Why.......

[Stewart]

..do you support Sutton?

What made you come to you first match?

Me? My dad took me to a couple of games in the mid sixties which Sutton won. I was hooked!

It had been rather tougher getting my youngest son interested, it's not cool supporting a non prem team for kids However with the better football and the improvement of the results he is now hooked. I'm now working on my eldest who has promised his son a trip to the lane

[Keith]

Not sure really! I've never actually lived in the Sutton area myself, but my parents were from North Cheam and Morden, so there are plenty of family in the area. In fact I've got a cousin who lives on GGL, at least I think he still does, I haven't spoken to him for about six years - we're not a close family! ;D

I was bought up in the Woking area, so although I knew the club existed - Uncle Norm is a life Vice President and my Dad's late best mate Ken Sawyer was on the commitee for a while - I didn't take much notice until the cup runs in the late 80's. Then Woking started to climb up the leagues and a lot of my glory hunting school mates jumped on that band wagon, which really annoyed me and rapidly strengthened my love of Sutton United - much to their continued disgust! Pretty sure my first game was Woking v Sutton, must of been the 91-92 season. I clearly remember one of the Wye brothers landing a right hook on one of our guys and getting a straight red - b*stard!

Therefore my undoubted best moment as a Sutton fan was at the end of the last Conference season when we came from behind to beat them 2-1 at Queersfield, after Akrour had scored that ridiculous goal for them at the start of the second half. Oh, and the 6-0 win in the SSC of course, how I laughed.

Although I only get to 10- 12 games a season at the most, Sutton are very much my team. I take a lot of pride in telling all the plastic Mancs and Chelsea Tractor Boys that I support a "proper" English football team. My nephew came along to the C*rshalton game, it was his first Sutton match and I think he's on his way to converting!

U yellows!

[os]

This is a good thread so I pinned it for people to come back to and leave their thoughts, I shall do mine later and if we get enough replies I don't rule out uplifting the content to add to the fans section of the official site

[tony]

I started going in the early 1960s, having got fed up with going to watch Fulham. Something just clicked. The atmosphere was great, the involvement with the game was mutch better -- you could actually get quite close to the play and your support seemed to matter. It didn't hurt that the team was doing well at this time -- a powerhose in what was still the amateur game. The great amateur cup run in 1963 really got me hooked,and the semi-final at Craven Cottage against Hitchin Town brought home to me that the passion for Sutton made being in that ground much more special than at any time that I had watched Fulham there. Being at Wembley, even though we lost, was great.

Over the years life took me further and further away from Sutton, but the team and its exploits, good and bad, has given me more sense of retained contact than anything else. For many years contact and information was sporadic, but the internet has helped rekindle my interest and enthusiasm -- not as good as being there, but the next best thing.

[taz]

Aged about 8, my godfather dragged me along to see that lot down the road a couple of times and they got thumped on both occasions, without even scoring. So I flat out refused any further visits to watch them, then it so happened Sutton were at home the next time he asked if I wanted to go to football.

Think it was Mickey Joyce (although I might be wrong) who managed to score within about 30 secs of us coming in through the turnstiles at the GGL end.

And so a pattern was set. More excitement in mere moments at GGL than in 180 mins down there.

After that, I went few more times with the godfather, then in senior school a mate had an uncle who was a VP (with his mum & dad) so he used to take us along a lot more regularly (most home games). And that was it (Annoying all the so called Chelsea & Palace fans at school only added to the allure!).

So I guess I'm a good old fashioned gloryhunter. ;D

[Rax]

An old school friend of my Mums did the ball boy thing for her son and invited me and my step brother along. It was a cracking game against the Bobbins (yes, we won and that was that really. I was about 13 I think and never really cared about so called "Top Flight" football so decided to go and watch Sutton when I could. After a couple of games I bought a shirt and the rest as they say is history.

[Suttontilidie]

Heard about it, came to the friendly against Millwall XI before last season, got a season ticket and haven't lost the enthusiasm since. The fans are great, the atmosphere's great, the footie's getting better and it's more exciting then watching the Premiership on the box. I'm only annoyed I wasn't here in 1989.

