[Albion] Question for those that live OUTSIDE of Sussex, how visible is your support of The Albion?

[Ken Livingstone Seagull]

Just to lighten the mood, a question about how we’re perceived in other parts of the country.

If you live OUTSIDE of Sussex (and Brighton and Hove!!) how visible is your support, for example:

Is your car well stickered up?

Do you wear an Albion jacket, polo, hat etc when you go to your local pub or to work?

Do your kids, or even yourself wear a replica shirt at football training or out for a run etc?

Have you got a flag flying in your front garden?

or do you generally not wear colours and only declare your allegiance when asked?

For a start, I have a Hawaii license plate (sic) that now reads BHAFC. I am often asked for an explanation. Mrs. Ken's plate reads BRGHTN. I have BHA furry dice hanging inside the windscreen. I regularly wear Albion tops of various vintage (home and way) around my island. Several Albion books and programmes adorn the shelves of the humble grass hut. Mrs. Ken also joins in the Albion chant (very tunefully it must be said) when we watch our games on NBC. One of my 2 sons is an Albion missionary and staunch fan, spreading the gospel of St. Tony, St. Wardy, St. Glenn and St. Solly, usually in his DUNK 5 shirt. My Albion member towel/flag adorns our hut's ocean-facing balcony and my woolly Albion beanie/bobble hat has even made it up to the top of out 10,000 foot volcano in sub-tundra microclimate conditions. So yes, we are indeed represented 11 time zones away on the other side of the world.

 

[Man of Harveys]

I have such fabulous memories of your ramraiding the old club shop in Queens Road on your visits to these shores from the hammock KLS, to help preach the Albion gospel halfway around the world. Hope all is well and grand with you and yours.

 

[albionalba]

It's amazing how often my workplace Albion mug starts conversations about Brighton when I use it in our shared-with-others common/kitchen area at work (in Scotland) or take a swig from it during video calls (hastily adding these always done from my office without annoying others!). It even prompted an Arbroath fan to hand over a 1983 Cup Final programme they had in their personal collection - he just left it with some work colleagues one day saying 'that's for the guy with the Brighton mug.'

 

[bhafc99]

The front door of my apartment in Dubai has a sign my kids bought me…

 

[Berty23]

My son is known as the "Brighton fan" in his school which is in Warwickshire. He's the only one which is predominantly Cov but also Villa, Birmingham and the odd Leicester fan.

He's had Brighton rucksacks, coat, lunchbox, stickers and of course every Albion football shirt under the sun. It's a source of great pride that I drop him off at Football training almost always in a Brighton top living where we do.

When he was little we used to have a Brighton flag on top of his slide which was visible to my neighbours. Looked really weird when Cov made the Johnson's paint trophy final and that was the flying amongst others in the middle of it.

This is basically my story in Warwick (just a few miles from IP). My lad has all the shirts and also known as “the Brighton fan”. I am often seen in a Brighton hoodie - when Brackley won the league last Saturday I was at the match and a yoof came up to me saying “seagulls seagulls - we beat West Ham” then Stockdale noticed me (he was manager of the oppo) and we had a chat.

I have Brighton mugs so work colleagues know I am Brighton and I sometimes umpire at hockey in the horrible luminous yellow/green way shirt from the promotion season.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I did once wear a Brighton bucket hat in a BBC Natural World documentary.... trying to remember if it made the final edit.....

 

[Comrade Sam]

Car sticker. Brighton hat most of the year (wooly or bucket) and the odd badge and top.
My daughter's have badges or keyrings on their bags and my eldest occasionally wears Brighton T-shirts to sixth form.
This is how I've found and befriended many Brighton fans in Walthamstow and Hackney over the last two decades.

 

[Petunia]

I used to have a sticker in the windscreen of my old car. They don’t seem to sell the small size ones anymore so I can’t put one in the new car sadly.
I sometimes wear casual tee shirts but the replica shirts are only pulled out if we join other Seagulls Downunder to watch a match in a bar!

 

[Boroseagull]

I have 4 polo shirts, a couple of team shirts, sticker on the car and a large Seagulls sticker on the patio doors (to stop the birds flying into them is my excuse). Mrs BS wears a choice of 3 Seagull 'T' shirts and a hoodie.

 

[doogie004]

My grandson wears his Brighton shirts with pride in Perranporth Cornwall
And he can say he has actually seen his team play

 

[SUA Seagull]

My car has a BHA number plate and Seagulls sticker in the windscreen and I have an Albion car key fob.

My home office wall is plastered with BHA memorabilia.

I've a few BHAFC T-shirts which seem to get noticed when I'm out, generally from people commenting how well Brighton have done in recent years and what a well run club we have.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were enjoying a morning coffee at Hidcote Gardens (National Trust) when a coachload of Japanese tourists arrived. A young Japanese lady saw my Albion T-shirt and loudly bellowed out "MITOMA NUMBER ONE!" and then repeated her chant, accompanied by a double "thumbs up" gesture, when we left!

For Midlands' away games I usually take the local train and typically see quite a few "Warwickshire Seagulls" on my travels.

 

[Blues Guitarist]

I regularly wear a BHA baseball cap. Because of the cap I discovered I was sitting next to a Brighton fan at a Russell Howard comedy show in Munich.

 

[Normal Rob]

have 2 retro shirts (the cup final and 80s shirt, cotton) and wear those regularly (but never on a matchday - superstition). Daughter has home kit, traning shirt, Black/red retro shirt and wears them regularly both for playing and social...

 

[Anger]

Everywhere I go-oh.
Peee-ople wanna kno-ow.

 

[PTC Gull]

Key fob. Car stickers, tea mugs for when I was at the office but still use at home. A couple of polo shirts and a few t-shirts. Did have an Albion number plate when we lived in Georgia and Texas. Not got one yet for Florida but on the way later this year. And a wooly hat for travels north in winter.

 

[Whitley Bayster]

I often wear a baseball cap or Albion related t shirts around Newcastle. Its a great way to bump into other Albion supporters but also generates some chat and banter with the locals. I have converted my garage into the "Sussex Arms" with Albion flags, the Europa League posters and other Sussex related pictures on the walls. Our little boys room is an homage to all things Albion, stadium and player photos etc. My wife won't let me touch any other part of the house but makes me feel connected even though I live at the other end of the country

 

[tomfitz12]

I live in Manchester and have a brighton tattoo on my leg which sometimes sparks conversation but other than that and my accent, you'd do well to know I'm a brighton fan by appearance.

Abroad though always wear a brighton shirt and bring a brighton towel etc