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Superstitions / Rituals


hogso

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Here's my little bit to add to this thread.

 

I have been to two FA Cup finals:

 

1987 Spurs v Coventry City

2000 Villa v Chelsea

 

On both occasions I was in the winning end.

 

In '87 my brother's mother-in-law was a shareholder at Coventry City and got him two tickets for the final. he decided to take me as I was only a 15 year old kid at the time. Normally, being Villa fans, we wouldn't give a toss about Coventry and both of us were hoping that they would get relegated this season as we have suffered a lot of verbal abuse from Cov fans over the years. But, back in '87, it was a chance for big brother to take little brother down to Wembley to be part of a 100,000 crowd in football's greatest stadium.

 

Now for the 2000 final!

 

Now, I am sure people will be thinking "why was in the winning end when he is a Villa fan and Chelsea won the cup?". Basically, I didn't renew my season ticket at the Villa that season, after several years of having one. The friend I had a seat next to changed jobs and would have to work x amount of weekends in the year so didn't fancy renewing. No other Villa fans I knew were keen on getting one and I didn't fancy going alone so decided to just go to random games. Unfortunately, I didn't go to enough games to be able to get a ticket through the Villa. The day before the cup final, my Mom's best friend asked her if she knew anyone who wanted two tickets for the final. Her son was given them by his boss and wanted £80 per ticket. My brother and I paid the price and were ecstatic at getting last minute tickets to the final. We did our usual trick of going down to London on the train and getting pretty hammered before the game. However, that's where our problems started!

 

I went to the toilet just before entering the stadium and when I came out of the loos I couldn't find my brother. He'd left the spot where he was standing and, with thousands of people around, finding him turned out to be mission impossible. We didn't have phones on us and, to make matters worse for him, I had both the match tickets and the return train tickets. I waited at the turnstile for him until 3:15 but there was no sign of him. I actually managed to sell his ticket to a tout for £80 to recover the cost of the ticket. I went in alone and you can imagine my shock/horror/dismay, whatever you want to call it, when I realised that the tickets were for the Chelsea end! There was I, decked out in Villa shirt with claret and blue wig getting dog's abuse from drunken Chelsea fans as I ploughed my way into the middle of the row of seats I was sat in, down by the corner. All I could hear was comments like "You thick Brummie cant, are you facking stupid or what?" amongst the many outbursts of laughter at my obvious stupidity. Of course, I just laughed it off - what else can you do? - and thought to myself "I hope we bloody win this. If we win I am getting a pasting but, at least it will piss these tossers off!".

 

As soon as they scored I just got up and left. I knew there was no way back for us so I thought I would get to the train station early so I could look out for my brother. I waited two hours and let hundreds pass me in the hope that we could return to Brum together to enjoy a few beers to drown our sorrows. I wasn't to know that he had already caught a train back to Coventry before the game had finished!

 

Despite all that crap, I can say that I was in the winning end for two FA cup finals and maybe, just maybe, that shitty experience back in 2000 was meant to be in order for me to maintain that record of always being in the winning end. I hope so because I want that record to remain intact and on the 30th of May I will be in the right end, supporting my beloved Villa with my brother - and this time he's having his own train and match tickets! :flag:

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Don't change underwear until we lose in the FA Cup ..... been good for four months so far. 

 

Mind you, the wife has divorced me and both cats are dead !

 

Why would you force cats to wear underwear?

 

 

They weren't wearing underwear of their own - they were in his! ;)

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I'll be doing everyone a favour and staying away from Wemberlee.

Any time I've ever been there (including my first visit as a ten year old to the 1984 FA Vase final - special thanks to Match magazine for the ticket!), the team I've been supporting have lost.

 

I dream of being there when my team lifts a trophy but I'm so far past believing it's possible that I'll just watch it at home.

 

I have a much better win percentage in my living room.

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I'll be doing everyone a favour and staying away from Wemberlee.

Any time I've ever been there (including my first visit as a ten year old to the 1984 FA Vase final - special thanks to Match magazine for the ticket!), the team I've been supporting have lost.

 

I dream of being there when my team lifts a trophy but I'm so far past believing it's possible that I'll just watch it at home.

 

I have a much better win percentage in my living room.

This is the first season where I've been to every FA Cup game from the beginning. I'm going to the final as well...

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Every game in our cup run has been on a Sunday ... (gulp)

 

I too am superstitious about what shirt to wear. Just got the FA Cup one with Villa cash, unsure whether to wear that one! 

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I too am superstitious about what shirt to wear. Just got the FA Cup one with Villa cash, unsure whether to wear that one!

I've gone all season not washing my retro top if we won (it's never been cleaner than under lambert). I made the deadly mistake of changing to the away shirt from the same season (classic green and black) against Southampton and don't need to go any further...

Back in a freshly clean home retro shirt for the final hoping I haven't tainted it's run!

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Got my lucky socks prepared for Saturday morning. Don't worry lads, I got this.

These socks must be pretty powerful.

I wore them to the semi final, that's all the proof I need ;)

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Was planning on doing exactly the same as The Semi, clothes, pubs, tubes etc but first my trainers sole has fallen off and now worst of all I won't be at Wembley either.

I'm thinking I might need to perform a sacrificial ritual now or we're doomed!

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My original plan was to watch it in a pub with a mate (Liverpool fan!), but he now can't make it. 

 

Another mate (Sheffield Utd fan) has invited me round to watch it on his big telly. The pessimist in me says to stay at home and watch on my own, so I can suffer alone if we lose. 

 

But then I thought - I watched the 2000 final at home alone. And the last time I watched a final at this guy's house was... the 1996 League Cup Final. 

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