You failed your duty?

[Pilchards]

Just a thought after reading the 'a new saint' thread.

 

Has anyone got a story to tell us about yourself or friends that have failed to make their child a Saint?

 

I know my dad did the very same to me as a crazy spurs supporter but at the age of 6 I told him I wanted to be a saint. gutted he was, utterly gutted how I wanted to give up on a team that was a class above saints.

[The Kraken]

Similar for me; old man is an Everton fan and he had me supporting them until 9 or 10 when I went to a Saints game, and that was that.

[View From The Top]

I decided to allow my nipper to support whoever he wanted (the Utd, Bin Dippers etc excluded) and fully expected him to follow Stoke or Wolves as we live in between the two but he chose Saints!

 

Not pressurised or influenced by me in any way shape or form which makes it even more rewarding going to games with him now.

 

Some people seem genuinely obsessed with making their kids saints fans which I'm always found slightly disturbing.

[bristolsaint29]

Ironically seeing as I started the new saint thread it would be a good time to pop up and say my relative was Dixie Dean

[View From The Top]

Ironically seeing as I started the new saint thread it would be a good time to pop up and say my relative was Dixie Dean

 

I have a relative called Dixie Dean, after, strangely enough, Dixie Dean!

[Colinjb]

My 3 year old stepdaughter is undergoing indoctrination as we speak.... but her favourite colour remains 'blue.'

 

I'll keep you all posted and equally, am open to suggestions.

[Amesbury Saint]

Wife is a Pompey ST holder.

Eldest son a Saint (he is now 18) and a Saints ST holder like Dad

Youngest son (almost 5) is a Pompey ST holder.

 

Only 50% success rate!

[Amesbury Saint]

Wife is a Pompey ST holder.

Eldest son a Saint (he is now 18) and a Saints ST holder like Dad

Youngest son (almost 5) is a Pompey ST holder.

 

Only 50% success rate!

 

Eighteen but system showed smilely face?

[Golden Balls]

My dad decided not to pressure me into any team and I ended up with Everton. I soon came to my senses at the age of 5-6 when I realised I was from Southampton

[Colinjb]

Eighteen but system showed smilely face?

 

8 and ) Does that. It's a real pain when doing match reports.

[Fan The Flames]

My old man is a Plymouth fan and they were the only team he took me to, never the Saints, but I choose local and wanted to be a Saints fan, being born in 1970 helped. I have a 7 year old daughter who is a Saints fan and a 1 year old boy. I have a list of teams they can support, Saints (top of the list), Plymouth and Arsenal (grand dads) Charlton and Gillingham (local sides), no kid of mine will support Man U, Man City, Chelsea or the like.

[Hayling Saint]

All my family are PFC (Mum, dad, 2 brothers & 3 sisters), they have never been happy witn me!

[saints-cris]

Gotta say, i find it strange when i see families with mixed support. My dad raised me and my twin brother as Saints fans, 1 game was it took. We lost 3-0.

[Jonnyboy]

Wife is a Pompey ST holder.

Eldest son a Saint (he is now 18) and a Saints ST holder like Dad

Youngest son (almost 5) is a Pompey ST holder.

 

Only 50% success rate!

 

I could never go out with let alone marry a PFC season ticket holder.

[BigShadow]

All my family are PFC (Mum, dad, 2 brothers & 3 sisters), they have never been happy witn me!

 

Bloody Hell - that surely must qualify for some sort of "Life improvement from dire and extreme circumstances" award. Good Work!!

[cellone]

Have to admit I think I'm brainwashing my 1yr old daughter. Livvy was 3 wks early and turned up on the night of the last game we thought I could go to with out any worries (could make a day of it, in a way that would never happen again). That day Miffy talked me into buying a Baby Saints dinner set so food is connected to Sammy Saint and the crest, the crest/badge can also be found about the house and also on Dad. It doesn't matter which format the game comes in she get's right into it, joining in any singing at home and the commentators and crowd.

[STEVEADAMS]

All my family are PFC (Mum, dad, 2 brothers & 3 sisters), they have never been happy witn me!

 

That's fantastic, at least someone has some sense. Good work, LOL.

[1976_Child]

screw ewe all.

 

Peak oil, global depression and the end to debt-based monetary ponzi finance is upon us. And all you can think about is who your da supported?

 

fek sake. Wake up and smell the coffee. The next twenty years are not going to be anything like the last twenty years.

