I was sent this article earlier this week which tells the story of a young Spurs fan whose first game was a 2-0 home win against Middlesbrough in 2004:-

Thanks Dad

28th November, 2004. Anticipation was high, my Dad had talked a good game and he’s not one to get enthusiastic over nothing. It had been over two hours since we’d left Worcester and as any other 6-year-old my patience was fading. Parked up, we began the walk to the ground; it was everything and more. Blokes in their shirts from different eras; burger vans lining the side streets; stalls full of any type of merchandise you can imagine and then there it was…White Hart Lane. It was the biggest thing I’d ever seen (I was 6 don’t forget) and it was home.

Seated in the East Stand I was silent, I couldn’t believe what was around me. The grass was the greenest I’d ever seen, and the noise was the loudest I’d heard. My ears were ringing from ‘Come on you Spurs’ but that didn’t bother me, how could it? I felt part of something for the first time. Probably to the relief of my dad, Tottenham pulled off a 2-0 win against Middlesbrough but regardless of that (although it perhaps helped) I was in love. To echo the walk on song, Tottenham were the greatest football team I certainly had ever seen.

I remember we exited the ground slowly, not sure when we’d be back but I had a feeling it would be sooner rather than later. My dad was beginning to lead the way back to the car, but I had other plans, how else could I immerse myself in this family? Buying a shirt of course. “Small child’s please and I’d like Keane no.10 on the back”. My patience was gone, and that shirt was not staying in the bag. I remember pulling it over my existing T-shirt and perhaps staring at myself in the mirror a little too long, but I didn’t care as this clean, white Kappa number was now the greatest thing I owned. 28th November 2004, the day that changed everything.

My naïve self at the time couldn’t possibly imagine this mighty, 2-0 winning team could cause me some of the greatest pain I would ever feel. Pain that I would welcome week in week out, but pain is temporary right? At least with our recent form I hope it is or this headache I’ve had is more serious than I thought…

As the years followed, we became regulars and a few games a season turned into every game. It was always the same, me and my Dad. Together we’ve witnessed some of the greatest players, be it Berbatov, Bale, Modric or Kane and some of the greatest moments particularly the 2008 Carling Cup Final where Jonathan Woodgate scored from a set piece (Yeah! Tottenham scored from a set piece. Mad right!) And now with this new 62,000, out of this world stadium I can’t wait for what’s in store in the years to come. Pain and all.

And now to the present, regardless of recent form (I’d rather not go into it) I was raised on a team who would regularly finish mid table, a team that played attractive football every game and a team that always had the support of the fans. The fans remember, they remember how far we’ve come, what is possible, and minus a few armchair experts (there are always armchair experts at Tottenham) Spurs will always go marching in.

Harriet Duffy

· Middlesbrough v Spurs - FA Cup rd 3 preview - 5th January, 2020

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