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Progress, yes... but it's tough for our fans of the future
AshBurton
Posts: 1,142
It’s now 3 months since I posted for the first time on CL as a "Returning Addick - 16 years on".
And what a return it’s been ... if you can see things from a perspective of long-term supporter (albeit with periods of physical separation).
"Clear improvement on last season", "moving in the right direction", "top half team", "exceeding expectations", "one or two players short of making a real challenge", blah. And clichés they may be, but I'm really buying into all that and genuinely excited by the club’s future. On top of that, I absolutely love living the Charlton life once again, sitting with my dad and my son, relishing every rendition of Valley Floyd Road…..so many memories rekindled.
But let’s pause for a minute to see things a bit differently – from the perspective of my 10 year old boy. Born and bred abroad, Charltonised from birth by his dad, but nonetheless a supporter from afar. A boy who’s now - worryingly! - of an age to judge for himself which team he wants to follow.
In those formative 3 months, he has seen the following home games (all Saturdays):
Watford 1-0
Boro 0-0
Brum 1-1
Wendies 1-1
Millwall 0-0
Ipswich 0-1
So, he’s seen 6 matches and 3 Charlton goals, one of which was a penalty in the 3rd minute of the first game. Since then, he has experienced the ultimate joy of football – jumping to his feet and cheering a goal by his team – twice in 6 matches. That’s twice in 9 hours. Without even counting Fulham on Sky.
And all the time his new schoolmates are jabbering away: “Charlton? Why? They’re not in the Premier League”, “Charlton are shit, why don’t you support Chelsea like me?” and the latest classic “OK, right, Charlton. But who are your real team?”
And his dad – while enjoying the heightened skill levels in midfield, the promising academy youngsters, our newly water-tight defence – is now getting concerned about the lack of goals to entertain a restless 10-year-old. Because in his own youth, you see, he was spoilt by Horsfield, Hales, Powell, Flanagan and so thrilled by the goal rush on offer at the Valley that the jabbering of the plastic Gooners and Hammers became completely irrelevant. Does my boy feel the same? I doubt it - how can he if he doesn’t see us score?
He’s not wavering yet, good lad, I just wanted to share my probably irrational fear that he could .. especially if we draw another blank against the bottom team. Anyone with (or without!) kids feeling the same?
And what a return it’s been ... if you can see things from a perspective of long-term supporter (albeit with periods of physical separation).
"Clear improvement on last season", "moving in the right direction", "top half team", "exceeding expectations", "one or two players short of making a real challenge", blah. And clichés they may be, but I'm really buying into all that and genuinely excited by the club’s future. On top of that, I absolutely love living the Charlton life once again, sitting with my dad and my son, relishing every rendition of Valley Floyd Road…..so many memories rekindled.
But let’s pause for a minute to see things a bit differently – from the perspective of my 10 year old boy. Born and bred abroad, Charltonised from birth by his dad, but nonetheless a supporter from afar. A boy who’s now - worryingly! - of an age to judge for himself which team he wants to follow.
In those formative 3 months, he has seen the following home games (all Saturdays):
Watford 1-0
Boro 0-0
Brum 1-1
Wendies 1-1
Millwall 0-0
Ipswich 0-1
So, he’s seen 6 matches and 3 Charlton goals, one of which was a penalty in the 3rd minute of the first game. Since then, he has experienced the ultimate joy of football – jumping to his feet and cheering a goal by his team – twice in 6 matches. That’s twice in 9 hours. Without even counting Fulham on Sky.
And all the time his new schoolmates are jabbering away: “Charlton? Why? They’re not in the Premier League”, “Charlton are shit, why don’t you support Chelsea like me?” and the latest classic “OK, right, Charlton. But who are your real team?”
And his dad – while enjoying the heightened skill levels in midfield, the promising academy youngsters, our newly water-tight defence – is now getting concerned about the lack of goals to entertain a restless 10-year-old. Because in his own youth, you see, he was spoilt by Horsfield, Hales, Powell, Flanagan and so thrilled by the goal rush on offer at the Valley that the jabbering of the plastic Gooners and Hammers became completely irrelevant. Does my boy feel the same? I doubt it - how can he if he doesn’t see us score?
He’s not wavering yet, good lad, I just wanted to share my probably irrational fear that he could .. especially if we draw another blank against the bottom team. Anyone with (or without!) kids feeling the same?
