Twenty years ago today...

[Rich6by7]

...Arsenal 1-2 Aston Villa

Wright for them, Bosnich saves a penalty at 1-0 down, Whittingham and Townsend for us.

...And that was the day I decided to support Aston Villa.

Can anyone else pinpont the exact moment they decided to support Villa? I appreciate that lots were born into it for family reasons; I'm the only Villa supporter in my family (everyone else supports Wolves out of hometown loyalty of Flavour Of The Month FC depending on when they were born) and I don't regret a thing.

A few more trophies would have been nice, but at least I'm not another Staffs red. Or Johnny-come-lately Stoke fan now they're in the Prem, unlike the two Arsenal "fans" I was at school with when this result happened.

[danlanza]

Cannot remember when i first started supporting Villa, but i do know the day i fell in love with our club.
Huddersfield away at there old shithole. Pissed it down all game. Myself and other Cannock Villa " Borrowed" an old Morris Marina to make our way there. Broke down on the motorway, not far from Huddersfield. We decided it was best, and most sensible, to leg it and leave the borrowed car on the hard shoulder.
Up the embankment we went, to find a bus stop with Huddersfield on it. Bus into town, beers, rain, more rain, onto the terrace, rain, solid fucking rain. Funniest thing i have ever seen was all the Villa on the terrace trying to stay under the 6-8 inch shelf by the food stall. You lot in the seats didn't know you were born that day. At least you had some shelter, lucky fuckers .

So, after the game we hitched a ride on a Villa coach, got dropped of at Lichfield junction, walked into Lichfield, rain, rain and more fucking rain.
Bus from Lich to Cannock, another to Hednesford, and we were back in the local, Dancing Bear if memory serves me, before closing time.
That is when i fell in love with our club and have never fell out of love with them. It was just one of those days, days you do not get anymore. UTV.

[eamonn]

Have vague memories of either this game or the one later in the month (we did beat them twice at Highbury in Nov'93, right?). My Dad was/is a Gooner, remember him sheepishly relaying the scoreline after hearing it on the radio.

[Breezeblock]

Didn't have any choice in the matter. My dad took me for the first time in 1971 - Brian Little's home debut v Torquay Utd. We won 5-1 (I think) and I was hooked from then on.

[Legion]

Brought up as a Villa fan from an early age by my Dad. Known nothing else. Wouldn't change it for the world, even though I occasionally feel like asking for a divorce.

[villalion]

Lad I used to knock around with when I was a nipper had a massive poster of gary shaw on his wall and was villa mad.this was about 81 82 I think. He also gave me a villa scarf. Went down a storm with my old man, he's a dingle.

[dave shelley]

Being a Villa fan is, if you are lucky, something that is bestowed upon you, there is no choice.  To this day I sincerely thank my old man for bestowing it upon me.  He told me when I was small that Aston Villa was the most famous football club in the world, it was a creed he believed in until the day he died.  I like to think he would be proud that his son is the same. 

[pauliewalnuts]

Lad I used to knock around with when I was a nipper had a massive poster of gary shaw on his wall and was villa mad.this was about 81 82 I think. He also gave me a villa scarf. Went down a storm with my old man, he's a dingle.

My old man is a nose. He's the only one on his side of the family with an interest in football.

My mom has three brothers, one is a lapsed Albion fan, the other two were, when I was growing up, mental Villa fans. As I was the first grandchild, my uncles made extra special attempts to induct me as a Villa fan, which were successful.

To be fair to my dad, though, he was OK about it, took me to loads of Villa matches, accepted my utter refusal to go to a Blues match with him (except on one occasion) with grace. Even got doused in piss whilst accompanying me to Wembley in 1977 (tickets in Everton end, Everton fans not happy at Villa scarf in evidence, bottle of piss thrown).

To be fair, I think people in his generation, years ago, would often go to Villa one week then Small Heath the next, it was certainly more common than now, so it maybe wasn't that big a deal for him.

[KevinGage]

Aye Paulie, the aul' fella used to tell me similar. 

Away matches were rarely done until around the 70's, so his B-lose mates would go to the Villa with him when we were at home, and he'd go there the following week.

Going back a bit further, I'm fairly certain the big gates ourselves, Olbiyun and even B-lose got back before the 60's owed to the less partisan nature of football (in some respects) back then. Factories would finish on Saturday, and if Villa, Olbiyun or B-lose had a plum fixture, local workers wouldn't think anything of going along, even if it wasn't their team, so to speak.

[Legion]

That is quite correct. On a smaller scale, many years ago if Villa were away and Walsall were at home I'd go down to watch them. As the cost has risen I no longer go so frequently.

[dave shelley]

To be fair, I think people in his generation, years ago, would often go to Villa one week then Small Heath the next, it was certainly more common than now, so it maybe wasn't that big a deal for him.

That's very true Paulie, me and the old man spent a lot of time up there as we lived in Sheldon Nose territory and it was somewhere to go when he couldn't afford to take me to Villa away.  Underneath it all was for him, and for me as I got older was a passion for football ( cue laughter from other posters ).  We always stood on the Tilton Road end and shouted for the opposition.  When I look back it was good fun.

Sadly, we were to go there for a third round cup game against Wigan in January 1978, I'd got us tickets in their main stand so he wouldn't have to stand but he said he didn't feel up to it and he died on the 10th about a week later.  The last game we attended together was just before that Christmas, Villa reserves vs I think Man Utd reserves.  I miss those days.

[MarkM]

When I was born.

Dad's a Villa fan, Grandad's a Villa fan etc....

[James AVFC]

...Arsenal 1-2 Aston Villa

Wright for them, Bosnich saves a penalty at 1-0 down, Whittingham and Townsend for us.

...And that was the day I decided to support Aston Villa.

I ran onto the pitch that day when Whittingham scored the equaliser.  Not exactly an achievement but as a ten year old schoolboy invading a pitch in London when the Villa scored and getting on Match of the Day gave me a kind of stardom in a small Black Country primary school.  Even the headmaster came to me at play-time and told me he'd seen me on the telly. 

In answer to the question my Dad took me to my first game in the summer of 1989 against Hibernian in a friendly, the first apperance in a Villa shirt for one Paul McGrath I believe.  I remember plenty of games I went to  during 89/90 but I think I really started supporting Villa properly the next season after shamefully flirting with Wolves during my first season being interested in football.  I saw straight in the end thankfully.

[Ads]

What a game. We scored both in injury time as I recall.

[ChicagoLion]

I liked the colours, but now I think that Chelsea are more likely to win things so I might start routing for them.

I thought about Arsenal but not sure Wenger will pull it off and I think Chelsea are mare glamorous.

Definitely avoiding Man U now Ferguson has gone.