I've lived over here for coming up 8 years now and during that time I've said a few times that I wouldn't get a season ticket nowadays if I were to move home for whatever reason. The football hasn't been good enough, we've got a young family, I'd probably be working shifts again if I came back, etc. It was a pretty easy argument to win against myself about a hypothetical situation.
However, we came back for a holiday at the beginning of last season and I managed to get to the Leyton Orient and Hull games at home. The atmosphere wasn't the same and the football was even worse than I was expecting. On the way home from both games I said that as poor as it was I'd have to have a season ticket if I was back because I just love our ground. It makes me so happy to be around it and reminds me exactly what Aston Villa means to me. The managers and players come and go but the things I love remain. The colours, the bovril and balti pies, the Holte End and the accents, moaning, blind optimism, irrational hatred of opposition players and general murmur of our supporters are enough for me to feel like I'd be missing out if were able to attend a game but didn't. I just look back to home games from my peak of attending games like Man United in 89/90 and on the opening day of 95/96, Arsenal just before New Year in 89/90 and on Boxing Day in 98, Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday in 92/93 and QPR on the opening day of 94/95 and they were all worth the season ticket cost alone in my eyes because of the atmosphere and/or quality on display.
It's easy for me to say from over here knowing that I don't have to cough up the money for it but I don't think I'd be able to resist.
