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« on: March 17, 2008, 09:42:35 PM »
when i was a kid i wasnt wildly interested in football despite my dad taking me to old trafford in the late 60s, mainly because i was rubbish at playing it. i dont think it ever occured to me that you could go and watch games and enjoy it. somewhere along the line there were a group of kids in my year at alty grammar who used to go to alty every week, including some of my friends, so i went along and experienced a revelation. this was 1976.
i suppose i had it really easy compared to some of you because this coincided with the start of the succesful era. looking back i got into it really quick, going away a lot (it was reatively cheap on the coach then) i went to rotherham seeing us hammered 5-0 and went to all the trophy games including the quarter final at weymouth and the semi at scarborough. the years that followed were genius and i hardly missed a game for 3/4 years.
although i was at all the great games its not really them that i remember, more the silly away days at goole and worksop, at netherfield and great harwood. night games at vics where we would go in front of their main stand and carry out a 90 minute argument with the old blokes who stood there. going to weymouth midweek and arriving back in the middle of the night then going to school.
i hesitate to say it really, but i was quite a solitary child and alty allowed me to belong to something. i took (and take) great pride in the fans and their humour. i loved going to games and having a laugh with like minded people. i loved shouting daft things at the opposition, making up chants at school and trying them out on the saturday.in fact i really loved singing songs full stop. there is something liberating about bellowing at the top of your voice and not caring.
at one point we became the grass bank skins (grown their hair) and supported a journeyman centre half called graham tobin through thick and thin.
in 1982 i moved to london to go to college and although the early years were alright as i was living with another alty fan and at that time there were loads of local games and visits home, after my dad died i had no connection with alty any more and slowly i faded away to a game every now and then.
in many ways this message board has revived my interest because it keeps you in touch with what is going on
the other thing i would say is that i count myself incredibly lucky to have been around then. my twin obsessions are football and music and to be 15 in 1977, and then 17 in 1979 when manchester was the centre of the music universe, and your football team was kicking the crap out of allcomers.