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My Dad was a Blues fan, and when I declared I was Blues at school they all jeered me. EVERY kid at my school in Handsworth was Albion, so I followed suit, and the Old Man walked me & my brother to our 1st game in 1958. Albion had 5 England Internationals that day (Bobby Robson got a hat-trick, as we beat Leicester 6-2).
My regular Saturdays were blown apart when we went to live in Solihull, and my new schoolmates almost got me to go and support the Blues. But I resisted, and as soon as our pocket-money allowed us to, my brother and I did the 2-bus journey to the Shrine again, and I never missed another home game (school Rugby matches excluded) for 16 years, and then I started playing Saturdays.
I moved to deep Cornwall 3 years ago which means I get to 3-4 games a Year now, and my brother's still got his S/Ticket.
I think I've clocked up 750 matches home and away - if I'd succumbed to follow Blues, that money could have bailed Carlson Yeung's Club out!
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4/5 years old (20 years ago). Me and my Dad made the lovely journey down form Leeds in the Winter.
After pulling up on the dual Carriageway and walking down the road, to be greeted by the news the game had been called off for a frozen pitch,
The whole journey in the end was for a magical peak through the gates where the Rainbow stand meets the Smethick end.
After that all I wanted to do was go inside and see what it was like! I was hooked from then on resulting in a 15year season ticket subscription.
My mind stretches back to the old club house etc...
How nostalgic
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In the school playground in the mid 80's, when boys were talking about football teams, it was either Villa, Wolves or West Brom.......I chose west brom, I Later found out my great granddad played for them, and my old crazy nan sold a FA Cup medal from 1968. My first match was for my birthday against Watford, I think Don Goodman scored the equaliser, an over head kick.....I was in the family enclosure ! my first away match was against wolves, I always remember the smell of the Brewery !! Had a season ticket for many a year, however, with two children now, time is limited, however, you can always find me trying to get a signal to WM commentary and me shouting F words in the garden. Time to convert my son who will be 1 soon................ 
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Have only been an albion fan for 5/6 years now(and I'm 22 haha), but its just one of these things, the hawthorns is well situated for one when you live in stourbridge, and I got hooked since i saw Somen Tchoyi tear Man City up at the Hawthorns in the cup a few years back. Never looked back, still get nervy and can't fully focus on anything else when we are playing!
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16-12-2014, 13:17
(This post was last modified: 16-12-2014, 13:19 by Bournemouth Baggie.)
Told the story before but Mum and Dad grew up in the Midlands and would make regular trips back at weekends. My Uncle would take me to the Villa (this is from around 1967 so I am 6) and my Grandad or Dad would take me on two buses from Kingstanding to The Hawthorns. I can't remember my first game, most memorable though was October 1969 beating Manchester Utd including Best, Charlton and Law 2-1, 48,000 and literally being passed over heads to the front so I could see.
(16-12-2014, 12:00)Baggie_One Wrote: In the school playground in the mid 80's, when boys were talking about football teams, it was either Villa, Wolves or West Brom.......I chose west brom, I Later found out my great granddad played for them, and my old crazy nan sold a FA Cup medal from 1968. My first match was for my birthday against Watford, I think Don Goodman scored the equaliser, an over head kick.....I was in the family enclosure ! my first away match was against wolves, I always remember the smell of the Brewery !! Had a season ticket for many a year, however, with two children now, time is limited, however, you can always find me trying to get a signal to WM commentary and me shouting F words in the garden. Time to convert my son who will be 1 soon................
Who was your Great-Grandad Baggie-One????
Bonum vinum laetificat cor hominis.
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I was wondering that Bournemouth. But GREAT granddad from 1968?? Must have started young!
As he has chosen the number one as part of his name I guess his great granddad must be John Osborne.
Any other suggestions??
Some days I'm top dog, most days I'm just the lamp post.
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My parents separated and I grew up in a small village near Banbury (Oxfordshire) where a lots of industry had relocated. I ended up at school player footie with lads who's parents were Villa, Birmingham and Coventry fans. Like with Ska'd, I was taken by a friends dad to watch his beloved Coventry City v WBA in the FA Cup (50 years ago).
My mates dad offered to buy me a rosette to wear at the match. As the Albion name was more appealing and the rosette was a thing of beauty with Throstle on branch etc. it was an easy decision and to his credit he sucked it up and bought the rosette and told me I would be a unhappy fan at the end of the day. However, as I recall (I was only 5) we managed a draw and later won the replay back at the Hawthorns.
Maybe when he said that I would be unhappy at the end of the day he was not talking about on that fatal day but was being more prophetic?
But even now in the darker hours with AI in 'charge' I don't see how choosing Coventry over West Brom would have made me happier!
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16-12-2014, 18:36
(This post was last modified: 16-12-2014, 18:40 by tidy.)
I'm from a service family (army). In 1968 my Old Man got himself posted to the TA Centre on the Wolverhampton Rd in Oldbury (Langley Green by the old Hen and Chicks).
A kid that already lived at the centre was my age and became my 'bezza'. We went to different schools, me, Bristnall Hall, him, the 'old' Oldbury Tech.
Every Kid (bar one for some reason supported Everton??) in my year at school was a Baggie and all my 'bezza's' mates were true Baggies, including a guy called Chris Collins.....he went on to become mega famous and I went on to join the army.... 
True.
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could have been earlier then you cheeky sods........I will look up his name and report back.
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I wasn't a dedicated fan of any team when I first got into football and picked up Man Utd because that's what people did. I was 7 during the great escape and the last day of that season started reeling me in. Awhile later when we were back in the championship I saw one of our matches in a box and I gradually converted to Albion from Utd.
Standard story for a few people nowadays of glory hunting before seeing the light.
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