Why do you support Swindon Town?

[donkey]

I remember my first game, not coming from a football supporting family it was quite late in life. 1992 i think. I was 10.
Got the bus from park south to the just before the magic roundabout. Absolutley shitting myself, didnt know what to expect. Id never been to any live football match before. Got my ticket in the town end, right behind the goal. Town against Barnsley. Craig Maskell penalty if I remember rightly after only a few minutes. We won 1-0.

You saw the finest display of goalkeeping ever.  I know I'm in a minority, but that performance from Nicky Hammond was superb.  Obviously Fraser was a vastly superior keeper, but Hammond was immense that day.  The penalty was following a foul on Nicky Summbee, btw.

[Bedford Red]

He was immense that day. We got the penalty after about 4 minutes, and for the rest of the match it was all Barnsley. If it wasn't for Hammond that day we would have lost, one double-save in particular sticks in my mind.

[Rich Pullen]

I went to the Barnsley game, definately Kid-a-Quid.

I one thing I remember from the match was the Barnsley forward storming towards Nicky Hammond and with total calmness he dummied it so the forward jumped and turned and therefore looking a bit of a numpty as the ball rolls out for a goal kick.

...and yes, Hammond meant it.

[Amir]

Dad was a Fulham regular but hasn't been since before I was born, and would have found it too claustrophobic to take me I suspect.  Mum's side are all Bristol City or Rovers, mainly City, hence I was taken to see them at Wembley as a nipper but don't remember being interested in the game at all, only in where I was.

As with many of my generation I would have said I was a Liverpool supporter, until I reached about 12, whereupon I drifted away from caring at all.  I don't really remember being that aware of Swindon's existence particularly, aside from signing a petition when they were demoted.  Then when they were in the Premier and hadn't won for a ridiculous amount of time already, I was talking to my best mate who was a season ticket holder about the game they had that night.  I told him I'd decided I was an STFC fan, and I was going to listen to the game that night.

That game was against QPR, and I can still remember listening to the updates on GWR(Did Wiltshire Sound even cover games in those days?)  Next day I talked a couple of others into jumping on the train that coming Saturday, and we watched us draw 2-2 with Ipswich in the cup.  I've been through various stages of fanatisism, and while I'll now probably never again get to more than 10-15 matches in a season, they are my one and only true love.

[Mark Hanrahan]

1986 - I was a 9 year old Spurs fan living in Catford, South East London. Fast forward to 2009 and I'm the type of bloke who's weekly morale is defined by Town performances/results (more recently - this season [so far] aside - the former as I go searching for silver linings).

So, what happened in between? Well, my Swindon-based family got wind of my folks taking me to The Lane for my first ever football match towards the end of the 1986/87 season. In shock horror I was - within a few months - dispatched with my die-hard Town fan uncle to Craven Cottage to see us comfortably dispatch Fulham 1-0 in the FA Cup 3rd Round. The rest is hostory.

What did it for me was the proximity this 3 Ft-odd lad was afforded. I clearly remember staring in awe at a very young Fraser Digby who happily shared a bit of banter with the fans - within earshot - which I thought was amazing at the time (consider this was my second ever match - I was easily pleased). 

I've also revelled in being an underdog over the years, particularly when I was an early teen growing up in 'Bandit Country', i.e. Millwall territory with the local club compounding the issue by surprising everyone at the top of of the old Division 1 led by the likes of Sheringham, Hurlock, Cascarino, Horne and Carter. Town invariably played some great stuff back then which was about a quarter of the way through a truly golden (Macari - Ardiles - Hoddle) era.

Of late, loyalties have been tested mainly by the off the pitch shenanigans. Regardless, there is still something almost therapeutic about my trips to the CG. Last season Iintroduced my 5 year oldson to the club and watched with sheer joy as a club official led him onto the pitch in his oversized red and white hat and scarf during the pre match warm-up. If proximity nailed my colours to the mast my lad is surely on route to something far bigger and better!?! Watch out Fitton, Watkins et al. 

[jimmy_onions]

One thing that strikes me about this thread is the realtively small number of born and bred Swindonains who support the club.

I can't be arsed to go back and count them all up but there seems to be just as many out of town fans...

[Mark Hanrahan]

One thing that strikes me about this thread is the realtively small number of born and bred Swindonains who support the club.

I can't be arsed to go back and count them all up but there seems to be just as many out of town fans...

Racist.

;-)

[Peter Venkman]

What this thread does show is that the majority...probably 80% support Swindon not because of location but because of family heritage, 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation fans etc.

[iffy]

I was born and grew up in the town.

I went to my first game when a teacher at my junior school handed our class a bunch of free tickets the club had given him. This was for a home game against Peterborough back in the fourth division.

Until then I had vaguely followed Man Utd and Liverpool. After that I described myself as a town fan.

[The Artist Billy Paynter]

I support Swindon as its the place of my birth.

Shame i wasn;t born in Mongolia or something.

[lambourn red]

Born and bred in Lambourn and my parents are die hard Town fans who took me to my first game in 1975 against everton in the FA Cup. Went on and off until mid 80's then I have pretty much gone every season until late 90's when I started playing Saturdays , once the legs went the lure of half emtpy stadia surrounded by moaning old gits in the Arkells was too much and i gave up playing for Lambourn and watching the Town again where I now take my 2 boys of 6 and 8 who are both season ticket holders.

[stfc11]

Dad took me and my sister, so we could say we had been to a live football match, he'd suported Swindon since he was a lad, and he wanted us to support them seeing as we were born here. It was kid for a quid so he had nothing to lose, can't remember the match or how old I was! But I do remember loving it and asking if I could go again! Then asking for a season ticket and to go to away matches and it just snowballed from there.

[Fred Elliot]

because it was expected of me

[Arch Stanton]

because it was expected of me

I agree with this, as I posted my story earlier in the thread, I remember not really wanting to go to the County Ground, I was 6 and found the whole idea a bit daunting - especially the climb up those rickety wooden stairs to the top tier of the old fire hazard Shrivenham Road stand.

But my Dad practically dragged me there saying that he expected me to become a Town fan 'whether I liked it or not' - but I did, luckily....

[Plumstead Red]

Swindon born and bred.

Dad took me to my first match aged 10. He's Ipswich, so it was naturally against his team. I think that he was secretly hoping that I would support the Blues. Ipswich won 3-2 at the County Ground (12th November 1989), Swindon were 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go. Zondervan got the winner. Was hooked the moment that I saw the pristine pitch from the Arkell's Stand and the noisy (for a 10 year old) atmosphere at the ground as well. Was so gutted about the "financial irregularities" about 8 months later, but great to see us get back under Hoddle and to play in the Prem.

I go to about half the games a season at home and maybe a quarter of the away games. Southampton was brilliant last week, Gillingham the week before gruesome.