[Chalmers]

My Dad brought me along once when i was about 9 i think and have a feeling it was Northwich, about all i remember though. Went along to a scummers game in 91 and it was terrible, came the following week to Sutton Bromley with the 22 man+ punch up, a 1-1 draw and was hooked. It helped that their was a girl i fancied that came along also and i stood with them for the first few months before moving round to the Shoebox.

[frakey]

Read the first home prog of the season & my top 20 no 20 explains all!

[wellie]

I grew up a few hundred yards away from the ground in Vicarage Road and as soon as i was big enough to climb over the fence to see what the noise was on the other side i was a Sutton fan.First big game was at some place called Wembley in 1963!I remember all the coaches parked up on the old gasworks site as nobody had cars then.All the local shops had displays and good luck messages in their windows.I have seen Sutton lose at Wembley three times and have one last wish left1
I have amber blood in me.Once i had become lifelong SUFC fan my late aunt(my mums half sister)said she had a present for me.I was given a small box containing a silver medal .It was a Surrey Junior League Medal won by Sam Clover.The team he was playing for when he won the medal?Sutton United,The year was 1903!Slated in the local press for only finishing runners up after a defeat to Farncombe.Sam is the guy sitting holding the ball on page 29 of the 1898-1948 handbook .The medal and handbook are my prized possesions although i do have original posters of Sutton v Hillingdon and Leeds from 1970.
My only football claim to fame also has a Sutton conection.I used to play for the Sutton Suporters team as centre forward and was knocking the goals in on a regular basis.One sunday we had a new player.A spotty teenager who was thin and looked like a gust of wind would blow him over.We won 4-2 and i scored 2.The spotty kid scored 1 and to be fair looked quite usefull.He played a few more games for us that season before to my amazement being signed by Sutton United !Had they been watching the wrong player?The rest is history His name was Micky Joyce.It was great to see him at Carshalton a true Sutton legend who also has amber blood.

[Dave L]

My Dad took me to the home game against Cheltenham in September 1987. It was 0-0 with five-ten minutes to go, absolutely pouring with rain so we left to get a train from West Sutton rather than have to walk home. The game finished 3-0 to Sutton! Have been coming ever since despite the impressive missing of every goal at my first game. Think it helped that we had the cup runs in my first 2 seasons although I didn't see either of the Middlesborough games and don't really remember anything of that run - was more with it by the time it came around to the Coventry game the following season.

Remember winning the Surrey Senior Cup at Tooting & Mitcham against Whyteleafe at the end of the 87/88 season and being really impressed with the number of times on the trot the U's had won it at that time.

Used to play in the West Sutton Little League on Collingwood Rec and there were enough of us turning up in Sutton kits that there was a 'Yellows' team in the reserve pool. Playing for the Yellows in the morning, home for sausage sandwiches and Saint & Greavsie before watching Sutton in the afternoon. Those were the days!

[oohaah]

Simple really, it's my Surname!
I was living in Catford at age 15 and got into the habit of looking up Dulwich Hamlet's results in the Sunday papers (my Dad's team although he no longer went). I noticed this other team in the same league called SUTTON UNITED and thought 'thats odd!', so starting looking up their results too. Of course it was only a matter of time before I was delighted when they won and disappointed when they didn't. A few months later came all the excitement of the Leeds game and I finally made my home debut against Dulwich Hamlet a few weeks later, Larry Pritchard scoring one of the goals I believe. The back end of the season saw United pick up the Surrey Senior Cup in a reply at Leatherhead and I was 'Sutton Till I Die' in more ways than one!
Missed the first few games of the next season due to holidays and then went five years without missing a game, home or away. In those days it took me an hour and a half to get to home games involving three trains via Peckham Rye.
Does anyone remember the period during the seventies when we missed over 10 penalties on the trot? I would love to know the exact sequence of this because sometimes I think I just dreamt it (Nightmare!). During this time I also picked up my nic-name after falling down the terracing at Leytonstone and badly spraining my ankle, leaving me on crutches for some months afterwards (Ohh-ahh, where's your parrot?) - my over-celebration being caused by U's scoring two late goals to win 1-2.
My greatest regret is not going to Italy, and I'd like to see us win at Wembley before I shuttle off this mortal coil.
Kevin.

