what it is to be a Blade

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dublin 10 blade said:
I'm 52 years old , being following the Blades , man and boy , since I was in single digits ,
And ya know what , with all the lows , some highs , some tears , some smiles ,
I wouldn't change a fucking thing ,
I love this fucking club of ours , to my core ,
my Irish son is now afflicted , by the Blades .
No matter how shit we are , there's always next week to improve ,
Through this forum , I've got back in touch with blokes I used to go to school with ,
We all know that Sheffield United , are , and will never be the best club in the world .
But they are in our world , of hard bitten working class , take no shit northerners ,
We all want this club to do well , and more through hope then expectations we all think
this will be are year .
I wish I could see our club every week , and am jealous as fuck ( no matter ) how shit there are .
Of most on this forum who get to see them most weeks .
I'm from Sheffield , I follow Sheffield United , and I'm a fucking Blade .
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COYRAWWizaaaaaaaaaaaaards
 

My late Grandad took me to my first matches when I was 7 or 8 years old, I saw that team, TC, Woody, Badger, etc., I remember Keith Edwards, what a goal machine, passionate players like Dane Whitehouse, the brief flirtation with the Premier League and then the recent wilderness years. Followed the Blades for over 45 years.

Great feeling on match day, meeting fellow Blades in the pubs, walking to the ground. Coming out of BDTBL in winter when its already gone dark. Freezing cold Tuesday nights.

In recent years, driving home after the game, saying "Sheffield f**king United, spoiling my f**king weekend, yet again!", and come the following match, can't wait to see them!!!

Maybe it is the same, no matter who you support, but to me, something special about being a Blade.
 
Silent Blade said:
I was supposed to be playing in a match at Castledyke but heavy snow forced postponement so I was off to the Lane with a team mate of mine (1951-2000) to watch that match against Hull. First time I saw Steve Charles. Phil Jones was the man of the match. Len De Goey scored for us at the Kop End but Hull equalised late on
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Snow at Castledyke, could've been August!!
 
I suppose I fit Tyler Durden's definition of "...by instinct rather than conscious choice" I had no family or friends who were Blades except one who took me to The Lane in 1966 and I've been hooked ever since. So much so that I'm on a three month tour of Europe and the proudest thing I have is the Blades sticker on the back window of the car.
 
Didn't grow up in Sheffield. Have no Sheffield connections. Took a real interest in the blades during the Bassett era and was immediately hooked. Have been travelling over from NI 4 or 5 times each season for about the last 15 years. Can't describe the feeling that I get when I approach bdtbl. It's amazing to see the red and white stripes everywhere! (Very rare to see another blades shirt over here). This is a football club that gets under your skin and draws you in at every turn, both positive and negative. Both my boys are blades and am bringing the youngest over to the home game v Rochdale. Flying home on the Sunday and then flying back for Southend on the tues night. Best way to describe it for me is that on the mornings of travelling to see the blades I am like a kid on xmas day. There is nothing like it!
 
What is it to be a Blade?



Sheffield United FC has given me a thousand times more misery, pain, heartache, kicks in the bollocks, and spoilt weekends, than it has ever given me pleasure. I've been following this shower of shite for nearly 47 years now, and to be honest, I curse the day that my dad ever got me involved with them. Not that I wish that I followed another football club, I just wished that I didn't follow football in general.

But, it's too late for me; I'm stuck with them until the day I get stripped of my mortal coil. I follow their every move avidly, greedily consume every bit of transfer gossip out there, and pour over league tables and fixture lists, still working out permutations and possible final positions like I'm 12 years old. I've followed them from Hartlepool to Portsmouth, and spent an absolute packet in the process. Yes, SUFC's in my blood like a very bad addictive drug, but I really wish that I had the strength and determination to do cold turkey, and ween myself from the poison completely. It will never happen though, I'm stuck with them for life. I know that for sure!

