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[Albion] What does the Albion mean to you?
- Thread starter Munkfish
- Start date
maltaseagull
Well-known member
Listen up newbies! I’ve been supporting the Albion now for 55 years - yes, that’s right FIFTY FIVE YEARS!! I tell you what, the passion never leaves you, it’s there for life. I was as excited when we won promotion in 2017 as I was when I saw us win “my first promotion” in 1972. Cheesy or not it’s a hell of an enduring love.
55 years ago was 1964. We were Champions of Division 4 in 64/65 season. Did you miss that?
I was there that season .100 goals!!
albiongirl
Well-known member
The best thing about following the Albion is the amazing people I have met who are now good friends and most importantly my husband. We had only been dating 3 weeks when we went to the play off final at Cardiff in 2004 what a great day that was. Now our son is a STH since he was 5 he is now 11. It's all about family and friends being part of the #albionfamily in supporting #bhafc
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Gregory2Smith1
J'les aurai!
beating palace
- Apr 19, 2018
- 1,862
Albion are relatively new to me. Hold back with the pitchforks and flames though. I say "relatively" but it's still way more than half my life. I grew up in Surrey (sorry) with half my family coming from Brighton and the other half Geordies. The Geordie side were football mad, the Brighton side much less. My older brother meanwhile was obsessed with watching the local teams and I'd get my football fix from going with him, and generally that meant either going to Walton & Hersham or Woking. I'd always keep an eye out for results coming in from Newcastle, Hartlepool and Brighton though, and I remember the cup final incredibly clearly, almost like it was fate I'd end up supporting Albion because literally the only other games I remember watching from that era are internationals like the 82 world cup and a couple of ones I attended in person.
Anyway, I watched a lot of non-league games, a few first and second division games when money allowed (QPR, Charlton, Arsenal, Fulham - anywhere easy-ish on a train, and I confess I once went to P*l*c* too) and didn't really support any team much to the horror of the mates from school I played football with, all of whom supported Liverpool, Arsenal or Man Utd. There was a single, solitary Brentford fan too, and he was the only football-mad person considered more odd than me. In the glory-hunting plastic hierarchy supporting no team is somehow preferable to supporting a lower league one.
Then in the early 90s I moved to Brighton, went to the Goldstone a fair chunk, and Brighton almost immediately went from a team I had a soft spot for to being "my" team. Carried on going at the Withdean, and got dumped by a girlfriend in the pub after taking her to a game there against Norwich. I can't remember the score but I do remember the Norwich fans chanting "we shoot burglars" because the chap who'd shot someone breaking into his house was in the news. The Amex coincided with a change in circumstances and I've been able to go less frequently than I'd like, but I still get to as many games a season as I can.
So what do the Albion mean to me? I lurked on this board for years before signing up (sorry, "singing" up) and registered maybe a year before my first post, and even though I don't know any of you in person (as far as I know) it feels like a lot of you are my kind of people. I lurk on other fan forums sometimes and just don't get that vibe. The club itself feels like home. I moved out of my parents house at 18 and chose to live in Brighton, and one of the first things I did was go to a game. It's associated with the best times of my life. Even that fateful Norwich game means I ultimately met my wife.
City can have the titles, the presumption of regular success, the star names and all the headlines, but I reckon there's as much glory in a snatching an unexpected winner, in being an unfancied side grinding out survival, in knowing every victory is to be savoured because you don't know when it'll happen again. I genuinely don't see the enjoyment in always winning. Where's the drama? Where's the reward? We have both of those by the bucket-load.
So for me the Albion is grinning from ear to ear at the Goldstone because it feels like the start of a new life, it's being dazzled by sunshine and soaked to the skin at Withdean and it feeling like a connection to the muddy side of the pitch at Walton 15-20 years previously, it's a midweek game against Reading at the Amex and being distracted by hundreds of stars appearing in a darkening blue sky, it's the fans on the concourse before kick-off in the promotion game and that energy, and singing, and community running through everyone there, and these days it's meeting up with mates before a game, then sitting with mini-Exile and explaining yes, they really do say "you're sh*taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh" when the goalkeeper kicks the ball, and yes, "it's all gone quiet over there" is a very funny song, I agree, and seeing the smile on their face and knowing that while we can't do a season ticket just yet like they are desperate for, there's blue and white in their veins now and when we can get one then going to games is something that's going to be "our" thing for life. This is our club, our community, our extended family.
