How I Fell in Love with Fulham (WARNING EXTREMELY LONG)

[kewbridgeffc]

I have no idea what possessed me to write this, this afternoon, but it's been swimming in my head for a while now. It is extremely long so I don't expect many to read it. But as I am starting to feel like a part of this community I would like to share with you my Fulham story.


First a bit of background. I was born in Europe but through various circumstances spent most of my formative years in Canada. In North America in general, soccer is completely overshadowed by Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and even Golf I would say. There was very little chance of casually being exposed to the professional game outside of a World Cup year.

That being said I played soccer as a child, as do a surprisingly large number of people in North America, simply because it is the cheapest sport to play. The equipment cost; shoes, shorts and shin guards is miniscule compared to hockey (easily £400 worth of equipment) and American Style Football where you are padded to within an inch of your life. I played outdoors and indoors for about 5 years but that was as far as my interest went. Partially due to the constant distractions of the "Big 4" sports and because, well, this was just as the beginning of the internet as we know it, so you simply couldn't find anything to follow unless you looked quite hard.

My earliest memories of Premier League football would be from a channel called "The Score" (basically like SSN if it had it's priorities reversed) Maybe once or twice an hour they would show very limited highlights of a few matches and I remember thinking of just how different it was from anything I had seen before. What really impressed me, more than the game itself even, was watching the crowd after a goal. I had never seen that kind of unison in a crowd before. The chanting, the jubilation and the cohesion just really made an impression on me. (I had no concept of home and away ends at the time). From then on I thought, "Wow I would love to be a part of that someday."

My other memory  was a show you could catch early in the week where they would go through what seemed like an endless list of results and were genuinely excited when so and so tied 0-0. In North American sports, draws aren't really celebrated and some sports have rules in place to actively prevent the possibility. So to see that kind of result being reported as an accomplishment made absolutely no sense to me but it definitely peaked my curiosity. It never went beyond that though.

Flash forward 10 years or so and quite literally out of the blue, some life changes presented me with the opportunity to relocate to England. In all honesty I had never even planned on visiting England much less moving there so this all came as quite a shock. In any case shortly after the decision was made, there I was in Wimbledon, ready to start a new chapter in my life. I still tried my best to keep on top of my American Sports. Going so far as staying up to watch live streams at 2 am and stumbling bleary eyed into work the next morning.

For my first 2 years here, Football wasn't even on my radar truth be told. In fact I considered myself to be quite a catch for any English lady as she would not have to put up with any football talk or pub trips as I had no interest with this national, primarily male obsession. Eventually however I decided to see what all of the fuss is about. I figured that being in the land of Football I would be able to watch it anywhere. Not so it turned out. I was shocked to find out that access to what I considered to be one of this country's national sports was restricted to those who could afford to shell out £40 a month to a company called Sky. To me, this was unbelievable, I shudder to think what would happen if this was applied to the "Big 4" in North America. So my exposure even then was limited to very occasional visits to the local pub, and that was just to enjoy the unfamiliar spectacle and the "Englishness" of the occasion as much as the game itself.  

The first step to me becoming a Fulham supporter (quite naturally I guess) was to develop a hatred for the "Dark Side"  Now I am no stranger to the concept of a glory hunter. I support an American Football team called the New England Patriots. For the past decade they absolutely dominated the league winning 3 championships and in one season losing only one match. If you supported this team, you were basically thought to only be supporting them because they just simply didn't lose. So the constant and relentless successes of the "Dark Side" weren't really an issue for me.  

My reason for hating them then, was actually a lot more innocuous. Living in Wimbledon I relied a lot on the District line and commuting home on a "Dark Side" match day was always an unpleasant experience. I instantly developed a dislike for their fans, how they crowded the tube and for their loud and boorish behavior when I just wanted to get home in peace. It was really as simple as that.

Still even then my first Fulham match was at least a year away. I met a Canadian Lady through work and we became fast friends. We were quite attracted to each other but I was seeing someone at the time so nothing ever developed. We went out maybe once a month for coffee and the like and then one day she asked me if I would like to attend a football match. She and her father who was visiting from Canada got 2 for 1 tickets for a match between a team called Fulham and a team called Wigan. I thought "sure why not, it's cheap and I have always wanted to go!" I didn't even know how close the ground was to where I was living all along, or how this Fulham team were in the depths of a truly desperate situation.

22nd December 2007, I remember getting off the tube at Putney Bridge, fascinated by all of the people, some were very casual, some were in groups, loudly chanting the whole way to the ground. The second I stepped into Bishop's park, I felt for the very first time that I was experiencing something exclusively English. I remember walking to the ground amidst all of the chanting feeling an excitement and electricity in the air. And then when I first glimpsed the old fashioned red brick façade, the extremely narrow turnstiles, the police on horses! directing people and the Cottage itself, I knew I was in love and that there was no going back after this.