My six year old boy though is another thing entirely. I only live up the road in S11, but I promised myself before he was even born, that I would never do to him, something that I wished had never happened to me. There's far more to life that football, that much I have learnt over the years. Just look at all the crap that happened at Grimsby over the weekend, for a fucking so-called friendly. I remember having a brawl in the middle of Cleethorpes back in the late 80's. Drove over for a day out with a couple of mates on a Bank Holiday Monday. We'd only just got there and were sat there eating our fish and chips on the sea wall, when some locals heard our accents and jumped on us. All hell broke loose, and the locals ended up unconscious in the flower beds. We got arrested, and the ambulances took them to the local hospital. Six months later we were all summoned to Grimsby Crown Court, with me on the verge of being sent down for GBH and affray. Turns out that these friendly locals had loads of previous, and all x5 of them were sent to prison instead, whilst me and my mates were found to be totally innocent. I just knew it was going to kick off at Grimsby on Saturday. Anyone who took their kids to that fixture needs their heads seeing to, they really do - It's just totally irresponsible.

No way would I want my little lad to ever witness any of that, never mind the chance of being caught up in it too. Even at the Lane, I'm surrounded by people effing and blinding, when there are little ones sitting directly in front of them. I just don't want my boy to be surrounded by that kind of language. I was no saint when I was younger, and I'm still not. Had my fair share of scuffles over the years, and swore with the rest of them at most matches. I guess I'm finally growing up, and I guess that I just want something better in life for my boy.

Anyhow, Up The Blades!

I have a very good feeling about this coming season, with Chris Wilder at the helm.
 
Silent Blade said:
I was supposed to be playing in a match at Castledyke but heavy snow forced postponement so I was off to the Lane with a team mate of mine (1951-2000) to watch that match against Hull. First time I saw Steve Charles. Phil Jones was the man of the match. Len De Goey scored for us at the Kop End but Hull equalised late on
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That was pretty much the story of those first 7 or 8 games I saw. Our family friend even starting taking me to games v supposedly weaker teams believing we'd win but it didn't happen until we were in Div.4. One of the games was v Carlisle and we were expected to win. Remember Kenworthy scoring a penalty and I think we were 2-0 up but still drew 2-2.

First game I saw us win was early Sept 1981 v Colchester 1-0 Bob Hatton. What a relief!
 
My dad's from Rovrum so as a child i was taken to millmoor and when Rovrum were away and if the 'massive' were at home he'd take me there as his mate worked on the gate and would let us in, however.....in April 1971 at the ripe old age of 8, my uncle 'Coopermans' dad took me to the promised land and a 3-0 home win v Brum in the sunshine...that was it...I belonged to the Blades.

To this day I still feel the shame and stigma and downright dirtyness of those handful of visits to that den of Ill repute in North Sheffield. .or is it South Barnsley?
 
Let me take you back to the 1960's, I was seven years old and my dad had just bought our first black and white television and consequently I got my first introduction to association football. One of the best and most successful team at that time was 'Tottenham Hotspurs' in the 1960/61 season they did the League and Cup double and I would imagine were on Tv's 'Match of the day' program all the time, and with household named players the likes of Jimmy Greaves, Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay 'The Spurs' became my favourite team.
I remember getting a table football game for Christmas and writing 'White Heart Land' on the side.

On Saturday 22nd September 1962 my dad took me to see Spurs play United at the Lane, we stood on the Kop, just next to this massive floodlight pylon, I remember it was fantastic and the most exciting atmosphere (38,000+) United won 3-1 and as they say 'the rest is history' My father, is now long gone but I will never forget that day. Ironically I found out years later whilst reading through his war - letters (sent from Burma) that he wrote about is beloved Wednesday.

Following MY beloved football team through the many ups and downs from the promotion to Division One 1971 and the relegation to the 4th Division 1981, I was there and would not have had it any other way.

