Off topic - A View from the Watford End

[Set of Tracksuits]

I know it's three days late, but just to brighten the mood a little, I thought I'd mention what my mate (Watford season ticket holder) said to me before and after the game.

I've always been curious about how loud we sound in the ground and whether the opposing fans can hear what's being said. Anyway, before the game we stopped at "The Moon Under The Water" to lubricate the vocal chords a little, and he warned me that the place would be "full of Watford". Bracing myself I stepped into the pub to be greeted with a rousing "We hate Palace...". An excellent start.

After a couple of pints we moved to an almost embarassingly quiet "home" pub where the fans seemed more interested in watching Villa vs Chelsea than their own match. 1 - 0 to the Albion then.

After the game he said that we were the best support he'd seen at Vicarage Road for a long time, and that he had felt rather uncomfortable at the lack of noise from the Watford fans. He was particularly impressed with the reaction following their goal, when the singing seemed to get louder. They could also hear more or less every word, including the classic "should have gone to the library". Ouch.

He also said that from their end, when we scored it looked like "everyone had gone ape-shit for about 5 minutes".

Superb effort from everyone who went!!

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

He also said that from their end, when we scored it looked like "everyone had gone ape-shit for about 5 minutes".

thats cause we did!!!! twas excellent!!!!

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Damn right! I nearly ended up on the pitch. Again. Must try to control myself.

 

[SK1NT]

Yea on the championship on sun morning after Virgos super goal, i ran to the front of the rows and jumped on that little wall! i was on tv

we do have the best fans surely!

 

[The Large One]

It’s up there, in fact probably beats, last year at Rushden & Diamonds. Hate to be smug, but we were superb.

I took my 7 year old nephew for his first away game. My sister (his mum) is still not happy with us as he is STILL buzzing about it - I mean really pestering her. He had a right paddy with me when I spoke to him yesterday and told him that I couldn’t take him to the Wolves games tonight. Being the good uncle, I told him I didn’t appreciate the ‘horrid pig’ tag he gave me in response, but I am so proud of him wanting to see the Albion again - and again. Watford was THAT good.

Acorns, eh?

 

[CHAPPERS]

Watford for me was better than Rushden. The noise at the end of the game and seeing the whole stand with their arms in the air made me shake, literally, with pride.

It was f***ing beautiful.

 

[Set of Tracksuits]

I took my 7 year old nephew for his first away game. My sister (his mum) is still not happy with us as he is STILL buzzing about it - I mean really pestering her.

I love reading and hearing stuff like that because it was away games like that (and those at the Goldstone) that made me go back week after week until supporting the Albion became the kind of addiction that it is for me today.

I just wish every game was like Watford, because for all the kids that go when it's brilliant, there are probably the same number that go when it's not, and don't want to come back again.

 

[tinx]

My mate took his son but had to leave early cos it was too loud for him, he's only four bless him and it was too much.

 

[ditchy]

i was in the Rous so was able to hear both ends (when the Rookery bothered to sing ).. The atmosphere sounded awesome in the away end ..wish i was in there ..sounded loud .. only thing i coulnt make out was the wanker chant at the stewards on the side of the Rous ..couldnt see what was going on from my seat ...atmosphere tops one of the best

 

[unnameable]

I was there. Our fans were tremendous, especially when Darren Currie came over to us and urged us to raise the already-high volume. All hell broke loose when we scored.
At half-time, I saw the legendary Yorkie. I spotted the name on the back of her shirt. She was with a bloke who had "FCUK PALACE" on his back. I wonder if she managed to get down to the front row without spilling her coffee.

 

[Easy 10]

I took my 7 year old nephew for his first away game. My sister (his mum) is still not happy with us as he is STILL buzzing about it - I mean really pestering her. He had a right paddy with me when I spoke to him yesterday and told him that I couldn’t take him to the Wolves games tonight. Being the good uncle, I told him I didn’t appreciate the ‘horrid pig’ tag he gave me in response, but I am so proud of him wanting to see the Albion again - and again. Watford was THAT good.

Acorns, eh?

Just think, in years to come your nephew will be contributing to threads on NSC and proudly recalling his first ever match, when his big hairy uncle took him to Watford and our defender-come-striker scored an absolute screamer.

I'm choking up just thinking about it.

 

[The Large One]

Just think, in years to come your nephew will be contributing to threads on NSC and proudly recalling his first ever match, when his big hairy uncle took him to Watford and our defender-come-striker scored an absolute screamer.

I'm choking up just thinking about it.

My nephew is very accident-prone - I mean a lunatic. From where we were sitting (Yorkie can back me up on this, she was two rows behind me), we were right in the line of the shot. If Virgo had hit it a foot higher, we would have caught the ball - so you can imagine how it looked for us.

Suffice to say our lad, who was already standing on his seat, starting jumping up and down - beside himself with joy, especially when Virgo came over to right in front of us. (He wants a ‘19’ and ‘Virgo’ on his new Albion top.)

Lewis (my nephew) hasn’t quite worked out the concept of how seats flip up, and he put his foot towards the back of the seat, the seat flipped up and he ended up legs astride the upturned seat. As he is only little, his legs didn’t reach the ground at this point, so he is looking a bit concerned with (as he puts it), ‘a chair up my nuts’. Eventually he falls to the floor. Without the merest suspicion of worry or fear, he immediately jumps up back onto his seat - and exactly the same thing happened again...

He got back up the third time looking a bit pissed off more than worried, but saying ‘what a great goal - Adam Virgo’s really brilliant...’

