Thanks Reds

Popped into the club shop today bought my 8 year old some kit, he's never seen a BFC match, he was due to watch his first game this season. He's had all the kits from birth so I've been driving it into him. After playing Fifa for the past couple of seasons he was obsessed with all the stars, l thought I'd lost him to Mbappe, Messi, Ronaldo etc etc so l was determined to get him to Oakwell to get the bug. Coming away from the ground l noticed that the 1st team were training so we went up to the Metrodome, parked up and sat on the hill to watch. The strikers were playing in front of us practising shooting, he was awestruck, a few of the balls came over the fence.. he looked at me and said "Dad, can l boot them back over?" After he launched an impressive kick over the fence Mowatt, Woodrow shouted "cheers, pal" Dike gave him a thumbs up, he gave them a thumbs up back and ran back up the hill.

He's gone to bed and not shut up about it all night, simple things from those lads have made an 8 year olds day and his final words to me were "you'd better get me a season ticket when we can go, did you hear Mowatt saying thanks pal"

Cheers lads, a little thing like that makes a big difference.

 

love that post GO.
Your lad will forever be bonded with you and that bond is now cast in concrete.
thanks for posting. thru bad times and good, our club gave my relationship with my Grandad and my Dad unbelievable depth.
Enjoy!!!!!

 

That's a fantastic story GO, and a great photo as well.

 

Fantastic to hear!

Although I'm a little bit concerned that so many balls were going over the fence the day before a big game

 

Bugger, you beat me to that one.

 

Nice story to start the day with.

 

Just need a nice win to end the day.

 

This is one of the reasons I love our club. My eldest is 17 now, and when he first got into football properly, Chelsea were the big successful team at the time, so he was slipping towards supporting them.

I remember taking him to Oakwell, and while he liked it, I think he enjoyed the day out more than supporting the club, as we obviously didn't have players like Lampard et al, so he saw us as inferior. Then, one day we were sat talking about football and he asked me why I didn't like it he was "supporting" a Premier League team and not his local club. I explained to him the bond that is formed between a local club and it's fanbase, and a lot of that bond is thanks to actually being able to see the team/players in person, not just on a TV screen, being able to actually interact and speak to the players and people from the club. How he will see players out and about who are more than happy to say "hello" and even have a little chat. I explained it kind of like when heavy metal had a resurgence over here in the 80's, and the bands like Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head and Motorhead were able to build huge followings as people could actually get tickets to see them, where to see the likes of Zeplin, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple you only saw them at places like Wembley. We were the Saxon to Chelsea's Zeplin.

I explained also how when he gets to an age where he could go on his own with his mates, he will have experiences he'll never forget as a Reds fan. Whereas supporting a Premier League team he will spend his time sat on his tod in front of a TV set, or in a dumpy pub with another batch of "TV" supporters. And do you know what, the other day he actually thanked me for not giving up on him being a red, and now understands exactly where I was coming from.

 

That's brilliant fella, really is! There's a real feel good factor about everything to do with the club right now! Has your lad been watching any of the games on line at all this season or has it mostly been FIFA?! My eldest is 7 and his grandad (my father in law) has been trying to get him into Leeds! We can't be having that!

 

Frieser, couldn't hit a barn door yesterday. Mowatt, Woodrow and Dike stayed behind practising penalties.

 

Is Childline still going?

That father in law should be reported for child abuse.

 

So if Frieser grabs the ball to take a pen we should be worried!?

 

Lovely post, Gordon. Thank you for sharing.

 

Love this.

 

Great post. Reminds me of going for walks with my Grandad & watching them train as a kid.

 

He's been watching snippets of the games, l suppose they're a hard watch for kids without the fans and atmospheres in the grounds. The problem l have is his mothers a Manc, in his words he's half Mancunian! He took a liking to Man U, l've explained they aren't even the best side in Manchester and mums from the City area anyway!

 

That’s made my day how lovely! Future reds!

 

This story is brilliant. I wish there was a way for a player to send him a message or something.

 

It's a weird one as a kid as to where your loyalties may land.

My grandad first took me to Oakwell when i was 5. I had no idea what was going on and I didn't like being at such a low level as he stood on the front wall of the Ponty. He took me again 2 years later. And I still wasn't bothered. And again the year after.

In 1984/5, a family friend took me to Hillsborough. He was an ex player and had contacts at Wednesday. A couple of times I was taken into the hospitality and had pre match meals. Must have gone 5 or 6 times over the next 2 seasons. I can't say I especially enjoyed it. I did get to see some Division 1 players at the time, so there was more awareness about what was going on.

Then all of a sudden, one weekend instead of going to Hillsborough, i was taken to Oakwell and stood on the corner of the Brewery and Ponty. There was no reason given for this change of venue. But I found myself enjoying it. I read the programme cover to cover. Asked if we were coming here again. I liked it was less crowded and I could see more. Something clicked.

A few months later after I'd been 5 or 6 times to Oakwell, I was given a choice. I could go to Hillsborough and watch a game against Man Utd or I could go to Oakwell. I went to Oakwell. The season after, I got a season ticket for £30 that I'd saved up over the summer for.

 

I loved reading that. X