brucie wrote:How can you support Bristol Rovers and Torquay? - thats just idiotic, if you support them both you are not really a real Torquay supporter.
As for Andy - he isn't really a Torquay supporter either - if he comes from York or wherever and started supporting Torquay when he is 43 he isn't a real supporter.
Same as Scott - he has only seen three Torquay games in his life and just because he moderates a forum he isn't a real supporter either.
The likes of Wivelgull and myself are proper supporters - we have it in the blood and have done so since we were youngsters. Wherever we live we still drive miles and miles to watch games even though we have to witness turgid dross the like of which was served up last season.
Brucie. when you start throwing insults away so cheaply it makes you look an idiot too. So think before you post.
If you had the decency to ask then you might have understood but you unfortunatly didnt have any decency.
Because you had the fortune to be able to get to plainmoor and only see the gulls is just that Your fortune so to suggest your the only proper torquay fans is not just insulting it shows your arrogance. I wonder what you did to get more supporters to follow the Gulls. did you ever start anything where you live. hmm i doubt it.
My dad alwasy said. Its better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool. than to open it and remove all doubt.
For those of you who want to know. I have following United for 50 years this year.
My main problem in following them is that it was 102 miles away for me, and I lived in Fishponds in Bristol. Not exactly local for a 4 year old. In those days a text was a writted bit of paper passed to and fro. a wee was exactly what is said it was, a pee. and a text was one of those boring bits of verse from the Bible. a lot has changed since then. Diesels replaced the choo choos. Trains got later and then improved a little. they also got much more expensive. And we moved even further away from Plainmoor.
so I had to find a team localy if I was going to watch any football at all. My Brother was the first to try it out with Going to see Rovers play Chelsea in a reserve game. and didnt take to the lack of atmosphere. I thought he was a fool for comparing A reserve match with a Sheed first team match.He ditched Rovers after going to see the Sheeds in a first team game, I always thought he was a false supporter really. when they did well it was City City City.when they got relagated he dropped them like a brick and pretended he wasnt that keen on them really/ Boy did I come to resent hearing that name. Odd now that I only go to support Torquay. I sitll have the same problem don't I.
I then started to see Rovers instead if him. They were doing well then, United had to wait for when my parents brought me down. In fact for years I thought Torqauy were the only team around and with anything up to 15000 crowds it was brilliant. My favourite games were always the evening ones. atmosphere was electric. I even waited with baited breath for the reserve team games and freindlies. I bet no one remember the great Gordon Banks playing on our hallowed turf for England against the Saudi team in a freindly. at least I think it was the Saudis. It was way back in the 70's.
So Rovers became my home team if not my first love. Many of you talk of following Torquay yet are Coventry or Leeds.(heavy dose of sympathy there) Barnsley and York etc, Well Rovers was mine. I saw many of the great players of years past on a regular basis as there was no way i could go down mid season.(Imagine my mother allowing me to bog off on a train to Torquay midweek when school beckoned the following morning. yeah right.) I was then sent to Clifton and we had to go in to school on Saturday mornings from 8 or 9? untill 12. Oh yuk, ans they played the odd egg ball game too. but I got used to it.
So as Torquay was out of bounds exceot for the holiday breaks mid term etc. I had to make do with Eastville, Well you can't follow loads of games for them without some affect developing. they were the bigger club and its a salient point as to how far they have fallen when you see we are roughly neck and neck these days. But i will always have a respect for their fans who have followed them through thick and thin. and i know what it is like to accompany them to Wembley. we had 20,00 odd for our first Wembley appearance. and that was a fari good turnpout for us. shame it was under ten for all the others. But imagine what it was like with 41,000. wow the hair just stood up on your neck.
In those days we had some great players for united. I followed them at a distance. And imagine my great surprise to see Robin stubbs inthe Blue and white quarters. jason Roberst in yellow. etc. we have shared a lot of players over the years. it indeed is a priviege to have some of them as friends. Yes i still keep in touch with Nicko and Lee. Despite the last couple of years and the unfortunate happeniings of the last few months they still and probably will have a deep affection for the Yellow shirt. even if some of you are still nasty enough to slad em off. They are still men. and have families. In fact Lee is not too far from me now.
So yes i have a love for my 1st team. and a slight feeling of affection for my home town team. I don't go to their matches now though. I don;t look on their board much at all. I look at ours several times a day every day. I am more house bound these days., many will know I have had a constant batlle with illness. Its got worse and i have to accept that maybe i wont ever get to drive me Daimler again. The Gulls are my family and many still text me phone me and even visit me on occasions. but you will always see the yellow scarf and flag flying high. I am surrounded here by Forest Green. Bristol Rovers and Even More than a few Torquay fans since I started the Gloster Gulls. In fact Torquay fans may yet slightly outnumber the Rovers fans here. since I have encouraged them to come out of their shells.not afraid to fly the flag.
So over the years I suppose I have managed in the early years to get to 1/4 of United matches per season and the rest Rovers. But later on it turned around. and since Wembley it has been 80% United 20% Rovers up to the day they went down to our league for the first time ever then becuase of something someone said and did. I stopped following them for good. It didnt help me see any more Torqauy Games. But it did make help me only follow United first and foremost. I do occasionaly follow a couple of local teams like Yate. Gloucester City and Forest Green. But with Green now one of our rivals I have to make sure they know who my first team is.
so there you have it guys. a football nuts fan who has an aprectiation of our wonderful game at what i call lower level. Not quite grass roots. but not far off.
I wont be able to make any games this year. I have a big op on a growth in my brain. well they said the MRI showed a growth about Golf ball size but its possible that was my brain and the big bit was the growth. which bit am i thinking with. who knows. thats why I am not much above Austrian andy in Humour. I.e. totaly nuts, Why do I manage to get on with Matt. who knows. Thats why he likes i am nuts.
But when Saturday comes. In Southmead Hospital or home.(All brain surjury is in Bristol now. They got better drain specialists.) I have told em when the time comes and the council drill in. can they please fill the hole in with black tarmac. No way do I want that red stuff. I aint gonna wake up as a cyclepath.
so i am thinking of you all down on the Pop. and even in the family stand. (not tried the bench yet) Yes and i will even be thinking of all the opposition supporters who stand in the away end. I have alwasy remembered the banter with some of them. Accy asking if we know we are french. priceless. And our reply which i sang with gusto. (Can say i will miss their dump tho.)
I will miss the few away matches i went to. standing with andy at Burton singing about faggots chips and peas (anyone from the pc brigade watching?) taking the michael at our ex players when we meet them. etc. I hope i can recover but who knows. And no matt. you still cant have my daimler. Mummy said you would kill yourself in it.
YELLOW ARMY 
