My Girls

[Simon Ward]

My youngest is Villa through and through and he will have a terrible day today as his best mate is a Bradford fan, but will it deter him no way! His elder brothers are another thing entirely as they are both Bradford fans and will no doubt rib him mercilessly! Oh well at least he will get a trip to Wembley with the Bradford supporting half of the family!

[CJ]

I started taking my oldest lad when he was 5. He gave up his season ticket at the age of 16 (we'd got a bit boring), and then when he was 18 he moved on to uni and 'fled the nest'. He's 26 now and still comes to games with me when he's home. He still supports Villa but now prefers lower/non-league football (in fact over Christmas our best game was watching Kiddie beat Dartford 5-1). At one point, watching more comedy defending against Wigan, we just looked at each other and laughed. A refreshing change from me venting my spleen! There's no better feeling than going to a match with your son

[Darlo Dave]

We went for a pre match curry, and sat by a table where there was about 4 young kids sat (with adults obviously). As soon as they saw the claret and blue and the football tops etc, they all went mad, and started singing, Villa Villa Villa... Warmed the cockles of my heart.

[claretandblue barmy]

My eldest in 18 and for the very first time last night we stood & enjoyed a beer together before the game, i was reminiscing to myself about how proud i was of him and thinking about all the games we'd been together .... That was the highlight of the evening!!   Ive also got a 7 year old who i've never encouraged to watch football ...i think over the next 80 years ( God willing ) he will enjoy way more Saturdays than i ever have !!

[newtonsballs]

My lad is 30 and he drags me down the Villa!!

[ACVilla]

Thanks for the read, some lovely stories.

Not sure if this will work but this is my daughter at her first game -

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150886994755103&set=a.10150886989635103.771254.690735102&type=3&theater

[ACVilla]

"My girls"

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150886991280103&set=a.10150886989635103.771254.690735102&type=3&theater

[mrfuse]

supporting the Villa certainly keeps you grounded. In an era where everything is instant and on tap is hard to get the kids to appreciate that you have to work hard with time and effort to achieve something.

The easy root would be to be a glory hunter of which I will not tolerate or take any abuse from. I just wish my daughter had the slightest interest in football so fair play to the kids that keep going

[Stu]

"My girls"

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150886991280103&set=a.10150886989635103.771254.690735102&type=3&theater

*like*

[lovejoy]

I live in Sussex and have two boys 7 and 4. We are in the catchment area for Brighton (new Ground, cheap tickets, nearby, family friendly) and the glory fans go up to Chelsea (European Champions, top players, pernennial top 4). I have taken my 7 year old to (last season):
Fulham away (they score injury time equaliser)
QPR away (they score injury time equaliser with 10 men)
Arsenal away (we go 2-0 up and lose 3-2
and both boys to (this season):
Fulham away (abject late defeat)
Chelsea away (say no more but we stayed to the end)

Just one question, how the hell do i convince them to be Villa fans?

[olaftab]

I posted on this last week. My two nephews aged 9 and 10  who I converted from Brummie reds about two seasons ago are  getting cheesed off with the stick they are  picking up at school. After watching the Wigan and Spurs thrashings they were both  "not available" to go to the Southampton game. However after watching the good first half on TV v West Brom they were both back on the phone to me  excited about semi and Newcastle game. Not sure how they feel now after last night.

[aev]

I live in Sussex and have two boys 7 and 4. We are in the catchment area for Brighton (new Ground, cheap tickets, nearby, family friendly) and the glory fans go up to Chelsea (European Champions, top players, pernennial top 4). I have taken my 7 year old to (last season):
Fulham away (they score injury time equaliser)
QPR away (they score injury time equaliser with 10 men)
Arsenal away (we go 2-0 up and lose 3-2
and both boys to (this season):
Fulham away (abject late defeat)
Chelsea away (say no more but we stayed to the end)

Just one question, how the hell do i convince them to be Villa fans?

Bribery.

It is the same with my 2. I do think that when they see you happy and excited due to gootball they want to become part of it. The sad thing is it just doesn't happen very often.

[Tayls_7]

Hi All,
I have been reading this site for years but I have rarely been inclined to write. The recent trials and tribulations have cajoled me to dig deep and rejoin my brothers during one of our darkest hours. Posted to Cyprus I have had to suffer from afar but BFBS and local bars have meant that I have seen the majority of our games  .
I have two beautiful girls aged one and four. I swear I nearly ruined their Christmas after watching the Chelsea, Spurs and Bradford games. They nervously edged around me as I switched from anger, outrage and dispair - poor souls. I fear even at their tender age it may be a case of Pavlov's dogs, always associating Villa with negativity - flip me, I know I Do! When I get posted home I dare say I may drag the innocents along with me even though I love them dearly. UTV (Always darkest before the dawn).

[neo_Villan]

Don't have children but when I do, I'm not sure I will make them support Villa either. As long as they don't support Small Heath I don't think I'll be that bothered.

[fbriai]

Hi All,
I have been reading this site for years but I have rarely been inclined to write. The recent trials and tribulations have cajoled me to dig deep and rejoin my brothers during one of our darkest hours. Posted to Cyprus I have had to suffer from afar but BFBS and local bars have meant that I have seen the majority of our games  .
I have two beautiful girls aged one and four. I swear I nearly ruined their Christmas after watching the Chelsea, Spurs and Bradford games. They nervously edged around me as I switched from anger, outrage and dispair - poor souls. I fear even at their tender age it may be a case of Pavlov's dogs, always associating Villa with negativity - flip me, I know I Do! When I get posted home I dare say I may drag the innocents along with me even though I love them dearly. UTV (Always darkest before the dawn).

I know what you mean, Tayls, my two are the same age as yours. I've taken the more phlegmatic route though. For example, I was following the Chelsea game on the BBC website from afar, while we had guests in the front room with us at the time. When I saw the score tick over to 4-0 I just turned the laptop off, without a word. Everyone was oblivious to it. I didn't know the final score until about lunchtime of the following day. As a result, our kid is still unaware of the current state of things. It's a bit like Father Christmas. He'll find out for himself soon enough!