31st Anniversary | Vital Football

31st Anniversary

HerrLjunga

Vital 1st Team Regular
... Of my old man taking me to my first Gills game as a bookwormish seven year old.

Now I can't tell you what I had for dinner yesterday, but my memories of this particular game are vivid, quite a few of my formative games are.

Cambridge Utd at home 1989/90; I can picture the cover of the match programme (a dodgy sketch of an unidentifiable Gills player), the smell of hotdogs and onions, seats at the front of the old Main Stand and little me throwing the ball back to Cambridge players twice as it bounced out of play. I distinctly remember asking my Dad what the fans in the Rainham End were shouting when the Cambridge keeper took goalkicks...

We won 1-0, returning loanee Pat Gavin with the only goal and I was instantly hooked. The follow up game a few weeks later (a 1-2 defeat at home to Grimsby) mattered not, the bug had bitten and here I am still, exiled but counting down the days until I get to see us play again.

I know the average age on here is bordering on "gimmer", but anyone else remember their Gills debut as a fan?
 
Funnily enough, I researched that game a while ago and noticed that a young Dion Dublin was in the Cambridge United team that night.

I am a gimmer so my dad started taking me in about 1968/69. I can not remember the first opposition but I can remember a lot of the players - Brian Yeo, John Simpson, Bill Williams, Dave Quirke, Gordon Riddick and Carl Gilbert.
 
My first game would have been against Watford my Dad supported them all his life although as a total plastic mostly because money was tight and his hours were long .I didn't really support Gills after till I started work in the mid seventies.
 
Not in the level of detail you remember, but I can remember my first game, December 1986 against Chelmsford in the FA Cup, we won 2-0 with 2 goals from Cascarino (although I'll be honest, I had to look that up, I don't really remember it).

One thing I do *think* I remember, though, although looking back now I don't know whether it really happened, or whether I've made it up, because it seems pretty strange. Back in the 80s, did they deliver programmes for that day's match to your house? The way I remember it, my Dad had arranged it as a surprise, and I had no idea I was going to be going until a programme was delivered to our house.
 
... Of my old man taking me to my first Gills game as a bookwormish seven year old.

Now I can't tell you what I had for dinner yesterday, but my memories of this particular game are vivid, quite a few of my formative games are.

Cambridge Utd at home 1989/90; I can picture the cover of the match programme (a dodgy sketch of an unidentifiable Gills player), the smell of hotdogs and onions, seats at the front of the old Main Stand and little me throwing the ball back to Cambridge players twice as it bounced out of play. I distinctly remember asking my Dad what the fans in the Rainham End were shouting when the Cambridge keeper took goalkicks...

We won 1-0, returning loanee Pat Gavin with the only goal and I was instantly hooked. The follow up game a few weeks later (a 1-2 defeat at home to Grimsby) mattered not, the bug had bitten and here I am still, exiled but counting down the days until I get to see us play again.

I know the average age on here is bordering on "gimmer", but anyone else remember their Gills debut as a fan?

I am much younger than all you gimmers.

At 13 my dad (goddington_gill) took me to my first gills game vs Man City...not the playoff game, but i think the last game of the proper season in '99. They filled the away end, by memory i think they won 2-0. Was a great atmosphere and we were in the town end but somehow i was then hooked. I guess i probably wasn't hooked, but i thought, well this is alright i'll try it again...

My dad then went to the PNE game i think. I missed it (school) but went to the Playoff Final game. I think maybe it's a good thing i wasn't quite so emotionally invested in gills then as I would be now.

My old man immediately took the plunge and got me and my sister a ST and I then went to virtually all the games the next season (home and many away too). That was my first full season supporting gills - a good one!

It was downhill from then on really!

Before that, I had gone to 2 matches: Arsenal vs Man U in Charity Shield and Arsenal vs Barca in the Champions League. I didn't even support them, my sister did (who now has absolutely no interest in football at all). I remember to this day my dad making sure i was prepared that it wouldn't be of the same standard as the Arsenal games :grinning::grinning:

At the time, I supported Everton because back in 1995 I had seen them on TV on route to the FA cup final and liked an underdog. Also my mum was from Liverpool so I claimed 'heritage' for a few years. Couldn't really care less about them now though.
 
I can't remember my first game but it was the 76/77 season under Gerry Summers and my Grandad took my brother and me as my dad didn't like football. We had a pretty good side then and I was immediately hooked. We used to stand behind the goal in the Town end and offer Ron Hillyard opal fruits. He always said no but sometimes asked us how long was left
 
Easy for me. Nearly 20K in the stadium, blowing a gale and we got stuffed 0-3. Didn't matter I was hooked by the rainham end surges.