 

The world's fiat monetary system is on its knees and we common people are being raped. Good luck brothers and sisters. It is not going to be pretty...

 

Who cares who your da supported? We all need to support each other and stand up against the elites.

[St Jim]

All my family are PFC (Mum, dad, 2 brothers & 3 sisters), they have never been happy witn me!

 

ha ha, mine too - my Mum, Dad, Brother, Stepmum and Aunt are all Sk8s. They call me the black sheep of the family but as far as I'm concerned I am the silver lining of the dark cloud that has blighted my family for a generation.

 

My dad used to try and get me into PFC as a kid by taking me to KrapNottarf but I just used to get enjoyment from seeing them being beaten & seeing Chris Nicol once presented with something on the pitch at PFC prior to a game (can't remember who it was against, either Grimsby or Watford of someone equally insignificant)

 

Although living in Australia now I will ensure that my two lads (currenlty 2 & 4) will ensure their future is red & white.

[saintscottofthenortham]

My old man is a Manure fan and had me pretending to be one until 12/13. FFS...

[pap]

Unfortunately, my youngest is a LFC fan.

 

She's never actually been to a LFC game ( she has been to two Saints games ) but I can hardly blame her for that. She was born in Liverpool, her mum is a Reds fan too.

 

The eldest's allegiance, such that it is, lies with Saints.

[dronskisaint]

My son despite early indoctrination 'followed' the 'pool/Utd success bandwagon of peer pressure and aside from the beatings, the witheld pocket money and the starvation I never tried to influence him.

 

Happily now he has been a Saints fan for many years and juggles his Canadian work schedules around Saints Player on match days.

[hutch]

I think I've done my duty. Even though he was born in Pretoria, my son (now 12) is a Saint through & through. He only just realised this morning that the Springboks have gone to New Zealand for something.

[dubai_phil]

My eldest - daughter - went to her first game - ZDS final at Wembley '92 at age 8. As well as being perched on the crush barriers on the Milton Road End. Although not a true fan she follows us and always says she is a Saints fan.

Middle Son went at age 5 and was hooked and still is, arranging his Xmas holidays when flying back from working in Europe to get as many games in as he can & flew back for JPT final.

 

Youngest (well, not so these days) - never really stood a chance, ex & father in law brainwashed him from day one (after many rows). FiL played for Scouse reserves with Roger Hunt so it wa all very intense & he is still an ST holder up there along with all the ex-inlaws, so he (youngest)'s been dragged up to Anfield a load of times. Mind you t'other son took him to the poopey game in the cup and youngest still says it was the most amazing/intense/best game he's ever been to and has said he'd like to go to SMS again if he ever gets back from the US.

[Pancake]

8 and ) Does that. It's a real pain when doing match reports.

 

Just tick "Disable Smileys In Text" option in Advanced Reply.

 

(18)

[Toomer]

My son in law is an egg chaser and plays roller & ice hockey not into football, I can live with that, but a good few years ago my daughter brought a lad home who was a skate, she soon learnt the error of her ways.

Edited 5 September, 2011 by Toomer

[badgerx16]

Wife is a born & bred Citeh fan, who longs for the days of Colin Bell et al. Eldest son used to be a full on Arsenal fan, but now claims he's ALWAYS supported Blackpool. Youngest son supports Villa, ( don't ask why ), and daughter supports Bolton, who are her local team.

[scott_saints]

My Dad doesn't like football, but if asked he would say he supports Saints. He only recently remembered that he was at the 76 final...... That's how much football means to him.

 

Anyway, when I was about 5 or 6 I began getting into football and started gloryhunting. I decided Manchester United were my team because they kept winning. There was a Man United game on once at Bishy club and I said I was supporting them (after a couple of years of confusion wearing allsorts of passed down football shirts- Glasgow Rangers, Liverpool, Saints). My old man said I couldn't sit at the table with them or be at the same bar unless I supported Southampton.

 

It worked. Fair play to him, despite not liking football, for realising I should be A Saints fan.

[jasonb]

My lad is a ManU supporter but I don't mind this fact as he was born and is being raised in Manchester. Call me old fashioned but I firmly believe in supporting your home-town club. Deep down though I know he has a soft spot for Saints and that's the way it should be. If I'm honest I like seeing Utd win too as most of my wife's family support them, some going way back to the Busby era and I like seeing them happy.

 

There ya' go... Utd supporters from Manchester - true story

[The9]

My dad used to go and watch Liverpool sporadically from the 1960s to the early 1990s and took me to Anfield about once a season, and a few cup finals too, until my teens. He also took me to see Newport County every other Saturday from the 70s until the club's bankruptcy in 1989.

