Love this one
My memories are blurred and I can kind of split it into two categories.
My dad used to provide the meat for the Grandstand Restaurant, and had a box (box number 5 at pitch level) and my proper first memories are of going in there, messing about with the old guy on the door, then watching TV and every now and then being sucked in by the way the grown ups were getting excited and the crowd noise, then after the game a player would often come in- I've got photos of me with Kevin Keegan, Peter Shilton, Mick Channon, Tommy Hutchison, Ian Wallace (his eye was all bandaged up, don't know why)- then the grown ups would get hammered and I'd watch Doctor Who with certain other posters on here. Specific things stick out- Bobby McDonald watching the game and me not understanding why he wasn't playing- he was apparently my favourite and had just signed for Man City- the ball thumping the window after a wild clearance, they were great days. Got one of my most prized possessions during that time- a fiver signed by Jimmy Hill saying "to rob, a sky blue for life hopefully, yours, JH". But throughout that time the football wasn't really the focus, it was the day out and the fun, that lasted through until about 82/83 I'd say.
Fast forward a couple of years and the box had gone and I'd developed into a big fan but didn't go to games, my dad took me to us v Newcastle and we drew 1-1, Kenny Hibbitt scored a free kick and i was mesmerised, but it wasn't the football so much.. the feeling walking around the corner onto the Sky Blue Terrace, seeing the big green pitch for the first time as a proper football fan, the sky blue seats and the players warming up- seemingly enormous but tiny at the same time- "human" I guess after only seeing this team on TV, I felt sick with nerves and utterly in love with the whole scene, the whole place, my team, my people, my city- it was just magical. There are some sights that will never fade away as long as I live- Houchen diving seemingly right towards me as he scored in the cup final, Regis hanging in the air with time stood still as he scored the winner v Spurs in '86, JH appearing in the Main Stand in '05 to lead the Sky Blue song, but that first glimpse of HR as a "proper fan" might just be the most profound of all.
And here is the match itself..
Brilliant thread