How important are ASTON VILLA to your life?

[Concrete John]

Arrigo Sacchi once said of the game as a whole that "Football is the most important of life's least important things."

I'd go with that.

[Toronto Villa]

Arrigo Sacchi once said of the game as a whole that "Football is the most important of life's least important things."

I'd go with that.

cracking quote. If I had to choose between Villa and my life experiences, and more importantly that of my friends and family, Villa won't makw the cut. I love the club as evidenced by need to come on this place every 30 seconds, but I was never to going stay in Birmingham to fuel that passion while more attractive opportunties to better myself existed. With the internet, satellite TV etc I really don't miss a thing. Nothing can properly replace the feeling of going to down to game. I wish I could go more but it's been a worthwhile sacrifice.

[Chris Jameson]

Not very important at all in the great scheme of things. They are pretty important where my 8 year old son is concerned though.

Off Topic is where most of my posts are made these days before any comment about the amount of posts i've made come into play.

[The Laughing Policeman]

I used to follow Villa home and away as a kid and I couldn't sleep at night before big games. As I have got older and know a few footballers, I have to say my passion has waned dramatically. I'll always follow the Villa and stand up for them whenever we are in converastion but I pick and choose my games now and much prefer away games due to the chance to have a few beers, a laugh with my mates and a bit of atmosphere.

And that's exactly what's missing at Villa Park nowadays. You get a bit of desultory singing from the back of The Holte now and again and apart from that bugger all else. Nobody seems to know all the words to Holte Enders In the Sky anymore. I'm sorry but it means a lot more than singing the chorus for a few seconds to get the crowd going.
It's about time we started to live up to the Twelfth Man tag emblazoned across the Holte End.
" As I rode out one dark and stormy night, I saw a poor City fan......."
So who can add the rest of the lines?
It's time we again made Villa Park the fortress it once was.

[villanois]

Born and raised in Brum for over 30 yrs and now living in the States for almost 20 yrs. On the who's a better fan debate, I have no doubt I was a better fan while I lived in Brum.

I quite simply look back now and see that I was addicted to the Villa. I was a season ticket holder and did not miss games home or away unless absolutely necessary. There were many times that I went several consecutive seasons without missing a game and would also spend a lot of time down at the reserves. I turned down promotions due to the chance of it interfering with Villa games.

Travel was my 2nd love and when I came to the States planning to stay 1 yr on a working trip, leaving Villa behind for a year was the biggest struggle. At that time an occasional English game would be aired at obscure times like 4 am and even in getting up to watch a game at that time it would be common for it to be bumped by some lower league baseball game or the like.

 I look forward to returning to Villa games once in a while, I enjoyed seeing my son walk out as a mascot for a game, I took my family to the Columbus game and had a great time. I sacrificed many many things in my life to follow the Villa, and I have since sacrificed following Villa "live" to stay with the American woman I met, fell in love with and raised children with, all of the aforementioned are Villa fans by the way . I watch every game just as passionately albeit a lot more sober, and Aston Villa are as much in my blood as they have ever beenand always will be

[villanois]

change better fan to a more devoted fan

[taylorsworkrate]

Aston Villa are important to me.  I still check SSN and online daily for any news about the club, I still go to about 8 or 9 home games a year and I vent my spleen on fine sites such as this.  I also feel just as passionately about the England cricket and Rugby teams.

However,  there are things far more important in my life.  Such as family, friends and making sure I can earn a living. 

A bad result 5 years ago would render me unapproachable for the next couple of days.  Now its throw a little tantrum whilst no ones looking and thats that.  Maybe thats partly because of my growing dislike for what football has in general become, or more likely because i'm growing up.

[fbriai]

Arrigo Sacchi once said of the game as a whole that "Football is the most important of life's least important things."

I'd go with that.

That's a very nice way of putting it.

[The Left Side]

Me too, what a wise man!

[Clampy]

The Villa have always been a huge part of my life and they always will. I've got my season ticket, i do a lot of away games (i missed 5 last season) and spend an awful lot of time on here, too much time probably.

I have found though that as i've got older, that it's not the end of the world if we lose. Yes, it's disapointing, but that's as far as it goes because you can't change the result. I remember being at Chelsea when we were 7-1 down thinking, oh well, what can you do? I think the last time i was angry after a result was when we threw that 4-1 lead away at Spurs. Since then, it's a case of chat about it in the car on the way back or over a pint or two, then more or less forget about it.

[olaftab]

Arrigo Sacchi once said of the game as a whole that "Football is the most important of life's least important things."

I'd go with that.

Yes that makes sense.

[olaftab]

Cop this for a contradiction.

I go to all home matches and most away matches and I see fans who would never miss a match. Do I respect them?  No I think they should get a life!!

That IS life.

[TopDeck113]

I think there are four distinct periods to my Villa-supporting.  As a kid in the 70s and early 80s, as a student in the mid 80s, as a young working adult up to about 2000 and then the years since at the onset of middle age.

I once made an analogy of my relationship with the Villa as being like that of the first serious spend-the-night, meet-the-parents girlfriend, who you still see from time-to-time years later.

At the start the relationship was all consuming:  the only thing that really mattered was the time spent together; and when it wasn't match day, I 'd spent the time thinking about or talking about nothing else.

However, the relationship cooled as I found new interests and met new friends.  The club was still there in my heart, victories were celebrated and defeats hurt, but if I went periods of time without seeing them it didn't unduly concern me.   

Then there was a long and sweetly remembered reconciliation through the late 80s and 90s.  It was never as all-encompassing as it was at the beginning, but following the team was a big part of my life.

Finally, there was the mid-life rationalising of the money-spent against the pleasure gained, the time constraints brought about by other commitments and responsibilities, coupled with the cynicism brought on by seeing the same cycles of optimism and despair being repeated again and again by an ever-changing cast of itinerant millionaires.  Villa are still my team.  I care about them, worry about them and want the best for them, look forward to when I do see them, but no longer feel like putting myself to any great inconvenience on their behalf.

[mozza]

Had nightmares last week when Alex McLeish was rumoured to be coming but Mrs M hid all the
knives in the kitchen so I'm still in the land of the living today albeit slightly depressed with life - 

[cdbearsfan]

I have "SHIT ON THE CITY" tattoed across my buttocks. I have three sons named "Juan Pablo", "Savo" and "Bernard Gallagher". I've never missed a game, home or away... even going so far as to invent time travel so I could watch all the matches from before I was born. I'm the best fan ever so there.