 

He knew I was going to be a Saints fan when he came down to see Saints v Liverpool with me at the Dell in 1991/2 and discovered me supporting the home team (I took him in the Milton which must have been slightly awkward for him). To be fair to me, it wasn't like I had another "proper" team to support with Newport AFC reviving themselves down in the Hellenic League (though I saw a few low-level games nevertheless), and I was a student in Southampton by then.

 

Weirdly he promptly gave up on following Liverpool entirely, but I suspect that was more due to Modern Football than them turning crap, as he still watches Newport County AFC every home match and has done all the way back up to the Conference over the past 20+ years.

 

I only feel I've failed in MY duty when I see mates from Newport supporting Cardiff City. Luckwell and Keith, I'm looking at you. One former Liverpool fan from just outside Newport and one Midlands-born part-time Wolves fan who has lived in Newport a mile from their home ground for 15 years, was also in the South Wales Arsenal Supporters Club for a couple of years in the 90s; both now Cardiff City season ticket holders, FFS. Even when I worked in a sports shop in Newport in the mid-90s I used to hide the Cardiff shirts at the back of the rails...

[Special K]

My Dad's from the era when he used to watch both Saints and Pompey when he was young, but when he got older, he was more skate than saint

 

Anyway, he took me to Fratton Park quite a few times before i told him i preferred going to the Dell, so he gave up. Never looked back.

 

My boy is saints too, although i first took him during the Portvliet days, so he didn't see us win for about a dozen games, so it was a struggle to get him to keep interested.

[batterseasaint]

I'm from a reasonably long line of Saints fans and I wasn't going to take any risk with my daughter. I took her to her first game when she was 5 (Millwall, first game in L1) and had to bribe her into doing so. Having bought her a season ticket, she flatly refused to go, but after careful negotiation (promising her that if she didn't like it, I wouldn't ask her to go again) I got her through the turnstiles. She was immediately addicted and now is obsessed with anything Saints, and by Christ do I love her for it. She is now the 4th generation of Saints fans in our family and each game is a fantastic family day out.

 

She has thankfully grown up on a diet of winning, so I had to sit her down before the Leeds game and tell her that this season is unlikely to be another procession of win after win... we then promptly thrashed Leeds, Ipswich etc and she still thinks its a walk in the park!

[Draino76]

My 7 year old is a gooner.

 

He bursts into tears every time Arsenal concede a goal.

That 8-2 game was the worst day in his life! :-)

 

Don't worry; I'm working on it.

[SNSUN]

I'm going to have a struggle on my hands when I eventually have children. I, of course, am a die hard Saint, but I became a Saint through influence, not through family. My dad 'follows' Torquay, but not seriously, so I don't have much to worry about on that score. My mum 'supports' Saints, but only because I show so much passion for the subject - I don't think she actually gives a toss either way.

 

The problem comes with my fiance. As most of you know she's a Norwich fan, not as passionate as I am for Saints, but still a Norwich fan nonetheless. Her brother and her mother are both die hard Norwich fans, as are her three best friends, all of whom live in Norwich and go to nearly every game. This is what I have to contend with. The only voice of sanity when I visit the in-law's house is her uncle, he supports Leeds.

 

So I do face a battle when I have kids. Still, they're my kids and I will do my utmost to get them to support Saints.I did think of doing a trade off - the girls can be Norwich, the boys can be Saints, but then I just know that I'll have all girls. So I will look forward to my first born, in the maternity ward, with a mini Saints kit in hand.

[Brittanysaint]

My old grandad was Saints he started taking me down the Dell with him in the days when his nephew Tony Godfrey was playing in goal. we used to come down from Kingsclere in the old Ford Pop.

My dad was Saints too so the three generations of us would come to most home games..me standing on a beer crate with home made rattle ( dad was a chippie so it was a good'un ).

My other Grandad was also Saints but even more staunch Basingstoke Town as he lived next to Camrose, hence we'd go to Town matches one week and Saints the next, whoever was at home.

The old folks have now long gone.

Then my Twins 1 boy 1 girl would come down with me starting at 4 years old at the Dell, then at St Marys, but when they got to teenage years it just got too expensive and with RL in charge we all just stopped....I started again and the kids ( now 25) still follow but don't go anymore .

So there is four generations who all used to come down 40 miles each way.