At the end of the day, my brother (Seagull73) who was with us took him back home, (I had to go elsewhere) but not after Lewis had given me the biggest hug he could saying that it was ‘my best day ever...’

Back home, his mum asked him whether he was singing, and he told her he was, but not the ones with swear words. ‘But Uncle Alan and Uncle Gary sang lots of swear words...’

Dat’s ma boy...

 

[Yorkie]

She was with a bloke who had "FCUK PALACE" on his back. I wonder if she managed to get down to the front row without spilling her coffee.

That's brighton b0y, who had bought the half time drink and I didn't spill a drop.

 

[Grizz]

It’s up there, in fact probably beats, last year at Rushden & Diamonds. Hate to be smug, but we were superb.

I took my 7 year old nephew for his first away game. My sister (his mum) is still not happy with us as he is STILL buzzing about it - I mean really pestering her. He had a right paddy with me when I spoke to him yesterday and told him that I couldn’t take him to the Wolves games tonight. Being the good uncle, I told him I didn’t appreciate the ‘horrid pig’ tag he gave me in response, but I am so proud of him wanting to see the Albion again - and again. Watford was THAT good.

Acorns, eh?

A lovely story m8. I too was in the away end and yes we did go totally beserk when we equalised. The GOSBTS after the Watford goal must've been the best rendition i've heard for a very long time, getting goose-bumps just thinking about it. Imagine 2248 Albion fans in unison in full voice singing that song. Awesome.

What i did want to say was that i hope in 6 years time i'll be able to take my nephew to his first away game and he comes back with the same feeling. That's why its so important that we fight for this club til the end. Not just for us and those that go on a regular basis, but for those kids that haven't had the pleasure of savouring that victorious moment or feeling of family we get as an Albion fan.

Grizz

 

[larus]

Large one. That's great news and I hope you get to take the little lad to loads more games (tell his Mum that if you stop it now, he'll be mentally scarred for life ).

I'm a season ticket holder with my 10 year old. After the game last night, we were walking to the car and I said to him, "It's a shame that the atmosphere at the home games isn't as good as the away". He replied, "I prefer the away games, and I like going to different grounds." Top news, got to work on his Mum now.

 

[On the Left Wing]

I wasn't at Watford (unfortunately) but the best atmosphere I have witnessed among the Albion at away games in the past three or four years was at Sheff Wednesday last season. The atmosphere was just awesome even among a crowd of 17,000 plus!

 

[Brixtaan]

Definitely feel better now.

The occasion deserved an open-top bus ride afterwards.

 

[SussexSpur]

My nephew is very accident-prone - I mean a lunatic. From where we were sitting (Yorkie can back me up on this, she was two rows behind me), we were right in the line of the shot. If Virgo had hit it a foot higher, we would have caught the ball - so you can imagine how it looked for us.

Suffice to say our lad, who was already standing on his seat, starting jumping up and down - beside himself with joy, especially when Virgo came over to right in front of us. (He wants a ‘19’ and ‘Virgo’ on his new Albion top.)

Lewis (my nephew) hasn’t quite worked out the concept of how seats flip up, and he put his foot towards the back of the seat, the seat flipped up and he ended up legs astride the upturned seat. As he is only little, his legs didn’t reach the ground at this point, so he is looking a bit concerned with (as he puts it), ‘a chair up my nuts’. Eventually he falls to the floor. Without the merest suspicion of worry or fear, he immediately jumps up back onto his seat - and exactly the same thing happened again...

He got back up the third time looking a bit pissed off more than worried, but saying ‘what a great goal - Adam Virgo’s really brilliant...’

At the end of the day, my brother (Seagull73) who was with us took him back home, (I had to go elsewhere) but not after Lewis had given me the biggest hug he could saying that it was ‘my best day ever...’

Back home, his mum asked him whether he was singing, and he told her he was, but not the ones with swear words. ‘But Uncle Alan and Uncle Gary sang lots of swear words...’

Dat’s ma boy...

One of the times I've laughed most at a match was at a Spurs-Liverpool game, I went to with my dad who was on crutches after doing his knee in. In the seat next to me was not the usual season ticket-holder, but someone obviously several dozen sheets to the wind, hollering and chanting and urging everyone onwards. Fairy nuff. Game kicks off, Spurs score within the first few minutes and everyone surges to their feet, punching the air. Suddenly, I break off from celebrating to notice, next to me, not a fellow supporter leaping up and down, but a pair of feet sticking up in the air, obviously attached to a body which has plunged at least two rows further forward than it should be. Was suddenly struck by panic that my crocked dad had overreached himself - only to turn the other way to find him, still sitting down, and giggling him to himself. Of course, it was the drunken stranger whose accidental yet Olympic-worthy dive had been witnessed by just one person in the stadium - yet a person who truly appreciated its value. A few bemused supporters in front helped the bloke up, he seemed entirely unfazed by his celebratory topple, continued giving it all that til half-time, then disappeared. . . and I've never seen him again. But still smile at the memory.
Hmm, that turned out to be a bit of a long-winded, boring anecdote, didn't it? Suppose you had to be there. . .
Girl I sit next to has happily indoctrinated her young nephew - he comes along occasionally, deliberately testing our boundaries of patience by mischievously complimenting the Scum, before cultivating a random adulation for a very unlikely, different player each time - even Ben Thatcher one week, during a particularly depressing patch. . .
His folks are Gooners, so lucky the Spurs contingent of the family resorted to desperate, early doors measures - took him to a half-term Spurs training camp, at which he was photographed and featured in Tottenham kit in the club programme. Named and shamed for life.