(I've still not risked taking Mrs Exile to a game though. Definitely won't make Norwich next season her first.)
Anyway, I watched a lot of non-league games, a few first and second division games when money allowed (QPR, Charlton, Arsenal, Fulham - anywhere easy-ish on a train, and I confess I once went to P*l*c* too) and didn't really support any team much to the horror of the mates from school I played football with, all of whom supported Liverpool, Arsenal or Man Utd. There was a single, solitary Brentford fan too, and he was the only football-mad person considered more odd than me. In the glory-hunting plastic hierarchy supporting no team is somehow preferable to supporting a lower league one.
Then in the early 90s I moved to Brighton, went to the Goldstone a fair chunk, and Brighton almost immediately went from a team I had a soft spot for to being "my" team. Carried on going at the Withdean, and got dumped by a girlfriend in the pub after taking her to a game there against Norwich. I can't remember the score but I do remember the Norwich fans chanting "we shoot burglars" because the chap who'd shot someone breaking into his house was in the news. The Amex coincided with a change in circumstances and I've been able to go less frequently than I'd like, but I still get to as many games a season as I can.
So what do the Albion mean to me? I lurked on this board for years before signing up (sorry, "singing" up) and registered maybe a year before my first post, and even though I don't know any of you in person (as far as I know) it feels like a lot of you are my kind of people. I lurk on other fan forums sometimes and just don't get that vibe. The club itself feels like home. I moved out of my parents house at 18 and chose to live in Brighton, and one of the first things I did was go to a game. It's associated with the best times of my life. Even that fateful Norwich game means I ultimately met my wife.
City can have the titles, the presumption of regular success, the star names and all the headlines, but I reckon there's as much glory in a snatching an unexpected winner, in being an unfancied side grinding out survival, in knowing every victory is to be savoured because you don't know when it'll happen again. I genuinely don't see the enjoyment in always winning. Where's the drama? Where's the reward? We have both of those by the bucket-load.
So for me the Albion is grinning from ear to ear at the Goldstone because it feels like the start of a new life, it's being dazzled by sunshine and soaked to the skin at Withdean and it feeling like a connection to the muddy side of the pitch at Walton 15-20 years previously, it's a midweek game against Reading at the Amex and being distracted by hundreds of stars appearing in a darkening blue sky, it's the fans on the concourse before kick-off in the promotion game and that energy, and singing, and community running through everyone there, and these days it's meeting up with mates before a game, then sitting with mini-Exile and explaining yes, they really do say "you're sh*taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh" when the goalkeeper kicks the ball, and yes, "it's all gone quiet over there" is a very funny song, I agree, and seeing the smile on their face and knowing that while we can't do a season ticket just yet like they are desperate for, there's blue and white in their veins now and when we can get one then going to games is something that's going to be "our" thing for life. This is our club, our community, our extended family.
(I've still not risked taking Mrs Exile to a game though. Definitely won't make Norwich next season her first.)
Here's as good a place as any to go on a slight tangent.
My boss came to the last 2 games.
He doesn't like football but his son (8) lives breaths etc.
The only other game he'd been to was Southampton v Liverpool and he really didn't enjoy it.
Which is in stark contrast to the Albion, there wasn't a single aspect of either day they didn't enjoy.
So I don't have to drone through everything about the club you already know, I'll just say:-
He was so impressed with Mill Road.
You can fill in the rest.
He said they'll be applying for membership next year and is already eager to return.
All the way through this barrage of gratitude and positivity, I felt really really proud.
Proud that I'm a Albion fan.
Lucky that I still have the one constant through my 40+ years.
Incredibly grateful to Mr Bloom.
I have the next generation of lifelong Albion fan sat beside me who I take to games as my late father did with me.
