Why are you Villa?

[MoetVillan]

My Dad and his entire family going back to year dot are all Manure fans.  Reason enough not to be one.  Team I started following excited me, were swashbuckling and came from a fantastic city. (I live sort of equidistance from Manx, Liverpool and Birmingham.  Easiest decision I have made, and never ever regretted being a fan.  Been to matches live for 20+ years, and was a proud season ticket holder for six years, ending last summer due to daughter commitments (Its too much time away for me at this point to justify).  I know we haven't been great to watch, but for me there is always a huge ball of excitement building up in me when I go to a game.  I feel like a seven year old again.  And I love our stadium 

[dave shelley]

My Grandfather was born in 1878 in Aston, four years after the Villa.  My father was born in Manor Road Aston across the road from the Witton End.  My grandad, my father and his two brothers were all Villa Supporters.  I couldn't have been anything else could I?

My son, born exactly one hundred years after my grandfather, is a Villa supporter; as is his son my eldest grandson despite having to live in Wolverhampton.

My daughter loves the Villa and I believe she realises the importance of the Villa to me more so than her brother.

I have the added bonus of never having to contend with any family member supporting anyone other than the Villa.  Nobody ever, on my Mom's side had/have any interest in football.  Phillistines.

[rob_bridge]

Dad moved to Brum in late 50's / early 60's after living in London for a few years after arriving from Ireland.

In London he used to rotate watching Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and West Ham

Villa was his pick in West Midlands mainly as he worked and socialised a lot in and around Aston at the time. Oh and the fact that just about every Bloser he knew used to talk about Villa ad infinitum.

[cdward]

Born in Erdington. Lived in Erdington. Went to school in Aston (KEGS).
Support my local team.

[PeterWithe]

My lad is 7 and shows little interest in football but loves his Villa shirt. He knows Benteke and that is it, but he just does not get football in the same way I loved it. He wants to go to a home game, but I am waiting till the summer time, and hoping that we will be a bit more interesting to watch when he comes.

I took my 6 year old daughter for the first time recently, she absolutely loved it despite her watching very little of the actual football, she just seemed to like the occasion, the atmosphere, everything.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Dad came to Brum in the early 70s from Glasgow and went to a Villa game and a Blues one. He said that Villa drew 0-0 and the Blues game had lots of goals in it, but he just preferred the atmosphere at Villa.

So it's his fault that I'm a Villa fan (at least I'm not a nose I guess).

It's also his fault that I support Clyde.

[Mister E]

By sheer geography I should have been one of the unwashed. But, my bessie mate's dad brought us to VP in March 1967 (AV 2 - Everton 4) and I was totally hooked. None of my immediate family showed any interest whatsoever.
I've since found out that my father's distant cousin played for the Villa (Billy Evans), and my Great Grand-dad was married at Aston Church. So, I believe there was a natural 'pull' toward the claret and blue.
Even after 25 years living in N Yorks, the passion remains (even if the current doldrums has forced me temporarily off the ST register). My son, born and brought up in the Republic, is nonetheless a died-in-the-wool Villa fan.

[eamonn]

Why? Perché lui è il mio più vecchio amico. Mah adesso e quasi sempre mi tratta come un nemico.

Nah, the colours, the sound and maybe Lord McGrath too. I was four or five and confused.

[edgysatsuma89]

My dad's a liverpool fan but my older brother is a villa fan. When i was about 6 in '95 i chose villa, even then i knew I'd go on to dislike my dad (haha ... But true). I do have a soft spot for liverpool though still, not a 2nd team at all but I'd rather see them win apart from when against us. Especially as my dad's f**king unbearable. Really i need to ask why my older brother chose villa and not liverpool.

[N'ZMAV]

Dad's side are Albion
Mom's side are Blues
Dad is Villa, so I'm Villa.

[N'ZMAV]

Being bought up in Selly Oak there was a lot of noses.

[Tucson Villain]

Both sides of the family are from Brum and are Villa from way back.
My uncle took me to my first game in the mid 70's.

[Duncan Shaw]

My Aunt and Mum used to follow Wolves all over the country in the 50's & 60's.  My Aunt then became the "take the boys to the football" matriarch of the family, thus my older cousins were dragged along to Molineux.  As my Mum was the baby of the family, we were a lot younger than them,  so when time came round to it being my turn, my Aunt had shacked up with my "uncle Noel" by then and he was having none of that nonsense, so they took me down the Villa - 1977 vs Leeds, we sat on the front row of the Trinity just near the dug-outs and Ron Saunders "brushed" my hand as he walked to his place (remebmer he used to do that?)  Deehan and Gray in a 2-1 win and that was that.  We built the games up of the next couple of years and had our first season tickets (North Satnd) in 1979-80, then had them right up unitl I was 16 and wanted to go with my mates to stand on the Holte.  Noel took me to Rotterdam, I was 14 and the first time I got drunk on the ferry back and it really was a golden era. 

The day she died I went to see her in the morning, sefishly because I knew she'd give me the money (£3.50) to go to the game - dreadful match at home to leicester - and when I got home after the match she had died of an asthma attack - so glad I went round that morning. 

I moved to London for Uni and stayed south - it has been really difficult to convince my boy of his heritage, especially with all his mated being Gooners, and I content myself that he has a massive soft spot for us and loves going to VP or away for games - we are the only team I would ever take him to see. 

I lost touch with Noel for years, but got hold of him and took home and my lad to the O'Neill Sheff Utd game with Saunders on the pitch before hand - we were both in tears and I really felt at that moment we were about to see the glory all over again.  How wrong was I.

I go to about 2 home and a few away games a year these days but still get the butterflies when I approach the Holte End, even though I know I'm about to see 90 minutes of dirge (just like the mid 80s really!!) 

[Comrade Blitz]

The year my Mum bought me this book (1977)



was the first year I remember seeing First Div football on TV in the US - just picked Villa because I liked the name and the colours.

[Nev]

When my Dad arrived in Birmingham from Ireland, via Manchester, Warrington and Nottingham, he, like many others took digs in Small Heath. He palled up with a couple of workmates and took to drinking in the Small Arms pub. All the Irish in there were regulars at the Villa so he went with them.

I once asked him if they ever went to St Andrews, his answer was simple, concise and without need for embelishment.

He just said "No".