I Introduced my son to the Blades at Valley Parade, Bradford City v Sheffield United friendly match on Saturday 6th August 1994, He has already had the ups and downs of being a Blade and trust me many more will follow :)
 

My dad hates football. My uncle took me to my first game around 1992 I think. A 0--0 draw with Liverpool. I got addicted then and have always struggled with the blades virus ever since. I go to an AA style meeting every Thursday with a few posters off here but we always crack and end up back at the lane.
 
Kenilworth said:
It's mostly a sense of belonging but to something that has meaning, depth, history, longevity (generations) and an identity that you can fully associate with.

I was born and raised in Sheffield and left when I went to Uni and then on to work. My folks still live in Sheffield but my son was born in Worcestershire - although he now lives and works in Leeds
His first game (not at the ground) was an FA Cup Match vs Man Utd which he gurgled at, resplendent in a Blades baby grow, as his Dad watched us come from 1 down to beat ManUre 2-1 with goals from Hoyland and Hodges.
His first actual game was at BDTBL - Tuesday night, under the floodlights, vs Stockport County where Shaun Murphy scored the winner - a header from a corner - only 13,500 there that night but from then on he was hooked.
The sight of the green pitch under floodlights, the noises, the hustle and bustle, the energy of the place. It's all quite mesmerising to a 7 year old. The trip back in the car as you fall asleep with your Dad driving you home safe.
It's the togetherness, the shared experience, the connected world of it.
As you get older you share a beer before and after the game and talk tactics, players, managers, discuss incidents and reminisce on games past and look forward to games yet to come.
It's renewing the experience, repeatedly, when you can. Something that you share - a bond that sets you off close and keeps you closer.

The pain and the disappointment?
Fuck it.
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What about catching the 88 bus from Oakbrook Rd down to the match & back every other Sat!!

Nice post.
 
being a blade

its certainly not glory hunting , thats for sure
its about belonging , its our team our half of sheffield
not like people from Surrey supporting man utd or liverpool because they win things
we support sheffield doing it , the sane half ,not the dark side
we live for the good days
bob bookers header at QPR keeping us up , takes some beating to say what it means to be a blade
weve never afforded to be amongst the elite
weve always been the least well off of the 2 in Sheffield
but we live off the scraps, the good days which will return , they always have
 
It means going to Bramall Lane.
I love Bramall Lane, always have, always will. When it was three sided I'd be down there every summer day that Yorkshire played and come autumn and winter every game that the red and white wizards played. On the kop, sometimes the Lane end, even in front of the pavilion on a couple of occasions when my dad had made us late and it was full.
Remember the first night match my dad took me to, getting off the bus and walking up Shoreham street hand in hand, and the sheer joy of seeing the floodlights in their full glory. Going up the kop steps and staring down on the brightly lit pitch, pure heaven. Still prefer a night match to this day.
I sat in the new Bramall Lane stand on my 9th birthday when we beat Leeds 1-0 and Woody played in goal for most of the game because I had Chicken Pox and my mother insisted I had to sit, loved it, never went back though as my dad preferred to stand.

The ground has evolved and it's only a decent kop stand away from being top class, but it still retains it's character and feel.
No place like it for me. Players, managers, even my dad, have come and gone, but Bramall Lane is an absolute constant and I feel as at home there as any house I've ever lived in.
 
It means Kevin McCabe having the best interests of my club at heart
It's holding on to and idolising key players, and striving for big aspirations
And where that isn't possible it's protecting the best interests of this club and ensuring we get a bloomin' good deal
It's winning promotion, especially through the playoffs
It's hearing big promises and talk of promotion in June
It's hearing of "we tried for one or two, but..." come late August
It's waving a fond goodbye to your star player come the 1st of September...
...and warmly welcoming the vastly experienced journeyman replacement in on loan a week later
It's hearing talk of cutting our cloth accordingly come the Autumn
It's hearing "no one can force a player to stay", come January
It's the excitement of the next managerial appointment come May
It's watching the transfer activity warm up again the following June, wondering what we're waiting for
It's being outbid for transfer targets by Charlton and Wigan
It's the chance to wrestle with the footballing might of Fleetwood and Yeovil
It's the hope of one day emulating the achievements of Burton and Brentford
It's watching the youngsters come through, and fight for a shirt...
...and taking wagers on which one will be sold first
It's the occasional cup run
It's seeing Deane and Fjortoft sold on the same day.

