Most intimidating match day experience you've had?

[asteener1867]

I know a load of folk will look at threads like this an' think "F.ookin' idiots"..But you honestly had to be there...not only be there but travel away in those days...Hillsborough was mainly safe as houses ..for an Owls fan...but some away games..you honestly couldn't stay out of it.

I can remember booking Millwall away for a night game...Went down to the old S.U.T office in Pond st to collect the big yellow tickets  the week before..then you sorta counted the days down...Millwall away ..sounds ok the week before....sounds..more or less ok 4 days before...get to the Tuesday its.... "What in the name of f.ook were we thinkin'!!

Anyone who hasn't been to The Den on a tuesday night in the 70's will have no idea what I'm talking about...and honestly that time...sod all happened....but it was totally unnerving...."Cold blow Lane"...the walk through to the ground, that echoing "MIIILLLWAAALLLL" chant....you used to get back to Pond st and virtually kiss the pavement...

[Utah Owl]

12 minutes ago, everydays_wednesday said:

Portsmouth in the early 80s me and my missus jumped up in the stand when Gary Mason scored from the halfway line. Turns out everyone in the stand except us 2 was between 40 and 50 and from Portsmouth. They all stood up and threatened us if we didn’t sit down !!!

 

Soon sat down and kept our mouths shut!

 

Won 1-0 so worth it 

The deflected 35 yard free kick with us Wednesday fans behind it on the open terrace?

 

Lashed it down all bloody day and we were as soaked as I've ever been in my life (by the end of the game, my programme - which was in my jacket pocket - was nothing more than Papier Mache and had to be binned). It was the day of the infamous "Slow Train From Portsmouth" anyone else on that?

[Utah Owl]

2 minutes ago, asteener1867 said:

I know a load of folk will look at threads like this an' think "F.ookin' idiots"..But you honestly had to be there...not only be there but travel away in those days...Hillsborough was mainly safe as houses ..for an Owls fan...but some away games..you honestly couldn't stay out of it.

I can remember booking Millwall away for a night game...Went down to the old S.U.T office in Pond st to collect the big yellow tickets  the week before..then you sorta counted the days down...Millwall away ..sounds ok the week before....sounds..more or less ok 4 days before...get to the Tuesday its.... "What in the name of f.ook were we thinkin'!!

Anyone who hasn't been to The Den on a tuesday night in the 70's will have no idea what I'm talking about...and honestly that time...sod all happened....but it was totally unnerving...."Cold blow Lane"...the walk through to the ground, that echoing "MIIILLLWAAALLLL" chant....you used to get back to Pond st and virtually kiss the pavement...

Hate to break it to you Andy but we are the old folk now!

[asteener1867]

8 minutes ago, Utah Owl said:

Hate to break it to you Andy but we are the old folk now!

Yea ..I know mate....Its all changed for the better but its hard to explain what it was like back then..I have always gone for the football and to follow to the club...During the 70's and 80's..I hardly missed a game home or away...

These days...Ive turned into a virtual homer...always had a season ticket, go the odd away game...but back then...Every Saturday was Wednesday..nowt else to do....We had some bloody awful hooligans back then..I was never there for a fight...but was I grateful some Owls were...Absolutely....

Cos anyone who thinks you could walk down a street anywhere in the bloody country..on yer own..back then..is either totally deluded..or didn't travel away...cos theres many a time ive been grateful for the sorta protection an Owls following gave....you didn't have to get involved....but you were happy some others did

Edited July 21, 2021 by asteener1867

[Utah Owl]

13 minutes ago, asteener1867 said:

Yea ..I know mate....Its all changed for the better but its hard to explain what it was like back then..I have always gone for the football and to follow to the club...During the 70's and 80's..I hardly missed a game home or away...

These days...Ive turned into a virtual homer...always had a season ticket, go the odd away game...but back then...Every Saturday was Wednesday..nowt else to do....We had some bloody awful hooligans back then..I was never there for a fight...but was I grateful some Owls were...Absolutely....

Cos anyone who thinks you could walk down a street anywhere in the bloody country..on yer own..back then..is either totally deluded..or didn't travel away...cos theres many a time ive been grateful for the sorta protection an Owls following gave....you didn't have to get involved....but you were happy some others did

Similar story here, certainly there was an edge to going away in the 70's especially. It wasn't just at the matches either, the journey to and from could be fraught with danger too. We got bricked at numerous service stations over the years running into the likes of Leeds, Villa, City various others.

 

Certainly was a way to get your adrenaline rush!

[Hughdowd]

1 hour ago, asteener1867 said:

Yea ..I know mate....Its all changed for the better but its hard to explain what it was like back then..I have always gone for the football and to follow to the club...During the 70's and 80's..I hardly missed a game home or away...

These days...Ive turned into a virtual homer...always had a season ticket, go the odd away game...but back then...Every Saturday was Wednesday..nowt else to do....We had some bloody awful hooligans back then..I was never there for a fight...but was I grateful some Owls were...Absolutely....

Cos anyone who thinks you could walk down a street anywhere in the bloody country..on yer own..back then..is either totally deluded..or didn't travel away...cos theres many a time ive been grateful for the sorta protection an Owls following gave....you didn't have to get involved....but you were happy some others did

Exactly…… first thing you did in them days  was see if ..Fat sid…Thommo…Bathtub ..Stockbridge lads etc where there cos you knew these lads would give it back if anything happened…..This was pre internet/ mobile phone days…. So it was a relief to see these people and we all became a “mob “ for the day 

[Mr Mercury]

Millwall - The (original) den and West Ham - Upton Park , nothing compares to them .

