away in the cup.

[St Michael]

My father was a club official, deputy treasurer (?) later treasurer, and I used to come to home and some away games with him from about 1966 on. We had moved from Biggleswade and he had been involved with the Waders. Clarence Park was like Wembley compared to Biggleswade Town's ground.
I started to really support Saints (I always call them "City") in 1968, and although I had a dalliance with Chelsea, our cup run that season stole my heart once and for all. Aged 10 I sold programmes outside the York Road entrance, and watched the game on the wooden benches in front of the stand, not that I could see much, the ground was packed.
We really did deserve to win that game, and would have drawn Spurs if we had won !

Very excited to hear about plans to redevelop CP, there is plenty of land to build a new clubhouse facility AND a new main stand......let's hope the club and council can see it through.

[Canary Saint]

Oct 15, 2012 7:48:42 GMT St Michael said:

............ and watched the game on the wooden benches in front of the stand, not that I could see much, the ground was packed. We really did deserve to win that game, and would have drawn Spurs if we had won !

St Michael I guess you are referring to the Walsall game - Ah the memories eh?

My Dad took me to my first game whem I was about 10, which would make it the early sixties. I remember it as being against Maidstone and the game was played in a storm According to my Dad I cried most of the time!

[St Michael]

Walsall indeed, missed out the most important bit.....i have a whole scrap book full of press cuttings, programme etc.
The FA Amateur cup run in 1970 (?) was special too, losing to Dagenham in the semi-final was heartbreaking.
That was a very good side, but i suspect that the very good teams from the 90's with Duffield/Cockram, Clark and King etc. and then the FA Trophy side from later on were just as good, and perhaps even better than the Lippiatt sides

[bowsaint]

My first game was in April 1992, at home to Kingstonian. It was 2-2, though I don't remember the game as I was only 6.

I started going regularly with my Dad the following season and went to most of the 92/93 home games. It's interesting how that season seems to have been a lot of people's first season - it just shows how important it is to have a good side that is winning to pull in and keep fans.

We seemed to have a good side for most of the 90s, but since 2001 we've definitely been hit and miss, and mainly miss (bar 2005-2006). Hopefully this year can be the start of a new era and we can start becoming higher profile in the community and getting the regular 800/900 crowds (as a minimum) that we got back in the early 90s.

[EFMTFTV]

92/93 and cup runs seem to draw the crowds in

We were discussing this on the terrace on Sat - even though this team should be challenging near the top and are favs for the league is some quarters it just doesn't seem to have the buzz yet or the feel of a championship side like previous teams did (Mitchell and Lippiats team - even Cockrams and Hills and Dowies had that feel for a while), still early days though

Apparently I went to the Torquay home game in the early 80s so my Dad tells me

[northamptonsaint]

I'm another one for whom the Walsall FA Cup game was their first City game, taken by my Dad and squashed in down by the burger van corner flag, such was the size of the crowd. Perhaps my most memorable game was the Amateur Cup semi replay at Luton (missed the first match at The Den) and the incredibly intimidating - for a 7 year old - chants of "digger dagger, digger dagger, oi, oi oi" from the opposition fans.

[bovysaint]

The first Saints game that I attended was the Amateur Cup semi final replay against Dagenham in 1970. I was very young and watched it perched on my father's shoulders. After that I was a regular visitor to the park throughout the 70's and even witnessed a balding Jimmy Greaves play for Barnet against us it what was either a cup game or a pre-season friendly. The Hi light of my youth was probably the FA Cup 2nd Round home match against Torquay which ended 1-1 infront of a crowd of 4601.

In the mid 80's I moved to Wales so the chances of watching any Saints games was pretty limited, I used to trawl the back pages of the sunday papers looking through the small print to find the Isthmian League results. About 10 years ago on a visit to my old home town I decided to take in a game at Clarence Park, it was a 1-0 win against Boreham Wood.

Since then and although I still live in Wales I try to get to a few games every season. I've probably been to nearly 100 games over the last decade, many of them being away games as they are generally nearer to me than Clarence Park!

[St Michael]

I remember that too.....at the first game at Millwall (The Old Den) scary place itself, and the Dagenham fans were very vocal. Dagenham were a good side, John Still, Dennis Moore, Tony Bass etc. Typical Athenian League side of that era, very tough and very "professional" the Isthmian teams were still vaguely "amateur". It was a culture class !!!

Maybe we should form a self-help group for the Saints over 50's fans ? "Prossers Children" ?

[brummie]

My first game was at home to Dulwich Hamlet in 1964 with my uncle. I was eight years old at the time. I remember an incident against Bletchley in a cup match when my tummy was directly in the firing line of a shot from a Bletchley player when I was standing just to the right hand side of the goal at the old tree end. (OUCH).

I regularly watched home matches from about 1966 until around the early eighties when my parents were very ill. My father just before Christmas 1983 and mother in July 1985 both passed away. So family circumstances meant that I moved to the Midlands to live near an aunt. Since 1985 whenever I visited St Albans I made sure I took in at least one City game. I have never ever lost the interest in the Saints even at their lowest times.

[stanj]

I really cannot remember my first visit to The Park,,I was in my pram I believe and my parents brought me to show the players Dads new Son...I do remember, when I must have been about 3 or 4 and being taken on the pitch with my Father and having a huge(to me) football put in front of me and being made to kick it. My Father had had to retire from football because of injury. He was 23 years old. He did become a member of the Committee until the war years. Some of you may remember him a few years ago when he was 95 years old and the ;last player alive who had played in the last Isthmian league winners championship in 1929..
I did see a lot of games but later I became more interested in playing in the local under 18 league.First for Fleetville Old.Boys .Until I went into His Majestys Navy as a Regular.
Cheers Stan.

[swindonsaint]

I'm a recent convert to the Saints and the full story will, hopefully, be appearing in a programme soon so here's the short version -

I was born in St Albans but moved to swindon when I was 3. I became a Swindon Town supporter and I'm still a season ticket holder.

A few years ago I started taking an interest in the Saints and started going to a couple of away games in this area when the town were away, Swindon Supermarine last season being one of my favourites aa the town were home as Sky's midday kick-off so I could get to both games. And it was my birthday!!

But this season I finally made it to Clarence Park for the Kettering game and enjoyed the day - the win made it even better.

I've been back for the Lowestoft cup game (oh dear!) and should be coming to the Chippenham game on the 24th. Looking forward to it.