As I mentioned, the tickets for what unbeknownst was considered one of our least attractive fixtures were extremely cheap so our seats were in the Putney end, just a short distance from a small but enthusiastic group of Wigan supporters. That was my first exposure to home and away designations and I worried that if such a thing was necessary maybe we should be fearing for our safety? The other thing that surprised me was the no beer in the stands rule. I tell you, if that was ever introduced in North America, there would be rioting in the streets. On the other hand limiting the amount of alcohol a supporter could consume did make me feel reasonably safer amidst the light blue shirts that surrounded us.                        

It turned out that apart from a small scuffle and some extremely entertaining back and forth banter I had nothing to worry about. I don't remember a lot about the match to be honest but I absolutely loved being a part of the experience. The match ended 1-1 and everyone seemed content with that, but I still couldn't fully understand why. It's so strange to think now, that the future of what was to become my team was hanging by a thread at this point, and I was oblivious to it all.

Still even after that experience, I did not start following my team right away. I am kicking myself now that I was not able to truly experience our magnificent escape. I read about it in the news and thought, "good for them" but money was still preventing me for taking any significant part in it. The next year I attended one match, the last home match of the season against Aston Villa. This time it was a beautiful May day and I was in the Hammersmith End with my aforementioned Canadian lady, who was now my Girlfriend. That was a fun experience. I remember chanting "There's only one Iniesta" after he single footedly dashed the Champions League hopes of our most hated rivals. I remember lots of anti "Darkside" chanting, and lots of praise for some guy named Roy. But most of all I remember thinking that starting next season I am going to be visiting this hallowed ground with a lot more frequency.

With a bit more money in my pocket this time around, I went the members club route and attended a few great matches including Everton, Man U, Hull and Blackburn. I really didn't care who we played, I just wanted to be there. Because of this, the Europa League was a complete godsend, I was at the Cottage almost every other week in seats I could only dream of sitting in for a Prem match for practically nothing. It was amazing. I was there for the obscurity of Sofia, the heartbreak of Roma, the thrills of Shakhtar, the utter exhilaration of Juventus and the indescribable joy of Hamburg. All with my lady by my side who is just as big a supporter as I am. In fact, we have never seen Fulham lose live. I was thinking of writing the Club to see if they would throw us some tickets for any matches they considered a must win/draw!

Flash forward now to this season. My lady (who is now my fiancé) and I attended our first away match at Brentford. As we live literally 15 minutes from Griffin Park we decided to walk there in our Fulham shirts and were constantly heckled by people from cars and surrounding pubs. We had never experienced that before and just found it entertaining. It's interesting being Fulham fans in area where we are our team is officially disliked. We are not shy about wearing our FFC stuff around and regularly get sneers and dirty looks around the area. We are now looking forward to the match tonight, we are sitting in the Riverside stand for the first time (I'm a Johnny Haynes man) and foolishly decided to get 2nd row uncovered seats. As it is supposed to pour it should be an interesting experience.

I envy all of you who have been supporting this side for years and years. Those who can remember what a terrace looks like, what watching matches that are irrelevant to the outside world feels like, those who can truly appreciate this Mickey Adams guy I will be seeing tonight. I have none of these memories so I consider you very lucky. Also those of you who get to pick and choose which matches you won't be attending, I would love to be in your shoes. Hopefully next year I will finally be able get a permanent seat of my own and then I will be there among you, regardless of opponent or league or weather, chanting Come On You Whites!!!  

[Tom]

Great story!  :54:

[SmithyFFC]

Brillant read, well done!  :beer: :54:

[mrska]

Superb.. Really good read...  Good on you and your lady...

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Great story, always good to have more in the Fulham Family!

[Lighthouse]

The walk through Bishops Park and that first look at the ground. Ah yes it brings back that first hit. Like a drug it is hard to resist. Anyway nice story and if you cannot tell it here where can you tell it? Good job it ended when it did though. I was worried you would say you were divorced and fighting over custody of any future season ticket.

The Ground is something special and I miss not seeing it live anymore. Like you I am thinking that one day I can have another season ticket like I did for so many years.

Great to here tales like this because it reminds us all of that first time. I shall now sing Roberta Flacks ' The first time ever I saw the ground'

[kewbridgeffc]

Thank you for all of the positive comments! Re the walk through Bishop's park, yes that is the most vivid memory I have, and at the time I thought that this sort of thing must be common througout the league. I had no idea that Fulham has one of the last few true Football grounds in the Prem. For the people who travel away regularily, are there any other grounds with such an iconic and atmospheric approach to the ground?

And and regarding the lady, not to worry, we are extremely happy, I would be a fool to lose someone who shares my passion for our club, among the other things that make her amazing.   

[FatFreddysCat]

What a great read  :54: , brings back the electric sensation i used to get as a young un, and occaisionallly still do when approaching the Cottage (nearly always from Hammersmith though), especially midweek cup nights under the floodlights trually magical, though apart from wanting to give Adams and the Horse a clap i cant say i'm really upset about missing this game in this weather. Give Micky and especially The legendry Horse a big clap for me. I seem to recall being present when they hammered us 5-0 , 0r 6-1 at CC, be nice if we could reverse that and Dembele got of the mark.