However - Was at the Man U game too as has  been mentioned loads on this thread - that was bad and mate on our bus got hospitalised in Manchester (jaw wired back together…) … 

We stayed behind for yonks searching for him only to find out he’d been rushed to hospital ..

Horrible journey back to sheff minus one off our bus …

The return leg at S6 was “interesting” … justice served ! 

 

[parkfieldowl14]

10 hours ago, Spion Kop said:

Remember going for a night match on the football special but not sure of the year, good old British Rail.

 

[Spion Kop]

58 minutes ago, asteener1867 said:

I know a load of folk will look at threads like this an' think "F.ookin' idiots"..But you honestly had to be there...not only be there but travel away in those days...Hillsborough was mainly safe as houses ..for an Owls fan...but some away games..you honestly couldn't stay out of it.

I can remember booking Millwall away for a night game...Went down to the old S.U.T office in Pond st to collect the big yellow tickets  the week before..then you sorta counted the days down...Millwall away ..sounds ok the week before....sounds..more or less ok 4 days before...get to the Tuesday its.... "What in the name of f.ook were we thinkin'!!

Anyone who hasn't been to The Den on a tuesday night in the 70's will have no idea what I'm talking about...and honestly that time...sod all happened....but it was totally unnerving...."Cold blow Lane"...the walk through to the ground, that echoing "MIIILLLWAAALLLL" chant....you used to get back to Pond st and virtually kiss the pavement...

1st time there in the 70s, was only about 14 (read my earlier posts).Scariest thing for me was seeing a bloke about 40 in their pen shouting and pointing the finger at me and telling me what he was going to do to me outside after the match. Just about every coach got bricked on the way back.

Any game we played in Colchester, Southend, Gillingham, Charlton or Palace, always West Ham or Millwall fans wanting a crack at us northerners.

Same when we played the London clubs at Hillsborough, many occasions you would see the same big black bloke taking on the Wednesdsy fans on the Leppings Lane end.

 

[Spion Kop]

9 minutes ago, parkfieldowl14 said:

 

Quality picture, not many clubs would take or full a football special train to Cardiff for a night match from the North of England. 

[kirksandallowl]

8 hours ago, 1867Heaven said:

Old Trafford in cup semi final 1994, we were still doing the dam busters tune with our arms out from when we played Kaiserslautern and they thought we were taking ******** out of Munich so they attacked the away end, no one was off limits, my sisters mate took a good hiding and she was a 16 year old girl

Yeah was a bit tasty that one, remember my mate was absolutely hanging, he’d had a “dodgy kebab” the night before, definitely not the dozen or more pints before the kebab, definitely the kebab. 

[torryowl]

the den in the 70s was by far the most intimidating ground ive been to......

[elyowl1]

Never has an issue watching Wednesday, but was at the Galatasary match in 2000 courtesy of an Uni friend. 

Truly frightening never been back to Turkey since and will never set foot in the country again. 

 

 

[Mountain Owl]

2 hours ago, Utah Owl said:

The deflected 35 yard free kick with us Wednesday fans behind it on the open terrace?

 

Lashed it down all bloody day and we were as soaked as I've ever been in my life (by the end of the game, my programme - which was in my jacket pocket - was nothing more than Papier Mache and had to be binned). It was the day of the infamous "Slow Train From Portsmouth" anyone else on that?

Yep was there. 

The train was literally steaming as loads of stripped males hung their super wet clothes from the overhead racks. Think we arrived back at Sheffield midland in the very early hours of Sunday morning.

 

[Prendo's boots]

On 20/07/2021 at 21:05, Supervisor2 said:

Playing a version of hide n seek around the back streets of Moss Side on a Tuesday night  (v Man City League cup 79)

Also making the ‘short walk’ from the Upton Park tube station to West Ham ground without a police escort  (and back) 1980

 

I agree, the Newcastle trip that day was a real eye opener (literally)

 

 

That Man City League Cup match was bloody horrible afterwards... well and during too actually ... We were in the side stand and when we went one up quite late on in the game and just small pockets of Wednesday fans who had got in there all jumped up going barmy then all hell let loose! Couldn't remember where we'd parked afterwards either that was fun.... 

[Utah Owl]

27 minutes ago, elyowl1 said:

Never has an issue watching Wednesday, but was at the Galatasary match in 2000 courtesy of an Uni friend. 

Truly frightening never been back to Turkey since and will never set foot in the country again. 

 

 

Was that the infamous leeds game?

[Dab]

On 20/07/2021 at 17:09, Sham67 said:

Your probably right. We went drinking in the west end after and I’d have only been 17 in ‘75.

Big black you mentioned was known as Tiny, which he certainly wasn’t. Whenever we played in London he would turn up. Why did he always turn up against us I don’t know.

[Sham67]

Just now, Dab said:

Big black you mentioned was known as Tiny, which he certainly wasn’t. Whenever we played in London he would turn up. Why did he always turn up against us I don’t know.

I think you’re quoting the wrong fella.

[elyowl1]

26 minutes ago, Utah Owl said:

Was that the infamous leeds game?

Yes, the whole time there was very unpleasant to say the least. 

[Dab]

5 minutes ago, Sham67 said:

I think you’re quoting the wrong fella.

Yes sorry