Born into a Man Utd. family, but please do read on!!

[MartynK]

Hello to all,

My name is Martyn & I have lived in the US (Kansas City, MO) for 18 months.

Here is my story on how I became an obsessed Chelsea fan…

I have lived in Manchester all my life; raised living with my mum and her parents through my school years. The reason I have to mention that is because they are all Manchester United fans. They bought me shirts, took me to matches at Old Trafford, went to watch training sessions, all until I was 10. At this point, I was finally coming of age and started to understand football and the rules more etc...(but as a Man U. fan), and was quite happy (somehow!?), but then a trip to London happened!! My grandad had to go away on business, but due to the nature of his visit I was able to go along with him...so I went!

It was one Sunday afternoon, he was out of the office...and he said, (in quite a ****y way...) "Fancy watching some football? ...but different football…There’s no Stretford End in London, you know?"

I jumped at the chance…"Sure!” I replied.

We checked the newspaper for the fixtures, and as we were in London, I just HAD to see the London derby. So there it was...Chelsea vs. Spurs. Chelsea won the game 4-3. For me, it was a great game! (I do believe it went down as a Classic, over the years!) My first London derby...The atmosphere was incredible...much, much better, exhilarating and entertaining than the Manchester derby... I even got a smile on my face watching the ‘violence’ (sorry…I mean loyalty!), between the 2 teams on the tube platform at Fulham Broadway!

The feeling I got being in Stamford Bridge that day was awesome!! Unforgettable!! The whole day experience was one of the best I have had in football, to this day!! I came back from London a few days later a changed person. No longer was I a red... no longer would I wear the kits that I had, that were of the 'red kind', infact....I GAVE them all away to school mates! lol

((It was the SECOND Season of since the Prem formed, so it was 93/94 season.))

The very next fixture AFTER we got back from London, Chelsea were playing Man Utd at Old Trafford, needless to say (and after plenty of begging) we got tickets. My grandad had told my grandma and my mum that I had some obsession for Chelsea, so...in the hope that me seeing Chelsea getting beat AT Man U would "get me out of a phase"...we all went, and Chelsea WON! 1-0!! (Chelsea did the double over Man Utd that season, winning at both home AND away 1-0).

THAT WAS IT!!! I was in Heaven!!! (Apart from the fact that I was the only one celebrating a Chelsea goal in the Streftord End, and that isn’t the best thing to do!!)

The BUZZ continued all season long, watching Match of the Day and getting as much Chelsea as I could. A couple of months after the London visit Chelsea played Manchester City at Maine Road (City's old ground) and I went to it. The match finished 2-2, but that did not put a dampener on my Chelsea obsession.

Chelsea finished the season 11th, with a bizarre record....Won 14, Drew 14 and Lost…you guessed it…14! Man Utd finished 1st, by a long way, and my family questioned my obsession...”You sure you want to be a Chelsea fan, and finish "down there" all the time???”

And here I am 28 years old (18 years later), with the same passion and ambition I had as a newly introduced 10 year old to Chelsea...I will always love Chelsea!!

To finish: Man. United have won far more silverware than Chelsea in the past 16 years...and so what!?? I really don’t give a care to Man Utd anymore, and I never will! Chelsea has a place in my heart that Man Utd couldn't even dream of having, and that’s much more important to me! Sure, silverware is nice, and yes it hurts when we don’t win any...but the feeling I get watching Chelsea, and the way the club has progressed in the past 18 years, is just incredible and I wouldn't change it for anything!!


Anyways, I won’t bore you any longer (lol), but that’s my story! Born into Man U family...but ended up a Blue...and I’m so happy that I did!

Kind Regards and can't wait to get posting on this forum!!!

Speak to you all soon.
Martyn ;o)

PS: This is the LAST post in which I will mention the 'red-scum' that is Man Utd. They are not even worth my time.

[ChelseaChickSoCal]

Great story! I'm always interested how folks became Chelsea supporters. Welcome to the greatest supporters club in America!

[MartynK]

Thanks very much!

[VINCI PER NOI]

Fantastic story...are you going to any of the games in July?

[MartynK]

Fantastic story...are you going to any of the games in July?

Hey man!

YES I have a ticket to the Chelsea v Milan game in Miami! I'm in block 240. What about you?

[VINCI PER NOI]

Nah, just like a lot of people here, just NYC and Philly.

Shame.

Enjoyed your story.

Ironically my surname (Axon) is from the Manchest'oh area'oh...

KTBBFH.

[LB_TM]

F*cking great story! Two elements that I love are the independence from the family at a young age, and the submission to that inexplicable feeling that made you do it. People want to know how you became a fan of a team that's not local or you didn't grow up with, but they don't ask you that question about your wife. Sometimes, the only good answer is, "I just fell in love." Welcome aboard!

[It_Is_JAMES]

Hello to all,
We checked the newspaper for the fixtures, and as we were in London, I just HAD to see the London derby. So there it was...Chelsea vs. Spurs. Chelsea won the game 4-3. For me, it was a great game! (I do believe it went down as a Classic, over the years!) My first London derby...The atmosphere was incredible...much, much better, exhilarating and entertaining than the Manchester derby... I even got a smile on my face watching the ‘violence’ (sorry…I mean loyalty!), between the 2 teams on the tube platform at Fulham Broadway!

Good story, same game mentioned in this song? I honestly have no idea when it was written.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g1iTxIk0YE


*Spurs came to the bridge one day they thought they'd done their stuff, Chelsea proved to everyone that they weren't good enough
They went two up in a minute but they missed a penalty, Chelsea held their heads up high and won the game 4-3*

[BlueAlex]

Martyn, my company HQ is located in Overland Park, KC. I go there pretty often, so hopefully we can catch a match together some time.

BTW, fantastic story!