[finnster01]

Mr Kew,

Very good read and it made me a bit sad actually. Having made the move to NY a lot less matches for me at the Cottage going forward.

I miss Bishops Park, the Cottage, the statue of the Maestro, breakfast with my daughter on matchday, the walk along the river and Stratton the Bulldog. You just made an old man cry  :dft004:

[Travers Barney]

Kew man,

1st class stuff and terrific post....a very very warm welcome.

Smashing feeling going over Putney Bridge with fans both old and new on their way to londons oldest association football club.

Makes me emotional every time I see it Finnster

We are the whites

[Steve_orino]

If you have something good to read, post it, doesn't matter the length...

Good post Mr. Kew.  I'm a bit envious of your move across the pond...sounds like a lot of fun.

COYWs!

[SoCalJoe]

Did you have to mention you were a Patriots fan?    :dft012:

Good stuff

[TheDaddy]

Bloody hell man are you soft shes your fiance ! Could have waited at least another year or so ,Oh well a long engagement then ?

Great read and i may be a tad bias but there is nothing like Craven Cottage any  were else in the world once this old lady grabs you theres no escape.whenever i walk pass i blow her a sneaky kiss.

:54:

[jms]

 :clap_hands:

Thanks for this post....these are the kinds of stories we love to hear. Personally, I had begun to feel that some of the recent posts on here have been bordering on crass ( the mocking of Womens Rugby for example ).....and usually this board is in a different class to the offal. So this was really refreshing to read.
However, falling in love with the whites is something we all share, women and men alike. You must have been drenched last night !!!!!!

[Rambling_Syd_Rumpo]

Fantastic post
I found the club a bit late too,so I have an idea on how you feel
I have this theory about Fulham FC,it attracts a certain type of person,you said you got "that feeling"walking through the park before the game" you understood,you got straight away-alot of people don't get it,we do-welcome to the family :59:

[kewbridgeffc]

Thank you very much for all the kind words!

I figured my perspective was a bit unique as I am sure a good number of you have been there since you were "young'uns" whereas I have come along after not even being aware of the teams existence for the first 25 years of my life! I fully understand that I have joined in the middle of our "Glory Days" and that things may not always be this good, but this team has me for life.

Fred, your prediction was uncanny!

Finn, sorry about that! Good luck in NY, I was there for the first time earlier this year and loved it. I think you are lucky in your own way. Is Stratton the dog at the nearby school?

SoCal, yes I know, I am a Pats fan! Sorry! If it's any consolation I think our glory years are now behind us! I have actually met a few Fulham supporters through Patriots related activities!  

Daddy, yes it will be a longer engagement as we save up some money. We were thinking very seriously about having it at the Cottage but have settled on a lovely little nearby pub on the river.

Jms, glad you enjoyed my story :) Yes I started lurking on the offal and that is how I found FOF, this board is a different class no doubt. We weren't drenched in the end as we just moved up to section V row M, was a lovely view but no atmosphere to speak of :(

[jarv]

Excellent. You hit the nail on the head...BISHOPS PARK. There is no other ground like the Cottage in London. Compare the walk to Upton Park, horrible. Try to find Selhurst Park (or Loftus Road for that matter) if you have never been there before.
Maybe I will post my own story one day, when I moved to London from Scotland at age 11. Tough to beat yours though.

[Jimpav]

That's a great story Kew Bridge. Very romantic also.

You are lucky to have a girl that supports Fulham, my Mrs and her Dad are Spurs supporters so their will be an ineveitable tussle when we have kids.

The Cottage is simply the most beautiful ground and in the most stunning location. AS lot of the away staidums I have been to are in run down areas, soulless retail parks or are clones of every other stadium.

You've nailed the walk through Bishops park and the magical feeling of walking down the Stevenage Road.

You should try taking a walk past on a non match day when nobody is there apart from the Maestro. Its hauntingly beautiful.

Or you could try walking to the match from Hammersmith. It's a bit dull at first but when you cut in it's possible to walk along the river to the ground - stopping at the Crabtree on the way. Not the most authentic of pubs but a great place to be on match day - full of fans from both teams enjoying a pint in the garden.

Thanks for sharing.

[kewbridgeffc]

Thanks for the comments Jim. I am quite lucky I know!

Actually I have been to the Cottage tour, Christmas at the cottage and 3 Europa league away screenings so I certainly am familiar with the what the ground feels and looks like when it's all quiet and dark :) Especially the Wolfsburg screening where only a handful showed up and I unfortunately missed Bobby's goal :( 

The Bishops Park route is reserved for weekends, otherwise like last night I commute in from Hammersmith straight from work for 8 pm or 6 pm for that rediculous Juve kickoff!

I agree though, it's lovely to walk by the river after a match, day or night :)