Am I an Evertonian? I’ve sometimes asked myself this question, turning it over in my mind thinking can I truly call myself a blue.
So I thought I’d see if you guys could answer the question for me.
What follows is tale of how I ended up supporting the best team in the world, it’s fairly lengthy but please bear with me.
Well to start with Everton isn’t the first team I’ve supported; now I can probably safely assume that some of you are already cocking an eyebrow or two northwards in response to this statement and I could have in the past been accused of being a glory hunter but I didn’t start supporting them because they were winning things.
Ok so my Dad you see has no interest in Football unless its an attempt to wind me up (read from that, on the level my paternal relationship, what you will) so he had no bearing initially on my team of choice. Its worth mentioning that his “team” is Liverpool I think because he’s from Speke (I lived there too in the early years) but more so I reckon with the winding up opportunities.
So which team came first, if no parental influence is present then it’s your peers right ? When I was about 6 or so, I was living in the West Midlands and ended up following my mates into supporting Wolves. I never went to a match as no one would take me but I would look for their results and do the usual football talk with the lads at school, collect all the panini stickers and scrawl my favourite players name on my school bag etc... This was all going well until 1976 when they were relegated to division two by of all teams Liverpool and when the whistle went I slumped down next to my transistor radio and cried my eyes out. Guess who was there to console me with his effervescent wit and recently new found love of Liverpool?
Anyway enough of the sob story except to say this traumatic experience put me right off football for 10 long years, until that is 1986, when the world cup came around and I was bitten again. I got caught up in the usual furore goes hand in hand with England at the finals and I watched nearly every game, stood in front of he TV in awe as Lineker and Beardsley tore teams apart and kicked my beer over at the hand of God. Well that was it, Football was back in my life but I hadn’t got a team. I’d moved away from my Wolves supporting mates by that time and the town (Stafford) I lived in was awash with Liverpool supporters (The Man U fans of their day) so no chance there then. Then I remembered I’d watched the cup final earlier in the summer and cheered on the team who I thought might beat Liverpool and still recalled the crowing from a certain gentleman that Liverpool were double winners and wolves were languishing in the lower divisions. So that was it, my love of the perceived underdog and a chance to stick it to my Dad by supporting his teams biggest rival was there for the taking, my team was chosen, Everton.
I’ve never looked back since and the blues have been with me now for 26 years. I did think I might be some kind of footballing Jonah what with the Wolves thing and then Everton’s gradual decline, erm maybe I am, probably best I keep my location a secret for fear of reprisals. It’s nothing to do with Johnson or Kenwright etc it’s my bad Karma. I’ve never wavered though, I was older now and appreciated what it meant to truly support a team with every ounce of passion I had. I’ve met my best mate through love of the Blues, Ok we worked at the same place but Everton got us talking and he’s now god parent to my son. My son is the only Evertonian at a school full of Man U , Chelsea and Stoke (oops yes I live near) but still proudly wears his Cahill shirt amongst all the Drogba’s and Rooneys etc... on non uniform day. The previously mentioned passion was exemplified for me, not by the cup win in 95 but when sitting in the Lower Bullens on what was one of the best, sorry Kids your birth was a great day and all that and to the missus meeting you is generally considered a plus but the day we stayed up against Coventry was ****ing mental. An epic day despite the fact that we’d only narrowly stayed up, I got soaked as it chucked it down shortly after the final whistle, got a bollocking off the then wife for coming home 4 hours late and pissed out of my head and couldn’t speak properly for 3 days for all the shouting.
I’m sad to admit I probably only attend 5 or 6 games a season but it’s all I can afford. I’m made up the lad has chosen the blues as his team despite the peer pressure to support a “winning team”. Bollocks to them Lad you’re a Blue now, don’t follow the crowd and make the same mistakes I did, our time will come.
So that’s it really, do I qualify to be an Evertonian?