Despite all the bibbling on, I am so lucky to be an Albion fan.
My boss came to the last 2 games.
He doesn't like football but his son (8) lives breaths etc.
The only other game he'd been to was Southampton v Liverpool and he really didn't enjoy it.
Which is in stark contrast to the Albion, there wasn't a single aspect of either day they didn't enjoy.
So I don't have to drone through everything about the club you already know, I'll just say:-
He was so impressed with Mill Road.
You can fill in the rest.
He said they'll be applying for membership next year and is already eager to return.
All the way through this barrage of gratitude and positivity, I felt really really proud.
Proud that I'm a Albion fan.
Lucky that I still have the one constant through my 40+ years.
Incredibly grateful to Mr Bloom.
I have the next generation of lifelong Albion fan sat beside me who I take to games as my late father did with me.
Despite all the bibbling on, I am so lucky to be an Albion fan.
Farehamseagull
Solly March Fan Club
It means so much to me. The age I’m at now - 37- I’ve experienced a lot of things in life, having to move around the country a lot as a kid and changing schools - never being able to keep the same friends because of this, getting in to trouble as a teenager, relationships - marriage, divorce, grief, job changes, redundancy, children - the Albion has always been a constant for me.
I will admit to probably taking it too seriously at times and I can get probably too high during the highs, and too low during the lows (the opposite of Hughton!) - but I just feel incredibly passionate about the club.
I always remember new years day 2011. My marriage had properly ended the previous day after months of difficulty and I was really upset but I went to the Leyton Orient game and watched us crush them 5.0 with a Murray hat trick. It was a surreal but slightly euphoric feeling and I vividly remember thinking things weren’t all bad and that life will go on!
I will admit to probably taking it too seriously at times and I can get probably too high during the highs, and too low during the lows (the opposite of Hughton!) - but I just feel incredibly passionate about the club.
I always remember new years day 2011. My marriage had properly ended the previous day after months of difficulty and I was really upset but I went to the Leyton Orient game and watched us crush them 5.0 with a Murray hat trick. It was a surreal but slightly euphoric feeling and I vividly remember thinking things weren’t all bad and that life will go on!
Sirnormangall
Well-known member
- Sep 21, 2017
- 2,967
I’ve known ‘the Albion’ longer than I’ve known my parents, my wife and my kids. A 55 year roller coaster, centred around wonderful relationships with family and friends - I couldn’t imagine life without it.
Hi [MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION]. We chatted on here a few weeks back when the Albion were at a very low ebb of playing shite football and in the midst of all those home losses, where you mentioned you lot might not remain STH’er’s.
If we make good signings and end up playing good, winning football under Potter, will that get your Amex mojo back?
SUA Seagull
Well-known member
55 years a Seagull now and I have never lived in Brighton! My uncles and aunts lived in Hove (my family lived in Hackney) and as a kid I used to stay with my relatives during the summer, usually at the end of the school holidays when I could catch the first few games of the season at the Goldstone. I was hooked from the off and have enjoyed the incredible Albion journey ever since.
The Albion is a huge part of my life and always has been. Despite now living in the Midlands I’m a STH and travel to all home games and most aways too, and have done for years. I feel guilty at times at how much time I give up for my BHA passion but my missus is wholly supportive as she knows what it means to me, and shares the highs and lows of my emotions depending upon our results!
My son, now 30 and living in London, was indoctrinated into the ways of the Albion from the age of 4 and he’s a STH too. It’s been a huge part of our lives and has provided some wonderful father-and-son occasions and shared emotions which he’ll remember long after I’m gone.
My pals often ask me why I support Brighton. As with most passions there’s rarely a specific reason; it’s a bond that just happened when I was a kid and I am eternally grateful that it did. BHA is in my DNA!
The Albion is a huge part of my life and always has been. Despite now living in the Midlands I’m a STH and travel to all home games and most aways too, and have done for years. I feel guilty at times at how much time I give up for my BHA passion but my missus is wholly supportive as she knows what it means to me, and shares the highs and lows of my emotions depending upon our results!
