Why? How? When?

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I can understand people from outside of Sheffield having a choice but I didn't really have a choice seeing as dad was a Unitedite. I had one uncle who preferred the pigs otherwise all the family followed United. Geographically living in Wincobank Bramall lane, Millmoor and the pig sty were all within a few miles of home and it was one bus ride to all three grounds maybe Millmoor was closest. As a young un with my Dad and his workmate would get the 10 past two bus to town and I would either be placed on the railings at the front or on the white wall behind where dad and his mate stood. We could be home after the game in about half an hour, stand at the exit as soon as the ref blew we'd bomb out onto a footy special bus to the square then on our bus home which didn't take long as it was just steelworks until you got to Brightside time to have tea then go and get in the queue at the paper shop and wait for the Green un's to arrive .................... if we'd won. Life was much simpler in the 60's. Wish I could get home as quick today.
 
ShorehamRevolution said:
I could expand on this till kingdom come but as the thread title says......I'm not talking about Brexit or Donald Trump I'm wanting to know why? How? When? And why ?! You became a Blade... expanded posts appreciated.

Personally I could expand rapidly about why I'm a Blade, through mother and father and their/my family too, add to this my first few games were mediocre (got me prepared early) but then I fingerpoint the Blackburn quarter final as a 7/8 year old as a defining moment, the whole atmosphere swallowed me and from then on I've had ups and downs to which I still can't figure out which I've had more of, like I've said I could expand forever but what/why/how/when turned you into being a Blade ?
Click to expand...
DNA

Eat, shit and breath Blades
 
pommpey said:
My father became a Unitedite. He wasn't from Sheffield and married into a big, ace Sheffield family (the Haddingtons) who were, and still are, split between Wednesday and United. He went to the match with my venerable uncle Fred when they all lived in the same house in Crookes. As the sixties rolled round, they both took me to the match, standing on the BLLT to the left of the goal every week. I would go down to the railings and watch the match, in my parka. I became separated from them one Saturday and I was passed over the railings to the bobby who held me aloft and my uncle Fred came down to claim me.

From those early days, 1967-68, I became a Blade. Obviously this was sharpened in 1971-72.

pommpey
Click to expand...
Haddington... Fred Haddington... Would that be the Fred H who was a NUM official at both Brookhouse & Treeton Collieries during 70's & 80's Pommpey?
 
Dad was a Blade (but from a big Wendy family). He started taking me in 70/71 and I've never looked back.

No thought process or conscious decision, it is simply the way it is.
Life is simpler like that sometimes.....
 
Forced into it along with my brothers by my dad, the bastard! First game I can properly remember that got me hooked was the 2-1 win against Leeds in 02/03, think my first game was a drab 0-0 against Palace where I fell asleep the season earlier!
 
Moved to England, working in Sheffield in 92, a work colleague suggested a few beers and an evening at BDTBL.

Stood on John St Terrace, watched Blades beat Charlton.

Love at first sight.
 
My Dad used to take me to the training on Myrtle Road (I think) as we struggled to afford tickets.

Started going regular when I got my first job at 15 & been as much as possible for the last 20+ years!

I now get the honour of taking 2 of my boys to matches (the third is still too young)
 
LSF said:
Haddington... Fred Haddington... Would that be the Fred H who was a NUM official at both Brookhouse & Treeton Collieries during 70's & 80's Pommpey?
Click to expand...

The very same. One of Uncle Arthur's right hand men. Staunch union man, fiercely proud. Very much known to SYP and a custodian of their wonderful hospitality and kindness during times of need.

Visited him last year. He is like a grizzled tree trunk of Sheffield pride and the double of my granddad who was a reverser at Neepsend Steelworks. Although he and I would disagree about certain political issues, I am proud to be related to him. He is what 'standing up for what you believe in' is all about.

pommpey
 
My dad is a Wendy and wanted me to be one but he never took me as money was very tight with a large family and only dad earning, however he took me to swills for a reserve game one midweek night I must have been 8, they were playing United and as the teams ran out onto the pitch I saw the red and white stripes for the first time, curious as to why they were called united (dad had shielded me from the blades very existence) and were they Man Utd ? Who was my favourite team at that time, anyway think the game was a draw and I walked away aware that Sheffield had two clubs, so, fast forward to my first job and a mutual hatred of my then boss Bert Magee plus the combination of my new workmates who were blades took me back to hillsborough for another United game, we spent the whole game chanting Magee out and then as the match drew to a close I turned to one of the lads and said, "are you going to the next United match" ? Having my own job and money meant I didn't have to be an armchair Wendy waiting for a clip on calendar Monday night (as most of them are) and I started going to the odd match at the lane, Deane and Agana were smashing everybody to bits and the vibe on the kop back then was amazing, we were going places, we were cool as fuck and I wanted to be part of all of it.... season ticket bought and off we went.

I'm a latecomer at 18 to start being a blade, but there were some real consequences after dad saw my United tattoo one morning and he knew I wasn't turning back, it ruined our relationship for a very long time, and he's not been the same since in reality, I'm jealous of the blades who saw sabella and Woodward "etc" but then, I can boast my first away game was a certain day at filbert street..