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Comments
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Keep taking him and he'll stay with the team no matter how much stick he gets at school. That's the life of a Charlton supporter. Even when I was in school during the PL years, I still got stick because it wasn't Arsenal, Manure or Chelsea.7
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Get him to ask his friends how often they get to watch their team play?9
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Yes, catching the odd stream and the two Sky games the only win I have seen is the Watford game ( the stream got up and running just in time to see the celebration after the pen). I have seen all three defeats, and draws with Brentford and Sheff Weds. I shall be at The Valley for the next two, here's hoping things improve. And I hope if your lad can stay superior to the glory hunters, good on him!2
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I bought season tickets for my 3 children this year,but after sitting through the first batch of home games they have all given up.It may appeal to some of the long term supporters but the lack of possession and the lack of goals makes it grim viewing for new people.3
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As a kid I got the "Charlton athletic are pathetic" taunts especially during the 96/97 season, the following year we got promoted and all the PL fan boys shut right up!
When we came back up and started beating arsenal, spurs and Chelsea I rammed those taunts right back down their throat!! He might get that chance if we make the same progress!2 -
Hang in there AshBurton, dont know where you live but always been difficult in Sunbury with Chelsea kids, my youngest boys have stuck with it for 4/5 years, they love the "how many times do you get to the ground" response - they are 13/14 now + big bruv has had a season ticket for 15+ years1
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I kept supporting Charlton as a nipper mainly because my friend and his dad kept taking me. It was all worth it to follow Charlton to Wembley and watch one of the greatest games of domestic football in the modern era, and that feeling when Charlton won that penalty shoot-out to go into the Premier League for the first time will never be beaten. The first game I saw at the Valley we lost to Derby but I kept going and was hooked. The other kids at school may have supported Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool but they never went to go see their team play. Those who grow up going to football games make much better fans than the ones who get bought the kit for Christmas but never watch their team.2
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As Callum says keep taking him, more often the better. When I was that age I supported Arsenal (first London team out the sticker book was my choice process), only got to see a handful of games at Highbury until my grandad offered to take me to Charlton and I was hooked watching regular matches. Also try to convince him it's "cooler" to support a proper team and not one of these soulless clubs that are all about money.2
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The thing is, AB, he ISN'T wavering yet and you may well be worrying unnecessarily. And even the likes of Man U have recently been through a "difficult" patch....
Does he seem to have a favourite player or players ? Is he a member of Young Addicks , if not, would he be interested in joining ?
His contemporaries will have little or no chance of meeting their heroes from the so called "big" Clubs but your lad can meet all the Charlton squad at the YA Xmas party , get their autographs, have his photo taken with them ! If Reza was still in situ, he'd get to meet a World Cup goal scorer !!! There are also Q & A sessions with players at The Valley arranged for members during school holidays ...
Should joining the YA not be an option, I believe you will be able to buy him a ticket for the party which might whet his appetite. Anna Molloy is the lady at our Club to contact for more details.
This is just a suggestion as our 2 eldest grandkids ( 10 and 7) attend matches occasionally but have had the opportunity to "say hello" to several players ( especially Chris Solly who must think they are stalking him !) and this has made them feel "closer" to the Club IYKWIM.
Anyway, I SO hope that you are able to retain his interest in some way, whether it be via what happens on the pitch or not. A final thought is maybe try to take him to an away game soon ( Ipswich ?) as he'll definitely feel more a part of all things Charlton in the away end there.
Will keep my fingers crossed for you !
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That's exactly why when we have a cheap day for a fiver and fill the valley not many return for the next ho.e game!Southbank said:I bought season tickets for my 3 children this year,but after sitting through the first batch of home games they have all given up.It may appeal to some of the long term supporters but the lack of possession and the lack of goals makes it grim viewing for new people.
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All the so called fans u see about in man utd/city, chelsea,arse,westham,Liverpool shirts you see about thanks to sports direct have never been to a gamehoof_it_up_to_benty said:Get him to ask his friends how often they get to watch their team play?
Thats life1 -
Don't worry AB. I came to my first Charlton game as a 6 year old at The Shay. To say it was easy growing up in Sheffield, with mates supporting Liverpool, Leicester, Norwich etc, but the only ones that actually went to games were Leeds and of course The Massive;) Well I laughed along with my mates at the '1' Man U fan in our school, little did we know.
Nobody outside my family has ever taken me supporting Charlton seriously, even my ex-wife tried to get my daughter to support Wednesday, which was when i put my foot down. I took said daughter to 10 away games (9W 1D) including Halifax 4-0 in the cup, during the promo season. To say it made her baptism easy is an understatement. Times have wavered since but she is still Charlton which at 13 with other DISTRACTIONS, is a tough ask. But I asked her if she was coming to Forest on Saturday and she said yes. No duress, just the chance to have a family day with me and her grand-dad. She's never complained about the results, even when it was so cold at Hudds that she put her gloves on her feet, and getting soaked in the downpour after Blackburn last year, it didn't put her off! So keep the faith AB and they will all return.
