This could be about any young supporter of our club, but it’s about my kids and their support for Charlton.
So at the risk of embarrassing them……
When we won the title at home to Wycombe, my eldest said, ‘I am so glad we have won something because ever since I can remember we have always lost!’, and he was right, apart from a few seasons in the EPL, when we finished 7th, we have finished further and further down the football leagues. But, his support and that of my other 2 kids have always been there. They could have swerved The Valley and gone plastic or whatever the phrase is for glory armchair football. But they didn’t, admittedly my middle lad ‘likes’ Liverpool but that is because he thinks Stephen Gerrard is a god. That said when we beat them with the Lisbie hatrick, he cheered as much as the rest of us! When they were all at school and the playground ‘banter’ about ‘little Charlton’ came from the ManuChelseaArsenal fans they answered with the ‘but you don’t go to games, so you cannot be a supporter’. Even then they understood why we ‘support’ our club, a ‘fan’ doesn’t go to games, a ‘supporter’ does. Without support a football club is nothing.
My eldest’s first game was as a five year old in the 99/2000 season, I got tickets in the Jimmy Seed stand for the visit of Crewe. With 3 young kids and a big mortgage I had given up my season ticket and begged, borrowed and paid for the cheaper games when I could afford it. It is something to see - a kids face lights up as he/she enters the stadium. We kicked off and he said ‘I can’t hear the man dad’, ‘what man’ I replied ‘you know, the man that speaks’!! After pointing out that there is no commentator at live games, he (tried) to join in with the singing, we won 1-0 and that was it he was hooked. He was in the covered end, before the East and West Quadrants were built and was lucky enough to be behind the goal when Bartlett scored goal of the season against Leicester, again we borrowed tickets. We went to a few more games that season, finances improved so we bought some season tickets and my middle lad came to games, again after a few matches he was hooked, next season my youngest also came along, he had joined Charlton Reds and we would go to the game after he had had his training with the Reds, one day a certain Christopher Powell took some of the training. After Junior Reds training we would arrive at the ground about 12.30pm and the boys would get pictures (I have posted some on here before) of the players, Chris Powell came marching though the car park and said ‘Hello Kieran’ to my youngest, that was it, hooked! We have had our current seats for a few seasons now and we renewed for next season back in April, my youngest has other interests that conflict with football, but has a season ticket already ordered for next season. My eldest has a ST in the North Upper and my middle lad sits next to me at the front row of the NW Quad with my brother and both my eldest lads go away when they (I) can afford it, they have made some good friends at The Valley, they are all Charlton through and through, they are the fourth generation of my family to support Charlton, they know what loyalty is about and they ‘understand’.
So after all the heartache of constant relegation's (I can still see the tears as my eldest sang VFR at the last Premiership game of the season against Spurs), false dawns, possible administration, management changes, and the lowest point, Dagenham away last season, this one’s for you boys.
COYR!!!
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Sorry to divert slightly, but my 4-year old boy is about to start his football classes (either BWP or Hamer, he's not sure yet) and I need to get him a kit pronto to lock him in to CAFC. Does anyone know if there is anything even remotely suitable at all left in the club shop? Don't want to turn up on the first day and have some no-mark tell him he should be wearing ManU, Chelsea or Palace or somesuch rag.
He kept on calling them Alexander Crewe.
Great post.