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Any non-Sheffield folk on here who fell in love with SWFC?


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I was born near Amersham in Buckinghamshire.  in the late 50s when I started playing football as a kid on the village common most of the others kids supported Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool et al but my brother and I were different, he supported Wolves and I chose Wednesday. Not until much later in life and with my young son in tow we came to Hillsborough for most home games, this was circa late 80s & early 90s. It was around a 320 miles trip.

He eventually went to Leeds University so could manage most home games even mid weekers.  

I now live in Norfolk and because of circumstances do not get to games but my support is always there for every game which I follow on the internet. 

So I've been a non-Sheffield based or born supporter for over 60 years.

 

Edited by Owlsbury
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Born and raised in Cheshire. When i was a kid in the 60/70's i supported Liverpool. Broke my leg playing football when i was 17 and fell out of love with it. When my son was about 6 he started talking about Sheffield Wednesday. No idea why and neither has he. Took him to a few games and he and i fell in love with the place. Many years later still loving it we bought season tickets and did the journey every week often going to away as well. Still love it

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Born in Doncaster, but we moved to the south west when I was about four.

 

I always retained a bit of a Yorkshire twang but an odd one: dad was from Hull, mum from Middlesbrough. I was teased about this, but I've always been quite big and physical, so was confident enough to double down on it. I wanted a Yorkshire club to follow; my dad had a couple of Wednesday friends who we saw occasionally and who I liked, and that was it. A passing interest became something of an obsession after the 1979 FA cup saga.

 

 

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Some great stories. Mine is similar to many others as another Donny Owl.

 

My Dad took me to lots of grounds and matches in the late 70s funnily enough except for Bramhall lane. My first visit to Hillsborough which i remember to this day as a 7 years old is the Arsenal cup match in 79. I blame being a Wednesdayite on chuffing snow balls.

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8 hours ago, jordyowl said:

My step dad and I are from Bridlington with no Sheffield connections.

 

he fell in love with Wednesday in the late 70’s (division 3 days) he and 3 mates were Hull City fans. He always tells me about playing Wednesday towards end of the season and not having a lot to play for but pulling up at Boothferry on the train and seeing a sea of blue and white around the ground and huge noise. 

He and his mates decided the next season to go and watch a few Wednesday games as they though it looked ‘flipping ace’ 

 

All 4 if them fell in love with Wednesday so I was lumbered with them when he came into my life! 

That was probably the season we were already down mate...Owls all over the ground, I was on that green roofed terrace that ran down the side of the ground...Hull actually made an announcement pre kick off saying  "Wonderful support, Already relegated yet you turn up in thousands"..I think it was to curb any trouble....Then about a thousand Wednesday charged onto their Kop ..er..different days back then... lol

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On the 1st December 1990 I went to my 1st football game to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners despite goals from Lineker and Gascoigne.

 

I went to a school in London and you were either Arsenal or Tottenham as they were the best two teams from London around then. I wasn't great at football then and I was more of an egg chaser mainly because of my dad. I watched my 1st game and wondered what all the fuss was all about aged 9.

 

It was then that my mum got an acting job at the Lyceum for 3 months and we moved to Sheffield temporarily at 1st. The new school I was in was mainly united fans and I thought if I'm being bullied as a southerner I may as well follow Wednesday as well. A few months later we beat man united in the league cup final and I felt like a king.

 

Got a season ticket the following season and my neighbour but one used to take me without fail for many years. My attendance over the years has waned what with other life commitments but despite our many shortcomings I wouldn't change a thing.

Edited by Mystic Neg
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Born and bred in Halifax, all my mates supported Man Utd or Liverpool but never went to see them play and I couldn't see the point.