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I take my daughter and she enjoys it and identifies as "us". She's missed much of it this season from other commitments and so I take nephew (14) who is a Chelsea fan and has seen Charlton loads more and sings a bit and chants. No one he knows is going to take him Chelsea regularly.
When I was a kid, I wanted to go to games, but for various reasons couldn't - my Dad worked Saturdays and wasn't really interested, I hadn't the money; then when I did it was because I had a Saturday job. At the time I said I support Man U cos I could watch them on the telly etc. To this day I've never seen them live. I stopped caring around that time - what did any of it mean to me? I'd never been further north than Epping Forest. The only proper football supporter in my family had been my mum, who used to go to The Valley with her dad before and after the War. She had long stopped by the time I came along and her Dad died a year or so after I was born. Did I ask her about it before she died? Not really, not enough... (this was true of so many things).
And gradually I found myself taking more and more interest in results in SE7. Watching out for reports in the papers. When my son wanted to go to a game, it was always going to be at The Valley. (Sadly he's not interested, but I'm not writing him off). A Red Card beckoned.Occasional tickets. Season tickets. Pronouns migrated from third person to first person plural.
If I'd been asked 10 years ago if I expected to care this much and for CAFC to be such a big chunk of my life, I would have said it was unlikely. But here I am. Your son's journey won't be the same as yours, but supporting Charlton marks you out in my view - and always in a good way. Someone who isn't following the herd. Who has the resilience to deal with disappointment and cherish those moments of joy when they come because we don't expect things to be perfect all the time.
And I really enjoyed the Ipswich game until the 95th minute. It was full of the little bits of skill that make watching live football so joyous. (Agree we need some goals though....)11 -
Thanks everyone, great experiences shared. I'll see to it that he keeps the faith (easy to say after five Punk IPAs on a cold Tuesday in Stockholm). Rananegra - a fantastic post, lovely story and summed up my view of the Ipswich experience too.
Fanny! - you are my all time CL hero! We will look into Young Addicks, thank you.0 -
Just lie and say we're signing Messi in January...........then when it fails to materialise, just tell him we pulled out as he failed the CL height test..........1
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Just keep taking him to games - ram it down his throat and all will be fine! That's what my Old Man did to me and I stuck by the club despite living in the West Midlands and being your lads age when we had no ground and had been relegated from the old old First Division. I was once playing in my Nan's garden in my Woolwich sponsored replica home kit and the kid next door thought it was a Forest shirt, not Liverpool or Utd, bloody Forest! - that's how low we were in the pecking order in those days, although I guess it was at least Cloughie's Forest.
I'd try and take him to an away game or two as well. That atmosphere is always a bit special and I used to find it pretty thrilling as boy. If you enjoy watching football, as your lad seems to, we all know there is no replacement for the atmosphere of being there, even when we lose and no amount of watching Chelsea on the TV is going to replace that feeling. You might be surprised how much it means to him to spend the time with his Old Man too.
I've got my first kid on the way due in May and I now live 4000 miles away in Canada. I'm now starting to wonder how I am going to make sure I bring up another Addick, so far from the Valley, and not another bloody Ice Hockey fan!
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When i was a kid in the 60s my dad used to take me to chelsea. I was bought up on osgood cooke hudson etc. I even went to the 1970 cup final then in november that year a friend brought me to the valley I have been comming ever since. Which goes to prove parents cant always influence their kids.
I often wonder if i should not have smoked the wacky baccy that year
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With 4 young boys and living near Epping (all West Ham ,Spurs and arsenal fans around here) my 8 year old has received some heat for supporting Charlton
but as others have said he can boast having been to 10 away grounds (not seen us win yet) and plenty of home games unlike his mates , although some do go to a lot of their home games
Although recently he said he gets nervous going to games and would like to give em a miss but that's my fault for being negative and tetchy and a bit jumpy at games every time the oppo attacks .... So I'm gonna try a more positive approach
He asked Santa for Charlton shirts with Vetokele and Bikey on the back of each ,(greedy git) so he's on his way to Addickdom for life
We have an iPod with the Charlton album on it , so I'm always playing The Red Red Robin and a couple of others from that that the boys like , brainwashing them
My 6 year old (who funnily enough is more in to trains than football!!) really enjoys the match day atmosphere and loves all the singing and screaming and shouting ,he's a bit radio rental though
The 4 and 2 year old haven't been but recognise the badges and songs and have some Charlton pyjamas that help with the brainwashing
Eventually , I hope, they'll be past the point of not being able to chose another team and my job is then done
So keep up your good work AshB9 -
One of my colleagues is a West Ham fan, die hard, not missed a game for 30 years, home and away, friendlies, abroad, everything! He goes with his wife and two sons.
