EssendonRam Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 I love Derby because I have grown to love them. I chose Derby as a little kid because my father told me how his father - who died accidentally nearly five years before I was born - had passionately followed them before coming to Australia while I was "helping" him tend to his grave in their hometown (Ararat in Victoria). I think (although it might just be an adult looking back and over-interpreting the mind of a toddler) I knew that, although my father was not a very openly-affectionate man, there was something different about his demeanour when he spoke about him. So I adopted Derby as my English soccer (apologies - to distinguish from Australian football) pretty much in name right then "in front of my grandfather". As at 2 or 3, there were only two subjects my father and I related easily on: Australian football and Derby (not soccer...Derby) and I know, even at that age, I had disappointed my father by going against his football team and choosing my own (his side wore white and red - Ararat's colours - and I knew I didn't like their colours and chose Essendon - black with a blood red sash - instead). As I remember it, the only real question I asked about Derby, the club, was what their colours were. Honestly I can't remember his answer but, since I still thought our colours were white and navy for some years after we changed them back, would've assumed that was his answer except I know that graveside conversation took place before (I admit I just looked it up) 1971 because I know that I was actively "following" Derby (checking the scores on World of Sport on Sunday morning) with my father at least the season (two I think) before we won the league. (Both of our Australian football clubs were crap then.) I was four when we won it and that Sunday morning was one of the happiest, most memorable moments of my life until Essendon finally won a final (equivalent to a playoff game) in my lifetime (aged 17) and then a premiership (18). Finally, one of my teams had won something! I was hooked, albeit nowhere near as passionate as I would have been had I been able to watch matches. By 1975, I was allowed to watch MoD late on Saturday nights (a week later) and the 'bug' for both the game and my club had well and truly bitten. By then, my best mate and I had met and quickly become best mates (and still are today) 42 years later; part of that was the connection over soccer (and football) between the son of an English Catholic mother (Man City supporter) and Irish Protestant father (Liverpool) who'd emigrated to Australia (to avoid the reaction to their marriage basically) and loved the idea of an Australian boy who absorbed everything he could about English football. Terry's mum only passed away just over a year ago (96) and, right until the end, had Derby as her second team "because David deserves someone backing him up" and, in one way, her displeasure at Man City's "evolution" almost made Derby her alternate side. (I still remember her bawling her eyes out on my account when I told her Mr Clough had died.) Over the years, their passionate arguments (parents, four kids and I; between the 7 of us supporting 6 different clubs) became part of us. To stand your ground with a mixed English-Irish family, you have to know why you are Derby and not Man United / Liverpool / Leeds / Arsenal / Everton / Villa / Newcastle (and later Chelsea) like 95% of Australian English football fans. For me, it was about: - What the Clough-Mackay teams had brought to the game. Arguably, had they not been as progressive as they were, a young Australian kid might have become bored of the sport. - Brian Clough, to me as a little kid, exuded 'it'. I subconsciously didn't give up hope of a homecoming until the late 80s. - The traditional nature of the Derby club and fans. I LIKED what Derby was as opposed to the more hooligan-tainted clubs. And I both liked why matches between local rivals are called Derbies and referred to it a lot (including to win trivia contests with questions like "how many Manchester-Derby matches were there in season x?" with season x being an obscure year where only I knew whether United, City and Derby were in the same division.) As we meandered towards the bankruptcy courts, adversity - and loyalty through the adversity - became my last defence in those arguments. I still remember after copping flak from a (newly minted) Chelsea supporter after they won their first premiership and responding with sarcasm and something about being still only being half as good as Derby (2 titles to 1 then). The next time I saw Terry's mum she made a point of congratulating me for sticking it to the "latecomers" and that she and I were the only real club supporters she knew. In the mid-90s, I lived in England for a while and traveled with Derby from London. By the time of our relegation in 2002, you had been able to watch the Premiership live in Australia for a few years and I was part of the then- Australian Derby supporters club, we had a real belonging. So...nothing specific but a shared history of growing in to occasional success, stoicism in adversity...and just the satisfaction and commitment that comes from knowing - good times or bad, or mostly middling - that, having come this far, I could not give up when I can FEEL the big reward is just around the corner....with little rewards often enough...and a sense of ownership and belonging that I would miss if I didn't have it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombo Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 I understand those that say it's becoming a routine for them and that they go out of habit now but I'm shocked that having been a season ticket holder for 8 seasons now that very little of the shine has come off. I still look forward to the games, I still go to bed on the Friday night before the game and just think "game tomorrow..." and I go to bed with a smile like a kid on Christmas Eve. I set an alarm so I can go and get what I need to get done before I head to the game, and I get up and out of bed with a spring. Never have I done that on a weekday when my alarm goes off. I still enjoy every aspect of it. No hobby in my life comes close to making me feel how Derby County does. I don't even care for the wider game outside of DCFC. I have no idea who is at the top of the Premier League, I've got no clue who their star players are. I don't care. I care about DCFC. I would not call myself a football fan. I'm not. I'm a Derby fan. I can't think of a single thing I enjoy doing more than going to watch Derby play. As I type, I'm buzzing for Bristol City at home. Can you imagine!? Bristol at home! This excited for that!