[dingbattigger]

Mrs D supports Liverpool thanks to her dad. Both girls are ardent Saints fans with their own ST's. To be fair, Mrs D also supports Saints as long as we are not playing Liverpool. Not sure how she'll cope when we are in the Prem next season.

[Hatch]

My two girls were both Saints fans up until 2005. Then a combination of us being utter shyte and the fact that Dad ( ie me) couldnt take them for a while , meant they now support Man Utd and Arsenal.

 

Therefore, I Failed.

[Griffo]

Anyone that lets relatives influence their child's choice of football club is a mong. Making your child support the same football club as you is a bond between father and son.

[pap]

:sigh:

[Griffo]

:sigh:

 

Bit different if it's girls mind you. They will never travel hundreds of miles with you to away days on Tuesday nights nor be able to share a pint with you before/after.

[Dimond Geezer]

As a parent one of your duties is educate your off-spring & teach right from wrong. I correctly educated both my boys from a young age. They both know they will be sleeping in the shed should their alliegances change.

[dronskisaint]

I'm going to have a struggle on my hands when I eventually have children. I, of course, am a die hard Saint, but I became a Saint through influence, not through family. My dad 'follows' Torquay, but not seriously, so I don't have much to worry about on that score. My mum 'supports' Saints, but only because I show so much passion for the subject - I don't think she actually gives a toss either way.

 

The problem comes with my fiance. As most of you know she's a Norwich fan, not as passionate as I am for Saints, but still a Norwich fan nonetheless. Her brother and her mother are both die hard Norwich fans, as are her three best friends, all of whom live in Norwich and go to nearly every game. This is what I have to contend with. The only voice of sanity when I visit the in-law's house is her uncle, he supports Leeds.

 

So I do face a battle when I have kids. Still, they're my kids and I will do my utmost to get them to support Saints.I did think of doing a trade off - the girls can be Norwich, the boys can be Saints, but then I just know that I'll have all girls. So I will look forward to my first born, in the maternity ward, with a mini Saints kit in hand.

 

That's just child abuse to the girls!

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

My 5 year old son is a Saint & well and truly hooked after attending 10 or so games. Grandad, from Cornwall, has had a go at getting him to support his local team (Arsenal) but failed miserably (thankfully). My 3 year daughter is also showing an interest in Saints although all she says is that she supports Rickie Lambert.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

I remember reading some advice from someone (maybe on here) who said when faced with the problem of children being tempted by either teams to tell them this: when you pay rent you can choose the team you support. Until then you support the team I choose for you!

[View From The Top]

Anyone that lets relatives influence their child's choice of football club is a mong. Making your child support the same football club as you is a bond between father and son.

 

Says the teenager with no kids.

[Griffo]

Says the teenager with no kids.

 

I have a father though. One of the main bonds we have is Saints. Can't imagine not having that with him. A Dad should do his upmost to make sure his kid (a lad especially) follows the same team as him.

[View From The Top]

I have a father though. One of the main bonds we have is Saints. Can't imagine not having that with him. A Dad should do his upmost to make sure his kid (a lad especially) follows the same team as him.

 

When you have kids, you'll understand.

[Hayling Saint]

But now my missus, son, daughter, daughter in law & step daughters are all Saints fans. We are beginning, to out number the Skates in the family

[Saint-Fred]

My eldest, 11, is a Saint through and through.

My youngest wears the kits, enjoys going occasionally despite not being into footy really and when asked in front of me says he supports Saints but I know he wants to support Chelsea as his mates all do.

 

Funny thing is my eldest mates all have Saints as their second team but I believe they wished they supported Saints but don't as they are following their fathers teams.

Of course when I take my eldest we always take a spurs/liverpool/man U/Chelski supporting mate or two and I make sure I point out the benefits of supporting a local team rather than one they will only see on TV. Nearly converted a couple including one Liverpool fan who's Dad said to me in a weak moment that he hopes I do as it will give him an excuse to go to Saints more often, as he can't bring himself to switch sides!

[Jack]

My parents are both WHU 'supporters', although they haven't been since the 80's. This left me in the unfortunate spot of not having any sensible footballing advice as a child. I started off with 'liking' Man Utd because of Peter Schmeichel, Ryan giggs and Paul scholes. Luckily when I moved to the area when I was 8, I made friends with 3 saints fans and was hooked immediately. This despite my mother's advice to follow portsmouth as it would be cheaper. Lucky that I mostly ignored her advice through my life, even as a 10 year old.