[os]

Similar to Wellie really, as a kid I lived on the Collingwood estate and my Nan lived just off Gander Green Lane in Elmbrook RD. I can remember hearing the PA and people clapping and cheering from Nans back garden when I was about 6 and when I was older enough to go out on my own about 10 I think, I went over one Saturday to see what all the fuss was about. To my surprise the gates were open and no one stopped me from wandering in and pretty soon I was getting in at halftime for nothing most Saturdays, no idea who we were playing but it was like a drug just had to keep going back. By the time I was 11 I had the scarf and went to my first away game funnily enough at Hendon, Nov 75 a cold freezing foggy day and a drab 1-0 defeat I think. I was hooked on the steamed up windows of the coach and sports report on radio 2 plus them raffles for 4 tins of pale ale and all the atmosphere you used to get on a coach going to away games and my parents did not mind as they knew I would be safe. By the time we got to the late 70s I was going with my mate Simon (what happened to him?) to every game even if it meant bunking off of school to get the coach in time for evening games.

Memories of which there are many include, being told off every week by Frakey, getting a nip of old Fred's whiskey at Wembley in 81 then coming back to GGL for the do and getting confused by 2 oldies as one of the players and getting free drinks. Best away trip was Bangor City, not being able to sleep the night before and being ready for the off at 4am, them 2 late goals and the trip home I still remember hearing Bucks Fizz win the Song contest that night all be it very drunk. Some 17 yr old girl asking me to dance in what is now the times sq lounge turning out to be Mickey Joyce's sister, getting to go round his house and getting lifts in his Capri was all pretty cool for a 16 yr old that was until she dumped me.

Regrets missing 14 seasons from 86-2000 and of course the Coventry game, but interesting seeing the old faces on my return and getting strange looks from them :-)

As to WHY I don't know maybe its some form of drug Rose used to put in her tea, but you can't get it at Arsenal or Crystal Palace or any other league team I have seen???

[DaveF]

I was 9 and living in Worcester Park. My two best friends, John and Simon, and I played football every break-time and John kept telling us about the local amateur team and how good they were to watch. He raved about the left winger, a chap called Howard. My family soon moved to Cheam and Dad eventually gave in to my pleas to go to a game. I think it was at home to Oxford City. After going to a few matches now and then, Dad wanted to visit his sister in Dulwich and so he picked a weekend when Sutton were away to the Hamlet and we travelled over with me riding pillion on his Lambretta. At school on the Monday (by then I was going to Sutton Manor, where our games master was Ted Powell of course) two older boys cornered me, but instead of beating me up they said they had seen me at Dulwich and asked how long I had been supporting Sutton. I even ended up forming a Sunday team with one of them. I was soon going to almost every home game and at the end of the season we got to the Amateur Cup Final against North Shields; my first game at Wembley. I never saw John or Simon at a game again and the two older boys moved away years ago but I sort of stuck around. John was right though, Terry Howard wasn't a bad player, but I preferred a little inside-left called Pritchard. What a thrill years later when my boyhood hero came to my wedding reception. Now that doesn't happen to many fans at Old Trafford.
I remember skipping off school for the FA Cup replay at Waterlooville, going by coach along with school caretaker Reg Baker (Supporters' Club Chairman) and between a London Charity Cup tie at Hendon in 1972 and a league game v Epsom & Ewell in 1985 the only games I missed were the first two matches in Italy.

Like many on here I've got a load of wonderful memories (Trieste, Chieti, Spennymoor, Middlesbro etc) but the one thing I still dream of is seeing a winning trip to Wembley.

[cheshire]

Cannot remember when I became first aware of the club but I know my first game was Sutton vs Bournemouth in the 1st round of the FA cup in 1975 (I think). I remember it being cold (I was only a tiddler then) and stood with my Dad on the perimeter fence by the old club shop (when it was located adjacent to the main stand). I remember Bournemouth took the lead with a great header and Larry Pritchard equalised immediately after. I also remember checking the newspaper during the following week to see how Sutton had fared in the replay and being disappointed to see that we had lost. Then I did not watch another game until the start of the 80-81 season (Hungerford Town - don't ask me how I remember that) and regularly attended that season with my brother and a mate, the season when of course it all culminated in a visit to the twin towers for the Trophy final. After that there was no turning back!

This northern exile simply dreams of a return to the conference glory days when there may be a few away games for the club outside of the home counties!!