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsnip Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Brilliant post @EssendonRam I had 18 months in QLD in early 2000's and the coverage over there of English football was so much better than it is here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyPowell Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Is there any wonder why im a rams fan? not really having been born within 10 minutes walk of the BBG,And as kids we would play in the street(you could do i those days) and we would hear the roar every time the Rams scored,we couldnt wait to be old enough to go.Then in the 50s Alf Baker( the guy who used to dress in black and white and stand near the boys end (the 50s answer to rammy i suppose)he used to get changed at our house all adding to the magic of the game I love the Rams unfortunately ill health and limited budget means i cant got anymore but im Derby through and through. What would stop me absolutely nothing just sio long they were called Derby County 0well he used to get dressed at our houseI love the Rams unfortunately ill health and limited budget means i cant got anymore but im Derby through and through. What would stop me absolutely nothing just sio long they were called Derby County Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NottsRam77 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Why do i love them? My dads fault, derby born and bread and so me and my brothers were only ever going to be rams fans, but its the best thing hes ever done for me. imagine if i had been a united or liverpool fan, wheres the fun? If we did what forest did and re instated the poisonous little dwarf for a second stint, stopped paying our bills and players and were just a joke of a club, then i wouldnt fall out of love with them, just be a bit more selective with my love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewe Ram Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I'm from a Rams family and my grandparents were season ticket holders before I was born. My earliest memories are of the hand knitted black and white scarves and jumpers my grandma made for me and my brother. I went to the BBG with my dad and my son's are Derby fans now. I love being a Derby fan and I also love the championship. I don't like premiership football and all that it stands for. I did, for a good few years stop loving Derby and that was when the late 70's hooligan element was rife. Match day was scary and my grandparents lived in the zone around the BBG where they had to board up windows. I never stopped wishing them well but I came back to it whole heartedly when Keith Loring and co properly convinced me it was back to being a whole family again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sheriff Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Stop me loving them: the first half yesterday. makes me love them: the second half.. (in all honesty we could get beat every week in league 2 and I would still love dcfc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I didn't love em till I starting going to games live. I am an "incomer" (admittedly 20 years ago) Always liked them but only in the last 3 or 4 years did I finally become infected, I doubt there is a cure but things could get nasty if ..... 1) making us in to a brand, that would hurt. It turns fans in to consumers and customers. That is for Curry's and Amazon not your home town football club. 2) Hoof Ball, ugly dirty football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Ram Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 When I was young, nobody supported Derby where I lived.. That made me even more passionate.. Fast falling out of love with them though. I don't like what the club is becoming. What would really kill it for me is when we become a tourist event ala the Premier League. If anyone has ever been to a top table Premier League ground on a match day, you will know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRam Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I support Derby because I was born and live in Derby. I *love* Derby because they entertain me. I would stop loving Derby if the entertainment ended, but I'd continue to support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rample Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Born and bred in Derby, first interested in the late 80s because of friends, stirred by Radio Derby commentaries, became a real fan when taken by my dad. All in the space of about 6 months. In terms of going off, I naturally dipped in the 00s when I met my wife and priorities changed, then slipped further in the Billy Davies promotion season because I loathed him, Premier League season because that added to the apathy, and in the Nigel era as we stagnated and he wound me up. The first Mac era revitalised me a lot. I don't think I'd completely give up or I would have by now. Crazy pricing would stop me going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1967Ram Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Why do you love DCFC: Because I grew up in Barton-under-Needwood and Derby were the team my Dad took me to. As I grew older I used to catch the bus to Burton, then the train to Derby. After we moved to Repton I used to drive to as many games as I could (I played football Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings). It