I left home shortly after that weekend...UTB...
 
I've told this tale many times but here I go again.

I was born on a Leeds council estate (Seacroft) and at the age of 2 we moved to a new estate at Bracken wood.

My dad had little interest in sport and neither did I as a youngster but I passed my 11 plus which was unusual for an estate kid and in 1967 I went to Roundhay Grammar school whilst all but 2 other kids on the estate went to Allerton Grange.

At Roundhay I developed a great affinity for Leeds RL and started going to their games with class mates.

Absolutely no one in the school supported both RL and LUFC and very few in the city did.

Through Sunday soccer and Keith Macklin on ITV I developed an affinity for The Blades and adopted them as my football team.

Even following the RL team away i always ensured that our coach had a Sheff United scarf draped in the back window with all the blue and amber. Never had a problem with this as United were well respected amongst LRLFC followers.

In August 1971 a builder that lived down our street announced that he was going to the football with his son and would take anyone else that wanted to go in the back of his van. (Imagine that nowadays!)

So there I was, one Blade with about a dozen Leeds fans from the local comp.

The game was a Tuesday night at BDTBL, the score, a 3-0 home win.

We stood on the Bramall Lane end, the atmosphere was awesome, and the rest is history.
 
There was a kid in my class at Dore infant school by the name of Andrew Voss. It's mostly his fault, as I was born in another country and had no connection to Sheffield or United until my folks decided to move here.

His family moved away from Sheffield during junior school years so I've no idea what happened to him. Are you reading this Mr Voss? :)
 



I'm impressed by how many have worked hard to become blades. I had no decision to make. Grandfather was watching United in the glory days, and my Dad saw United go from record home win to defeat against Walsall and Division 4. He first took me to see United v Blackpool the beginning of 53-54 season, just after the Matthews Cup Final. United lost 4-3, but the whole experience was spell-binding for a 6-year old. Move on 55 years or so (with both kids still Unitedites), and I took 5-year old grandson to his first match - and we lost 3-4 to Cardiff. But even with a home defeat, life doesn't get much better than taking a young'un to his/her first game.
 
Sheffsteel said:
As a kid my favourite team was Liverpool and favourite player Steve Heighway.
Click to expand...

Thought that was going to end with "and when they profiled him in Shoot, he said his favourite other team was Sheffield United". I well remember this and always liked him afterwards (he had been at Uni in Sheffield and developed a soft spot for us during this time).

Anyway, to repeat something I've said on many previous threads of this type:

Why? Moving to Sheffield from Bradford in '62. No easy commute back in those days so Dad had to choose a replacement team for his beloved BPA.
How? We tried both grounds in that harsh winter, only liked the one and by the time of the great thaw it was all decided.
When? 1962.

The old man stayed a Blade, even after he moved back, until his death but never hated the pigs like I've grown to.
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
my Dad saw United go from record home win.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine (born 1909, died 1989) told me about when the Blades scored their 10th goal many spectators threw their hats in the air but their was a frantic search afterwards to find their own hats on the terraces!

Who was your grandfather's and your father's favourite player?

My dad's favourite player was Jimmy Hagan. According to my Wendy supporting uncle, my maternal grandfather's favourite was Harry Johnson jnr
 
Grecian2000 said:
Thought that was going to end with "and when they profiled him in Shoot, he said his favourite other team was Sheffield United". I well remember this and always liked him afterwards (he had been at Uni in Sheffield and developed a soft spot for us during this time).

.
Click to expand...

He went to University of Warwick. He supported the Blades because he lived in Sheffield in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Attended Ecclesall Juniors school and High Storrs
 
Silent Blade said:
A friend of mine (born 1909, died 1989) told me about when the Blades scored their 10th goal many spectators threw their hats in the air but their was a frantic search afterwards to find their own hats on the terraces!

Who was your grandfather's and your father's favourite player?

My dad's favourite player was Jimmy Hagan. According to my Wendy supporting uncle, my maternal grandfather's favourite was Harry Johnson jnr
Click to expand...

My Grandad used to talk of players who had proper nicknames - Nudger Needham and Fatty Foulke; nowadays it would have been a boring Foulkesy. My dad's favourites were Hagan and Joe Shaw. His biggest regret was being the office junior in 1936, and missing the Cup Final. He took a week's holiday in early May for the rest of his working life, but never got to Wembley. I vowed I wouldn't go until we got to a Cup Final, but relented when we played the other lot there in the semi; without semis and play-offs, I would still be waiting for my first visit. Any win at Wembley would be good, though!
 
pommpey said:
The very same. One of Uncle Arthur's right hand men. Staunch union man, fiercely proud. Very much known to SYP and a custodian of their wonderful hospitality and kindness during times of need.