My son, now 30 and living in London, was indoctrinated into the ways of the Albion from the age of 4 and he’s a STH too. It’s been a huge part of our lives and has provided some wonderful father-and-son occasions and shared emotions which he’ll remember long after I’m gone.
My pals often ask me why I support Brighton. As with most passions there’s rarely a specific reason; it’s a bond that just happened when I was a kid and I am eternally grateful that it did. BHA is in my DNA!
Fifty years and a few weeks since my first home game.
For me, though, the Gillingham and early Withdean years coincided with utter turmoil in my life, and the weekly football (we started going to loads of away games back then) was a blessed oasis in a desert of stress. That was in the middle third of my Albion experience.
When I was at school it was hard to take the Albion seriously in comparison with the big clubs. I never much had a sense of belonging and place then, so my adherence to the football team was not automatic and not predicated by tribalism. And to be fair, nobody I went to school with was any different. We all had our school bags - Leeds, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool (no ManU because they were shite at the time). Some of us went to the Goldstone, but there wasn't any talk of it at school. Maybe (for old HGSB lags) this was simply because I was in the L stream with all the swots, but....
But.....things changed when I hit 40, as noted above. I found myself thinking about the Albion all the time. Brooding, a lot of the time. But the days out......amazine. And the sense of belonging, pride in the team and the city (even though I haven't lived there for 40 years).....unbelievable football days....and met loads of new mates. Lovely people.
And now, **** me, we are in the PL, with an amazing professional well-run club, smashing stadium - a present and a future.
And I still think about the Albion every day. Coming on here doesn't hinder that, it has to be said
Unlike every single other fan I bet you loved it when we moved to gillingham. A stroll to the ground.
Giving up out season tickets was never about football, more so the amount of games and seat availability for a prolonged stay in the Championship.
I'd miss too many games esp the Saturday/Tuesday ballache so I'd imagine the price of the ticket, even with the fantastic DD just wouldn't make sense.
Still thankfully that's now at least 2 seasons away (unless we're relegated by Christmas, as some seem to think)
el punal
Well-known member
Sort of missed it - saw one game. My true supporting bit started at the start of 1965/66 season. Hey - what’s a couple of months between friends!
Horses Arse
Well-known member
Was he the surprise Magee keeper choice at Southampton? Or was that the dodgy Danish one on loan from Reading? So many shit keepers it's a bit of a blur
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Superphil
Dismember
Just the one appearance for us, not sure who it was against, but he had a cracking shirt for it
I have posted about this previously. It made it very easy to go to games, and I ended up going to all the 'home' games. My son moved back from Canada to live with me in 98 so his indoctrination started at roughly the same time.
But losing the Goldstone was a shocking moment. I was one of those who could not go near that part of Hove until the first league game at the Amex (when I went and paid my respects).
Admittedly I haven’t lived in Brighton for a long time but I still haven’t been to the new goldstone site. I’ve gone out of my way to avoid it. I want to preserve those memories of walking from the alliance and Leicester car park to the ground, with my dad.
In my head the goldstone is still there!
SULLY COULDNT SHOOT
Loyal2Family+Albion!
I moved to Brighton at the age of ten.....up to that point had a pretty messed up family life, always moving, lots of ups and downs.
Second week in Brighton, my stepfather's friend took me to see Peter Wards score a hat-trick fro the England under 21s at the Goldstone. My next match was Brighton and Hull a few weeks later. The friend moved on. I didn't. Since that day the Albion has been the one constant in my life and no matter where I've been in the world the Albion went with me.
What does Albion mean to me? Home. That is all and that is everything.
Second week in Brighton, my stepfather's friend took me to see Peter Wards score a hat-trick fro the England under 21s at the Goldstone. My next match was Brighton and Hull a few weeks later. The friend moved on. I didn't. Since that day the Albion has been the one constant in my life and no matter where I've been in the world the Albion went with me.
What does Albion mean to me? Home. That is all and that is everything.
SULLY COULDNT SHOOT
Loyal2Family+Albion!
Anyone mention Scott Flinders?