Anyway, many years ago, when oldest boy was at Primary school he came home one day looking nervous and said 'everyone at school tells me West Ham are rubbish so I have decided to support Man Utd'. My colleague thought for a moment then shrugged his shoulders and said 'ok son'. Anyway his son looked relieved and very happy.
Then Saturday came and Dad, Mum and youngest get their West Ham clobber on and oldest says to Dad, 'I can't find my West Ham shirt dad'. My colleague says to him 'well your Man Utd now son so we will drop you off at your mans on the way to the match'.
His lad never wavered again! Lol.9 -
Love that story Athletico. In my son's case I'm less concerned about the school taunts (as some have rightly said, it goes with the territory and he'll soon work out how to deal with it). I'm more concerned about the entertainment / goals factor on the pitch. Sad tale from Southbank in that respect. But maybe it was just bad luck we couldn't go to the matches with more than one goal. And just maybe we'll witness Happy Valley's favourite score some day soon, we can but live in hope ;-)Athletico Charlton said:One of my colleagues is a West Ham fan, die hard, not missed a game for 30 years, home and away, friendlies, abroad, everything! He goes with his wife and two sons.
Anyway, many years ago, when oldest boy was at Primary school he came home one day looking nervous and said 'everyone at school tells me West Ham are rubbish so I have decided to support Man Utd'. My colleague thought for a moment then shrugged his shoulders and said 'ok son'. Anyway his son looked relieved and very happy.
Then Saturday came and Dad, Mum and youngest get their West Ham clobber on and oldest says to Dad, 'I can't find my West Ham shirt dad'. My colleague says to him 'well your Man Utd now son so we will drop you off at your mans on the way to the match'.
His lad never wavered again! Lol.0 -
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Get em young that's what I say...
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My 9 year old has had a season ticket for 5 seasons now and compared to what he has put up with in some of those seasons this is like watching Real Madrid! The only time he wavered was last season walking out of Brammal Lane and I can't really blame him for that. As Fanny says the Young Addicks Xmas party is excellent, got tickets for him and his 2 mates yesterday and will be our 3rd time going. Players have been great with the kids both times. My son thinks JJ should be winning the ballon d'or and Simon Church should be runner-up.....that's how brainwashed he has become....although I agree about JJ!2
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I took my 8yr old to his first game on Sat. He enjoyed the pre match burger and bovril but was unfortunately sick 3 times in the game (just before HT and twice 2nd half). Turns out he felt sick before the game but didn't want to miss seeing it even though it was on TV.
I was at deaths door Sunday with the same stomach virus, so I felt quite proud of the little chap for going.
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When my daughter had just started at secondary school she mentioned being a bit embarrassed to support Charlton. I told her not to worry and that she would get respect for supporting a proper football team and not just following the crowd.
She's in Year 10 now and the other day she said to me, 'You know when I was worried about being a Charlton fan and you said I would get respect?' 'Yes', I replied, looking forward to this moment of affirmation.
'Well I don't.'18 -
It will always be the same, either Charlton who... Or Charlton nil next time we are in the premier league0
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Had the same in school with the taunts about Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U etc.
Funnily enough, as an adult when you say "I support Charlton" you actually get complimented for being a 'real' fan. I genuinely feel sorry for those who support the so called 'big' teams. They'll never know what its like to get pure joy out of Football.4 -
Every week on tv, lol.hoof_it_up_to_benty said:Get him to ask his friends how often they get to watch their team play?
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Its worth supporting a real club like ours, as the moments of joy/glory taste all the better for all the rubbish we must endure, im another who used to get a lot of stick as a kid for supporting Charlton from all the mostly Arsenal & some Man Utd fans, then Black Sabbath happened, what a week after that was.
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I come from a long line of Charlton supporters but was actually born and live in North West London. Fair to say the area is not a Charlton hotspot.
I Charltonised my son from birth and brought him to the Valley from an early age to get him properly hooked. Proud to say it worked and he is now carrying on the family tradition of supporting Charlton (and still causing great confusion to all he meets as to why someone living in NW London supports Charlton!). The only time he was ever looking like wavering was when a couple of mates asked him to go to Chelsea with them. No problems, I said - but you'll have to buy your own ticket. One look at the prices and he was soon quite happily coming back to the Valley!
So the moral of the story is if your son ever looks like wavering, don't offer to buy him a ticket for another club!
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