Visited him last year. He is like a grizzled tree trunk of Sheffield pride and the double of my granddad who was a reverser at Neepsend Steelworks. Although he and I would disagree about certain political issues, I am proud to be related to him. He is what 'standing up for what you believe in' is all about.

pommpey
Click to expand...
Aye, got to know Fred when he came to Treeton. Needless to say we sang from the same hymn sheet both politically and footbally.
As you say, a very principled bloke. Last bumped into him some years ago at a 60th do at Treeton club.
What with Wallace C and now fred, we'll be related next
 
LSF said:
Aye, got to know Fred when he came to Treeton. Needless to say we sang from the same hymn sheet both politically and footbally.
As you say, a very principled bloke. Last bumped into him some years ago at a 60th do at Treeton club.
What with Wallace C and now fred, we'll be related next
Click to expand...

Wouldn't like to be on the wrong side of Freddie, or any of the Haddingtons, in fact. They originate form Wednesday-country up at Shirecliffe, Neepsend and Longley, so it's odd that some of them ended up as Blades in fact.

They all lived in a big house up Crookesmoor Road, which is where my dad moved in with my mum (and the tribe) in 1952. Fifteen years later I was stood with him on the BLLT with Fred (and sometimes one or other of my other uncles)

Spoke with WC recently. Thanks mate. Top feller.

pommpey
 
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First member of the family to be born in Sheffield. Older brother born in Stoke, dad's family from Manchester/ Salford way, mum's family from darn sarf.
Dad and his brothers played football at a decent amateur level, he a Man City fan them Man U. Legend has it uncle Cliff had a trial for Man U at the age of 20, told to come back the following year and try again, spent the next 5 years on a minesweeper in the North Sea.
So I could have legitimately followed the family and supported one of their teams, but dad said support your local team. First game at the Lane November 1970 and I was hooked. It's hard to convey the sense of football as a spectacle but life was a bit dull in those days and the noise and colour of it all was genuinely intoxicating for an 11 year old.
 
Said it before but here goes .
My Dad ( R.I.P) , was a pig fan , but because we had moved to Norfolk Park from Attercliffe we could hear the roar of the crowd from the Lane everytime United scored . So after some pestering he decided to take me to a game .
One of his drinking mates in Felbrigg pub knew someone at the lane that could get us tickets , old John Street stand .
So every Saturday , we would pick up the tickets get the 71 into town , and meet up with his Irish mates in The Lady's Bridge pub , I would be left in the long hallway sat on a chair drinking my orange pop and eating crisps , while he always got fairly buckled , the smell of woodbines and capstan full strength cigarettes coming through the door every time someone went in or out , his mates rubbing my head , and giving me a few pence with the words ,
Johnno ( my dad ) will be out soon Dar .
My dad always suppin almost to kickoff , then jumping in a taxi up to Lane , and the taxi driver saying as my da gave them a tip , hope Currie gets one for you today .
I know I was small but it always seemed to be jammed with thousands in the ground , and cars parked heading up towards park grange road .
Don't really now which was my first game , I remember Man city , when our keeper got his leg broke , my da always used to leave 5 to 10 minutes early to walk into Pond street to get bus home , as him and my Ma used to go up to the working men's clubs on city road .
My da gave me this love affair with this club of ours , and I continued to go with him for a few years , that is until I got a paper round and milk round then I could go on my own with my mates .
Now my Irish born son , originally a Chelsea fan , turned when I took him to the lane when we played them in the premier league , he's been to the lane loads of times since , he's been to Wembley twice , and keeps saying when he comes home from work on a satdi , he asks how are " we " doing , or have you heard the score .
My daughters boyfriend in Boston , USA version , not Lincolnshire one , is always asking how Sheffield are doing when we are talking over the internet, or on the phone .
I'm a Blade always have been always will be ,
nuff said .
 
As a young lad growing up in S6 in the early 70s I was from a family of non attending Wendy's and probably expected to be one of them. My best mate however was a blade thanks to his Grandad (RIP) and I somehow found myself more attracted to the red half. After a summer soccer camp with The Star the reward was to see a Sheffield team of your choice and I had no hesitation in picking United. We were on the slide at the time (1977) and my first game was a 2-1 win against Fulham notable for a certain George Best playing for Fulham and a late Woody thunderbolt. I was completely hooked after that and would literally go to the match with anyone who would take me (9-10 years old) This carried on until the age of 14 when I started going with mates in the 4th division culminating with me not having missed a home game and going to 13 aways on the football specials without my mothers knowledge (I came clean at the age of 47. .... she was horrified!) From then on it's been a religion with my own family following in my footsteps.
Watching United drives you fuckin nuts but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way
 
Grew up in a fowl stronghold not to far away from the sty. Dad was/is a blade and the rest is history.
 
JordoBlade said:
Grew up in a fowl stronghold not to far away from the sty. Dad was/is a blade and the rest is history.
Click to expand...

Great Granddad was there from the very start when the family lived on Roland Road. it became a family thing right through the generations I believe Dad has only lied to me twice The first time was when he told me about Father Christmas, the second, after we won the wartime league when he said we would be a top team for years. We were relegated the following season and ,I was, from then on prepared to accept my fate as a committed Blade. Dad rarely if ever missed a game.
His last game was v Oxford on 14 April. 1990. He collapsed and died on his way home from the game. I have a son and a grand son who is two years old, and by hook or by crook the young 'un will be a New Zealand Blade.
 



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