Who are you? Chris, 35, Data Manager, originally from Aldridge but now live in Worcester. In the words of David Byrne, how did I get here?
Why are you a Villa Fan? It was purely the influence of my Granddad. The rest of my immediate family had no great love for football but my Granddad was already paying pensioner prices by the time he started taking me, so it was a cheap way of providing him with some matchday company. He used to go with my Uncle George who passed away when I was 10, and my growing awareness of the game coincided with it. From then on, we went to most games together.
Who/ What got you into becoming a Villan? See above, but what really grew my obsession was the atmosphere of the Holte. When I first went I couldn't believe the size of Villa Park, or the smells of the food, the noise and the scale of it. My Grandad used to park himself a third of the way up the Holte and I would stand right behind the goal with the other little toe-rags. The excitement of seeing the players all hacking away in the area right in front of me was incredible, and then later on, you'd see the same thing on television! In autumn and winter you'd arrive in the daytime and leave in the dark. Basically, Villa Park was like magic in my eyes.
What is that one memory that sticks out as a Villa fan? (Best experience/ best memory) Unfortunately for me I missed out on the League Cup Finals of the 90's, but that didn't stop me going crackers watching both on television. 5-1 was ace - by the fourth the North Stand Lower was chaos, and you coukd have asked me to do anything at that point and I was too gone to say no. But my absolute best memory was the Atletico Madrid quarter final second leg. Me and my mate Gav had got some late tickets in the Witton Lane right next to the away fans and it was tasty all game. When Collymore scored that screamer, I remember us both looking at each other, in complete ecstasy, before hugging this pair of huge skinheads behind us in joy. At that moment, I think I was happier than any time before or since.
What was the worst moment for you as a Villa fan? The two FA Cup Finals. 2000 shades it because we had as much right to win that trophy as Chelsea. Although I was at the Arsenal one, which was a dream come true, as soon as I saw the first Arsenal attack I knew we were in for a long day. Didn't stop the desolate coach journey home. But 2000, when I came back especially to watch it with my Granddad on a Saturday afternoon as it always should be, and we blew it. The only competition which counts for me. Last time I cried over a Villa result, and I was 19 at the time. It still hurts.
Do you have any superstitions? I used to wear lucky pants - a pair of battered boxers which co-incided with John Gregory's arrival. Then my Mum washed them over the close season and they never worked again. But I've tried hard to banish rituals because they were more or less ruining any day the Villa played. Now I leave that to the team alone.
What is your memorabilia? I don't have loads; I suffered a house fire a decade ago and a lot went up in smoke. I have a load of replica shirts, a genuine European Cup programme and a huge stack of assorted ones from my and my Granddad's supporting life. He used to see the Villa staff and team in the Hardwick in Streetly and bring me back various stuff - 1988-89 accounts review signed by Graham Taylor, anyone? But the ones that mean the most are linked to him directly - a framed fiver from a bet he won from a West Ham fan about who would stay up in 1988, and a sealed copy of the book about the 1982 European Cup win which I bought him for Christmas in 2007, when he was dying and more or less in a coma. He never came round to be able to read it, so it's going to stay sealed because it was meant for him.
Who is your all time Villa Legend and why? As I've got older, Paul McGrath has cemented his place, but I never appreciated his game when I watched him in the flesh, obsessed with goals as I was. The word legend gets overused, but I bloody love Ian Taylor. Fan of the team, gets signed from basically a journeyman career, scores for the club at Wembley and wins a pot. What's not to like about that story?
What is your favourite Villa Kit? No contest, the 90-92 home top. I got a shonky version for Christmas 1990 which my Mum had to sew the badge onto. I was straight out, Boxing Day morning in bare arms lashing balls against my Nan's back wall trying to be David Platt.
Call to Action: We meet many people in life. We so rarely get a chance to connect. Being a Villa fan puts me in the company of people who made an informed, intelligent and emotional choice. They haven't run to the siren song of richer clubs, or hidden their allegiance when the bad times came around. They know they made the right choice to follow Aston Villa, who are the only club that matter. The others are just there to give us somebody to play.
And that is why I am Villa till I die!
Why are you?
