My Dad was evacuated from Trafford Park to his mothers family in Byrom Street during the war, he stopped watching Man U and started going to Alty with his Uncle Albert (who lived in Brown Street) who had followed Alty from a boy. When I was 4, he started taking me (Cheshire League champions), although I still remember with foot stamping annoyance him not letting me go to a home match against Wigan the saturday before Christmas 1968 (we lost 3-0) or the FA Cup match against Crewe. I went to live in New Zealand for 3 years in 1969, and came back to discover Jackie Swindells was gone!! We arrived back at the end of the 71-72 season and I saw one match - a 5-2 home victory against Lancaster City - and my endearing memory of that game is a slim skillful boy in the Alty midfield who would frequently get booted up in the air. And every time this happened, the popular side grumbled "Bloody Hell Heathcote". I saw my first away match at the beginning of the 72-3 season, a midweek trek to Ellesmere Port: a 2-2 draw. I saw 29 matches that season and a similar number in 73-4. And shamefully only a handful of matches in 74-5 (all the FA Cup matches though!) and only one in 75-6. I came back into the fold in 76-7 for the 1-0 FA Cup win over Grantham, went to Rotherham and was hooked despite the 0-5 drubbing. I saw every match after that with the exception of a couple at the end of the season where there was no coach. Over the next few years you couldn't keep me away, missing about 6 matches over the next three seasons (a 5-1 defeat at Gateshaead and a 6-1 win at Barrow stick in the memory as games missed). Left school early to go to White Hart Lane and couldn't believe it when Jeff equalised.
Went to University in London in 1980 but still saw 44 matches in ithe 80-81 season. In 81-82, I slept under a railway bridge after hitching to Worcester from London for a Friday night game (we lost 3-4) and then hitching down to Trowbridge for the Saturday match (won 2-0).
Continued in a similar vein until 86-87 season when I got engaged, and bought a house in Kent. Domestication took over and the nearest I got to a game was almost going to Maidstone for JJ's last match in charge - the 2-7 defeat. Moved to Paris in 1990 - our last game before I left was the 1-2 in the FA Cup at Huddersfield. Came back for the weekend of the home defeat to Wycombe: so whilst I remained out of the country Alty were undefeated - it's all my fault!
Moved back to the UK in 92, and got back on the bandwagon in 1994 with a trip to Slough for a 2-0 win as Kingy took over - and I've seen us every season since, including 15 matches in both the last NPL season and in the Conference North, I was working in Nottingham and it was only a 160 mile round trip for a midweek game! I've changed jobs since and therefore find it more difficult - my ony game this season (so far!) was at home to Burton Albion.
I've started taking my kids whenever I can - and I guess if they were asked which team they support they'd say Alty - and my elder son continues the Bath Alty theme by being the only Alty fan at John Hampden Grammar School in Wycombe!