just got 'under my skin'. What would make you not love them: Ground sharing with Forest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssendonRam Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 On Sunday, February 12, 2017 at 09:17, Parsnip said: Brilliant post @EssendonRam I had 18 months in QLD in early 2000's and the coverage over there of English football was so much better than it is here! Thank you. It improved out of sight from the late 90s but only for the premiership. By 2005ish, it was a lot easier to follow the Championship, if not always to watch it. But the coverage of both, especially the premiership, have deteriorated badly this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1967Ram Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 5 hours ago, EssendonRam said: Thank you. It improved out of sight from the late 90s but only for the premiership. By 2005ish, it was a lot easier to follow the Championship, if not always to watch it. But the coverage of both, especially the premiership, have deteriorated badly this season. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadioactiveWaste Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Although born in Dundee and living in Fife when I was young, my Mum is Derby tup and my Grandad (RIP) watched Derby win the FA Cup, took my mum and her brother to watch Clough's Derby team, and I did most of my growing up in Derbyshire. Derby County (or football bar the odd kickabout) wasn't a big thing in my life until after I moved away (Uni in Swansea) I'd naturally give Derby as my team, on my first visit back home a few people i knew from school invited me along to watch Derby v Fulham. Was freezing, we lost, hooked. So in short, love DCFC as a part of where I'm from, my family, the buzz of being in the crowd, a way to pour emotion into a mass endeavour (it's the giving support, not the getting the glory). I'm also slightly on the spectrum and it's a good thing to put my attention to. To not love them? I think short of becoming a Red Bull franchise it'd take a lot. No doubt there's ups and downs, times where it's a glowing ember rather than white hot flame, but I can't see the fire being snuffed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombo Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 On 12/02/2017 at 14:51, Angry Ram said: When I was young, nobody supported Derby where I lived.. That made me even more passionate.. Fast falling out of love with them though. I don't like what the club is becoming. What would really kill it for me is when we become a tourist event ala the Premier League. If anyone has ever been to a top table Premier League ground on a match day, you will know what I mean. Pretty strong sentiment. What do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Ram Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Tombo said: Pretty strong sentiment. What do you mean? No one thing really, most can be attributable to modern football I suppose.. Mels mismanagement, turning back the clock, same old mistakes.. The clubs attitude to the FA cup, sponsors for having a crap, fans attitudes, Sky whores.. Like I said more modern football than DCFC I suppose. Before anyone goes into meltdown, we've done these topic's a thousand times to death.. Not really interested in going over it all again.. Tombo asked, so polite to respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssendonRam Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 On Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 21:10, 1967Ram said: Why? A phone company(Optus) bought the premiership rights and the only way to get them is to switch to their long-term contracts. Even if I wasn't tied up with my phone company for another year or so, I resent these sorts of business practices. As for the Championship, Bein (the old Setanta) still has the Championship rights but there seem to be fewer games being broadcast now they've partnered with Foxtel. Bundesliga gets preference especially on the Saturday games (2am Sunday here) now (not sure if Bundesliga play more games at 2am this season or if they've just changed priorities but there are definitely more Saturday rounds with no Championship broadcasts; then there's the fact that there are fewer Derby matches telecast this year anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Hobhead Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I love my club because it's my club. Generational thing I suppose. Been going since 1982 when my father first took me. He was taken by his father, etc etc. Not sure I could ever not love or support Derby. Although that might be tested if a shady owner came in and changed our colours to Red... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombo Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 On 11/02/2017 at 10:45, Tombo said: I understand those that say it's becoming a routine for them and that they go out of habit now but I'm shocked that having been a season ticket holder for 8 seasons now that very little of the shine has come off. I still look forward to the games, I still go to bed on the Friday night before the game and just think "game tomorrow..." and I go to bed with a smile like a kid on Christmas Eve. I set an alarm so I can go and get what I need to get done before I head to the game, and I get up and out of bed with a spring. Never have I done that on a weekday when my alarm goes off. I still enjoy every aspect of it. No hobby in my life comes close to making me feel how Derby County does. I don't even care for the wider game outside of DCFC. I have no idea who is at the top of the Premier League, I've got no clue who their star players are. I don't care. I care about DCFC. I would not call myself a football fan. I'm not. I'm a Derby fan. I can't think of a single thing I enjoy doing more than going to watch Derby play. As I type, I'm buzzing for Bristol City at home. Can you imagine!? Bristol at home! This excited for that!? Burton at home tonight! !!! Love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.