Everton FA Cup.
 
70/71
I was nearly 15 and travelled down by train from Gravesend with two mates to watch Gills v Fulham.
I think we lost but it was a massive crowd, we stood in the Town End and I was hooked.
I’ve paid dearly for it ever since.
 
Cant really remember my first Gills game. It was a mid week game under lights. I pestered my sister like mad to take me with her then boyfriend later my brother in law. it would have to be around 1965/66. I do remember the crowd, the lights and the roar when Gills scored.
I remember my second Gills game much more. Away to Watford in the FA cup. memorable because it was the longest journey I'd ever had in a car . A pale blue Ford Anglia with I think white trim. I went with my new Brother in law. The anticipation racking up before KO was palpable. Cant remember anything about the game other than we lost but again it was the crowd and the oneness of being a Gills fan that got me.
Started going regularly with my mates 1971-1972 season
 
Cant really remember my first Gills game. It was a mid week game under lights. I pestered my sister like mad to take me with her then boyfriend later my brother in law. it would have to be around 1965/66. I do remember the crowd, the lights and the roar when Gills scored.
I remember my second Gills game much more. Away to Watford in the FA cup. memorable because it was the longest journey I'd ever had in a car . A pale blue Ford Anglia with I think white trim. I went with my new Brother in law. The anticipation racking up before KO was palpable. Cant remember anything about the game other than we lost but again it was the crowd and the oneness of being a Gills fan that got me.
Started going regularly with my mates 1971-1972 season

Machin messed about with it in the corner. They scored. Scored another. Derek Woodley on for the last few minutes. Things started happening. Yeo scored. Over. I’ve probably got it wrong.
 
I've had to look up the year, but I remember it was a 2-2 draw against Mansfield. Research tells me it was 1974, so I'd have been 7.

I blame my aunts for taking me, thus leading to a life sentence.
 
Can't remember who my first game was against, think it might have been Cardiff or Bristol City. It was about 82/83 and I was lucky enough to be invited along as it was my brother's birthday present. All I really remember about it was burning my mouth on the soup my mum had made for us and put in a flask. My old man has a lot to answer for that day to this for getting me hooked.
 
... Of my old man taking me to my first Gills game as a bookwormish seven year old.

Now I can't tell you what I had for dinner yesterday, but my memories of this particular game are vivid, quite a few of my formative games are.

Cambridge Utd at home 1989/90; I can picture the cover of the match programme (a dodgy sketch of an unidentifiable Gills player), the smell of hotdogs and onions, seats at the front of the old Main Stand and little me throwing the ball back to Cambridge players twice as it bounced out of play. I distinctly remember asking my Dad what the fans in the Rainham End were shouting when the Cambridge keeper took goalkicks...

We won 1-0, returning loanee Pat Gavin with the only goal and I was instantly hooked. The follow up game a few weeks later (a 1-2 defeat at home to Grimsby) mattered not, the bug had bitten and here I am still, exiled but counting down the days until I get to see us play again.

I know the average age on here is bordering on "gimmer", but anyone else remember their Gills debut as a fan?
1 0 home to the Swine. 1/1/66
7 years old. With oldest brother and grandad. Town End on Main Stand side. At the front in line with six yard box. Could just about see over the wall. Remember Ralph Miller scoring the winner in front of me. Also remember the special cars for the disabled in the opposite corner. Little blue things iirc.
 
My first game was a pre season friendly v Clyde....Gills won 4-1
I remember that. Watched it from corner of Rainham End/Main Stand. Used to climb up and sit on the bars that criss crossed the floodlight pylon at a height of about 5 feet for a good view.

It felt very exotic watching a "foreign" team.
 
70/71
I was nearly 15 and travelled down by train from Gravesend with two mates to watch Gills v Fulham.
I think we lost but it was a massive crowd, we stood in the Town End and I was hooked.
I’ve paid dearly for it ever since.
Think that was on TV Shotshy. Look it up on Gillinghamscrapbook for coverage/highlights. 1 3 iirc from 1 0 up (Green) iirc.
 
I followed results from Longfield for several years before actually watching a game, no one I knew supported Gillingham. My first game was 1st April (I kid you not) 1967 v Watford, who were pretty good then. Of course we played brilliantly, trounced them 4-1, I found the shed run by Mark Agate and co, everyone was very friendly and that was about it. The very next home game we were dismal and lost 2-0 to Reading but through my rose tinted specs that was just a blip, a travesty, a mistake. I haven't learned but I have learned to live with it. I still know all the people I met back then apart from the fallers.