For those of you who Charlton is in their blood, i.e. passed down from parent to child, there is no option really to support the family club, although there are an occasional few who support the rival or a so called big club to be contrary. There are others .......... well me, for whom let alone Charlton not being in their blood football is not in their blood.
So I could have supported anyone, I could have chosen a big club, even now culturally I should not feel the need to be aligned to a second tier club when I could go for a "big club", a club that wins things regularly. But I don't, through osmosis I was infected with the Addicks bug in the 70's .. or was it The Robins or the Valiants bug which metamorphosed into a fully grown Addick. When you support an Arsenal, a Man U etc, you expect to win, it is almost pre ordained and when the wheels creak, they rarely fall off - with the exception of at Anfield - out comes a cheque book and the grease to the wheel is applied. Imagine how Man U fans would have been if they had beaten Blackpool, not 1-0, 2-0 lets say 4-0, would their fans have responded with any more than a shrug of the shoulder. But us, we are ecstatic and whether you were there or at home listening to Charlton player or at Dulwich Hamlet (as I was) the result shoots joyful adrenalin through your veins.
When you support a Charlton, you will be hit by lows, constantly and repeatedly - look at our last 5-7 seasons, but when you hit a high, I would not swap that high ... whether that high is a one off game like yesterday or a season like last season then there is nothing like it. Man U can stick their Premierships and their FA Cups and their Champions Leagues and their COC's 'cause there is nothing that beats a win for Charlton , because yes our lows are low but our highs are not high they are astronomical and thats why supporting Charlton surpasses supporting the teams with milk, silver and honey.
5 comments:
Spot on, Pal. I'm not naturally an Addick by birth or by virtue of family connections. Mine was a slow-burning destiny thing that started with an obsession with the Valley as a young lad growing up and continues as a season ticket holder of some 18 odd years.
Like you, my family never really followed football either, other than my dear Granddad who supported his local non-league team (as did I).
This club gets deep inside of your soul. It’s given me some of the most heartbreaking and happiest memories of the last 18 years. Highs & lows…always an Addick.
It's good to see you posting again and on such an interesting topic. There was a long period when I was a mere follower of the club for work and family related reasons.
Interesting post Kap.
My dad had no following, and my uncles were Millwall fans. I had two blokes in my class at school who kept banging on about Charlton all the time - so i went in 75 and loved beign a part of something local to me. Bumped in to one of those two blokes at a school reunion about 8 years ago - he stopped following Chalton yonks ago.....
pembury addick
Have'nt been to a game for ages, but it's part of my DNA now. Charlton win on saturday, and work is a bit more bearable on monday. I sarted in the seventies, thanks to my Arsenal supporting dad, and while I've had times when I could nt go (like now), I always care.
Spain Addick
How funny to read all these stories of Addicks everywhere. My Mum was evacuated to Welling during the war and worked in Woolwich Arsenal. Her aunt lived opposite the Valley. I've suffered with Charlton now for 55 years, the memory still there of relegation in 1957, an FA Cup 4th rd tie v Everton in 1959? Willie Duff sent off, the replay in fog, 1-1, then 1-4 aet.I discovered at school that my RE teacher was similarly afflicted. You meet them everywhere, people who don't shout about it but quietly go about their obsession with Charlton.
My whole life has gone by seeking out the result on Saturday, now watching the game through Sky Sports, still fearing they'll throw away any lead and knowing they won't retrieve any deficit. Has anyone noticed that Charlton games are so often among the last results to come in?
In 35 years of teaching I had some fearful stick from kids about my obsession, but it's all worth it for seasons like the last one, and results like last Saturday's.
Mid-table will do me fine this year. And how good is it that we have such a decent human being in charge as manager.
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