It's fucking brilliant, really.
 
Kenilworth said:
The pain and the disappointment?
Fuck it.
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If you can't take the pain and disappointment, you really shouldn't support any team - it comes with the turf. Daft as it sounds to us, fans of Liverpool, Man. U., Man. C. even Chelsea have known (relative) disappointment.

Look at Hull. A few weeks ago, they beat a team in the play-offs and should be looking forward to a season (only one, mind) in the Premiership. Admittedly, the team they beat shouldn't have even been challenging for a place in the PL finishing, as they did, fourteen points outside autos and in a poor sixth place, but there you go.

Now look at them. Managers' done his usual disappearing act, barely enough players fit for the start of the season and their better players getting cherry-picked. Throw in a nutter owner who will probably change their name to Hull Tigers, crowds down to 15k and we think we have problems.

It's how football and life work:

It's not enough that I should succeed, others should fail. Gore Vidal.

Anyway. The Blades. More than just a club. A state of mind.
 
grafikhaus said:
If you can't take the pain and disappointment, you really shouldn't support any team - it comes with the turf. Daft as it sounds to us, fans of Liverpool, Man. U., Man. C. even Chelsea have known (relative) disappointment.

Look at Hull. A few weeks ago, they beat a team in the play-offs and should be looking forward to a season (only one, mind) in the Premiership. Admittedly, the team they beat shouldn't have even been challenging for a place in the PL finishing, as they did, fourteen points outside autos and in a poor sixth place, but there you go.

Now look at them. Managers' done his usual disappearing act, barely enough players fit for the start of the season and their better players getting cherry-picked. Throw in a nutter owner who will probably change their name to Hull Tigers, crowds down to 15k and we think we have problems.

It's how football and life work:

It's not enough that I should succeed, others should fail. Gore Vidal.

Anyway. The Blades. More than just a club. A state of mind.
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"....Anyway. The Blades. More than just a club. A state of mind...." and a state of "heart"
 
Some great posts.

It's so many things to so many people isn't it?

It was standing on the Old Kop, seeing the same people every week, and commenting when someone wasn't there.

It's going to the same programme seller, buying your grub from the same place.

It's having a bet on Roger Neilsen scoring (never did get a payout).

It's being at Wembley and saying goodbye to Mel, fuck the result of the game.

It's about so much more too, things I can't put into words or quantify.

I don't like the way the game is going, I don't like the ruin that money is causing, and I don't like parents acting like hyperactive apes on a Sunday morning. But I like and love what the game has given me. The memories, and to be honest a sense of redemption when I dragged one more season out of a pair of fucked knees long after I was told I really shouldn't be playing.
 
I can't really add much to everything which has been said. But I know this. If it wasn't for the ridiculous lows, the highs wouldn't feel half as good.
 
The Crab said:
Some great posts.

It's so many things to so many people isn't it?

It was standing on the Old Kop, seeing the same people every week, and commenting when someone wasn't there.

It's going to the same programme seller, buying your grub from the same place.

It's having a bet on Roger Neilsen scoring (never did get a payout).

It's being at Wembley and saying goodbye to Mel, fuck the result of the game.

It's about so much more too, things I can't put into words or quantify.

I don't like the way the game is going, I don't like the ruin that money is causing, and I don't like parents acting like hyperactive apes on a Sunday morning. But I like and love what the game has given me. The memories, and to be honest a sense of redemption when I dragged one more season out of a pair of fucked knees long after I was told I really shouldn't be playing.
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That's completely mad as I used to bet on Rog each week as well.

Blades fans eh, a different breed!
 

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