Why are you Villa?

[MattW]

I used to enjoy watching the Premier League highlights show on the ABC here in the early-mid 90s. English grounds and accents on commentary, and particularly the roar that met each goal, were attractive. I started supporting Aston Villa because the club had an interesting English-sounding name, but mostly because Bosnich was keeper.

Somehow that evolved into staying up until 4am first listening to the BBC commentary, then watching Sky Sports online score ticker, and finally stuttering streams. A little less of that in recent years with a two-year old, but still log onto the match thread on the morning after each match to read how it unfolded.

I've only made it to Villa Park once, when I was last in England in 2003. Villa 2 (Alpay, Samuel) - Charlton 1.

[Bad English]

Percy and his neighbours, Jim and Phil (schoolmates of mine) got me going down. First game was home to Spurs, if my memory serves me well.

My dad and a couple of uncles are, ahem, fans of the rags in Small Heath and made me watch Kenny Burns, Bob Latchford, Beelzebub and all that lot during the Freddie Goodwin era. Then I had all the LFC Chelmsley Wood Reds in my year at school (1st Year = 1977 and you know who were Champions of Europe then...).

The Villa DNA was too strong though: I was born in Heathfield Road Maternity in 1966 and I lived in Compton Road Handsworth until Armstrong walked on the moon and Chelmsley Wood was built.

I can never thank Percy, Jim and Phil enough for saving me.

[stevo_st]

Was a glory hunter of the early 90s.

Brother is an Everton fan and we thrashed them 6-2 on the telly, so first started supporting them just to wind him up.

Had a great team with Platt, McGrath and my hero growing up Daley.

Saunders, Atkinson and Yorke cemented it for me.

[Nelson Lodge]

Good parenting. Dad born in and lived in Nelson Road - the first road behind the Witton End. Met mom who lived in Lodge Road, off Trinity Road. They moved to Aldridge in the late 1940s, where our family GP was Dr Victor Milne, centre half in the 1924 Villa Cup Final team.
Dad got him to autograph the Peter Morris book, Aston Villa the story of a great football club 1874 to 1960. Still have it.
Mom and dad, brother and I, my 3 sons all Villa. My grandsons will be and are already going down to VP. Back to my first words, it is down to good parenting. All those glory hunting plastic fans you see in the West Midlands are by and large down to bad parenting imo. Stuff that nonsense about letting children make their own choice. You bring them up from soon as they can speak and walk to support your team!

[warleyboy]

Seen a fortune teller back in 87, she told me that Aston Villa would win the 2015 FA Cup, jumped on the bandwagon.

[Nicko89]

just heard about them when I was really young in primary school and been hooked ever since!

[Tony Erdington]

No Choice, born into it,

NO Villa = no life

Ive got a life

LOVE THE VILLA

[Monty]

It's in the blood I suppose - Villa fans back as far as anyone can remember, and the family's local since well before the founding - and I remember shedding a tear when we lost the final against Chelsea. My first game, however, was what really cemented it. It was next season, I think. Some of you might remember it - Aston Villa 3 Coventry City 2.

Let's hope tomorrow's final makes up for that terrible day fifteen years ago. And let's hope, if there are kids crying at the end it'll be in joy not in sadness - and that they'll have just been given all the reason they need to be Villa for the rest of their lives.

[Chris Jameson]

Hopefully in years to come this thread will be resurrected and there will be a post saying "I started supporting them in 2015 when I watched them win the Fa Cup on TV".

Then they will be accused of being gloryhunters by us cynical old bastards and they will sign up for a website offering a warm welcome, exclusive news on who the new owner will be (Lerner, aged 82 has still not sold) and the best conspiracy theories on the net as well as a pool cleaning service with 10% discount for all site members.