I wanted to support a Yorkshire club and although I occasionally went to watch Halifax Town I didn't fall in love. I certainly wasn't going to be a Leeds fan, so a certain Mr Di Canio and Mr Carbone made me choose the owls. Been a season ticket holder for many years now/

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I'm very much in the Owlsbury category. In the autumn of 1954 when I started noticing league tables printed in newspapers, all my friends were interested in Wolves & Manchester United as they were top of the Division 1 listings. Nestling at the bottom at that time(by quite a way) was a club I took an immediate shine to, possibly because of it's unusual name. Anyway, promotion followed the inevitable relegation(the 2nd of the three yo-yo relegations & promotions) and then I persuaded my father to take me to my first professional football match in September 1957 when I was just coming up to 10 years old. It was at White Hart Lane and Wednesday lost 4-2(I believe they scored first and may have led at half-time) on the way to that 3rd 1950's relegation. What I loved were the blue and white stripes and black shorts and the players having a real go in the last 10 minutes, pulling one goal back(Ellis I seem to remember) and trying to score another. I was hooked! And then of course with the Catterick years I thought I'd backed a winner after all! Despite all the disappointments the love goes on more than 60 years later! And may I also say that when I do make the occasional trip to Hillsborough the Wednesday fans are always very welcoming despite my funny accent!

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I started following Wednesday in the late 80s. Having no connection with Sheffield, my father and grandfather were both Liverpool fans, growing up in South Wales most of my school friends were fans of Liverpool, Man U or Arsenal, etc. Without a team but a follower of football and enjoyed playing football as a kid too, I watched a Wednesday v Liverpool highlights game on TV, and I can remember my family telling me to pick a team. I chose Wednesday, as I was struck by David Hirst and Dalian Atkinson running rings around the famous Liverpool defence of that time, at the time Liverpool were the best team in the League and I foolishly thought we'd be that good we looked that day. In typical Wednesday fashion, we got relegated that very first season I started following us, despite having one of the most exciting strike forces of that time. We followed it up with the momentous promotion and Cup Winning season and a few memorable years in the top flight, getting into Europe, challenging at the top end of the League and making plenty of trips to Wembley.

 

I quickly became accustomed to the many up's and down's, highs and lows of being a Wednesday fan but I'm glad that the famous old Wednesday chose me because those numerous highs and lows are for me far more exciting and interesting, than being a boring fan of one of the true giants. Has they don't really feel or know the true meaning of being a fan that's experienced relegation and other lows, which makes you value the better times even more and makes them even sweeter because we're lucky to still have our famous old club.

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In November 1960 I had just bought my first car. I was twenty years old and totally immune to football. Sat in the local on Friday night and one of my mates said "Spurs are at Forest tomorrow". It meant very little to me, except that they were top of the league with a team full of internationals, but my mates talked me into taking them. Spurs won 4-0 and were absolutely brilliant,and I really enjoyed my baptism in the game. As we were travelling home to North Derbyshire one of the mates was reading the programme and said that Spurs next away match was at Hillsborough, so we decided to go and watch the mighty Spurs again.

So on Saturday Nov. 12th I stood on the Kop for the first time and watched with 58300 others as The Owls beat the then unbeaten Spurs for the time that season. I was hooked, and have been waiting for success for the last 58 years, and watched the blue and white wizards more than 1500 times whilst waiting!

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Dad was a big Halifax Town supporter in the 60's and 70's so naturally I went down the Shay. By the early 80's the Shaymen were fairly dire and after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Whitby Town Dad proclaimed that we would never darken the doors again. 

 

Id have been about 8 or 9 at the time and on the way home thought that I better get thinking on who my new team would be. As I walked in the room at home who's picture should come up on Grandstand but Mel Sterland, I think he'd bagged a brace up at St James Park. Mel was in his blue and white stripes (same as the Shaymen) and my fate was sealed.

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I have lived in Blackpool for almost 40 years. My grandad lived in Sheffield at the time I started supporting Wednesday, but  the reasons I started supporting them was because:

1. I didn’t want to support Liverpool or man united like everyone else 

2. The great Sir Chris Waddle

 

like most on here, we will never forget that team of the early/mid 90’s. It still fills me with excitement when I see clips on the internet or recaps of premier league season highlights on sky

 

the great thing is, even though my close friends don’t support them, when football is on tv in the pub for the past 20 years each one of them says WAWAW. As Good or as awful as we have been, you can’t help fall in love with the owls!

 

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