Overseas Villa Fans Check-In Desk

[Midfielder]

On the Football Manager thread a bit of Anglo-Norge respect just unfolded, appreciating our Lions from abroad. They could have picked Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, hell... even Birmingham City. But they chose us! This is just a thread to appreciate our overseas fans and also see (from outside of the UK) who is on here and from where. Me, I'm just some English dude, in England, but I'm curious to do a little audit. Ours are amongst the best fans in England and we are bettered further with your membership! You picked the right team and we are glad to have you!

Answer however you want but I'd be interested to hear:

1. where are you from?
2. what team (if any) do you support in your homeland?
3. how did you come to support Villa?

UTV

edit- yeah all UK exiles overseas too and our Irish brothers 

Edited November 11, 2016 by Midfielder

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

I am English so not sure if I count?

 

1.Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.  Now lived in Holland for 18 years.

2.Nope

3.First games were at 18 months old and 5 years old,  Season ticket for approx 16 years before I left.

[Grasshopper]

Good thread

[tarjei]

1. Florø, Norway

2. Just my local club. Watch the odd game and bring my camera. Not really that interested in Norwegian football outside of that. 

3.Yeah as I said in the FM-thread I started supporting Villa because of Dean Saunders. I was a budding striker myself around the age of 5-6 and wanted to have curls and be as good as him... followed him from Derby, Liverpool and by the time he came to Villa I was around the age where the team started to matter as well. Good timing that Villa had it's best season in my lifetime that year and beat Liverpool 4-1. I was 10 and I think it was the year after that I started playing CM, which made the connection much more solid.

Back then Norwegian TV aired one game each week, the usual suspects, and the odd highlights. I very rarely got to see Villa, unless they played the likes of Liverpool. I've never been to Birmingham or seen Villa in the flesh, but the internet and me frequenting the dodgy corners of it has made it possible for me to see almost every game since David O'Leary (except for this season of course and for a period where I lived in South Africa and internet bundles cost a fortune).

In my lifetime I've met 3 other Villa fans. They are quite rare!

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

1. From Jamaica (Long Term resident in Middle East)

2. Rivoli United - Local Team and Dad was a Director

3. Went to Birmingham to visit Mothers family once when I was 8 or 9 years old. Villa Park is within eye shot of the house, heard the fans singing and saw Jubilant Villa fans on the street. Wanted to be a part of it, Dwight Yorke Caribbean connection. - Became die hard Villa fan.

[AJ]

1. Brisbane, Australia, but because of my job, I move around the country every 2 - 3 years.

2. Brisbane Roar ( Meow)

3. Back in '98, I entered a national Premier League fantasy football comp, and I started watching games. I became hooked on football. It eventually evolved in which I was looking forward to seeing Villa play, curious to how well they were going, and just hoping that they would do well. From this subtle invasion into my psyche, I had realised I had become a Villa fan. I still think today that I didn't choose Villa, but Villa chose me.

[villakram]

1. Tipperary, Ireland.

2. Cork City once I got down there for Uni. Ireland be a football wasteland in most places.

3. All the Irish lads after Italia '90, and not being Liverpool, who were the team of choice in school. 

[S-Platt]

Keep it up brothers and sisters from around the world.  As a Brummie I have travelled all over Europe and parts of Asia and Oz.  Always proud to where my Villa shirt and it has always started conversations with strangers. Met loads of Villa fans but most were fellow travellers or ex pats.  We are a truly global club but one where when you meet fellow fans in bizarre places you feel as one.  There maybe more fans of more successful clubs but with Villa its that special feeling that they will never understand.

[Villan_of_oz]

-Aldinga, South Australia

-Adelaide United

-First match I watched was Villa v Liverpool. Villa won. Simple as that Ive been hooked ever since.

[AJ]

Would I run out of likes if I liked every post on this thread?

[Rugeley Villa]

48 minutes ago, AJ said:

Would I run out of likes if I liked every post on this thread?

Same here.

[Rugeley Villa]

Everywhere I go I usually meet a villa fan. In turkey I met a villa fan who worked as security at the airport, he was a Turk. Same in Rhodes, some local geezer who owned a cafe had followed villa since the early 80s. 

[AJ]

29 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Everywhere I go I usually meet a villa fan. In turkey I met a villa fan who worked as security at the airport, he was a Turk. Same in Rhodes, some local geezer who owned a cafe had followed villa since the early 80s. 

They are quite rare in Australia. When I was living in  Brisbane, I would go down and watch the games at " The Pig and Whistle", a British pub in the city. There it was obvious which were the popular teams. Spurs, Whammers,  and Liverpool had the biggest gatherings around their respective screens, while the local Villa fans, consisting of about 4 of us, watched ours quietly. Nowadays, whenever anyone finds out I am a Villa fan, they would say something like " Oh, you poor bastard." or something to that effect. I just smile at them and say " Its alright. We'll be back".

[Rugeley Villa]

23 minutes ago, AJ said:

They are quite rare in Australia. When I was living in  Brisbane, I would go down and watch the games at " The Pig and Whistle", a British pub in the city. There it was obvious which were the popular teams. Spurs, Whammers,  and Liverpool had the biggest gatherings around their respective screens, while the local Villa fans, consisting of about 4 of us, watched ours quietly. Nowadays, whenever anyone finds out I am a Villa fan, they would say something like " Oh, you poor bastard." or something to that effect. I just smile at them and say " Its alright. We'll be back".

West Ham??? 

[Mjvilla]

1 hour ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Everywhere I go I usually meet a villa fan. In turkey I met a villa fan who worked as security at the airport, he was a Turk. Same in Rhodes, some local geezer who owned a cafe had followed villa since the early 80s. 

I remember being in Prague on the night we played man city and waved the  signs. I was wearing my villa shirt and some guy came up to me to shake my hand and ask if I was watching the game that night. We went on to have a good chat about all things villa despite the language barrier. Love how football and villa bring people together.

[sidcow]

Traveling down to Reading in 2010 for the FA Cup Quarter Final we stopped off at a roadside McDonald's and noticed a coach in the car park with a load of Villa Fans outside it. 

Parked next to them and got chatting,  turned out they were the Danish Lions and were as mad as a box of frogs. 

They tried to get us to join them and enticed us by opening the luggage hatch at the side of the coach which was literally full to the brim with boxes of beer bottles. 

Unfortunately it was my turn driving,  what a shame we didn't meet them at a train station or something I reckon it would have been brilliant. 

Anyway we get into the stadium and blow me down with a feather there they all are lined up in the row in front of us! Didn't stop singing the whole game. 

Got to respect these people who travel thousands of miles for the pilgrimage and might end up watching one of our dire performances in a terrible game. 

Anyway at Reading a certain Norwegian came to the rescue of The Danes and a good time was had by all. 

[AJ]

21 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said:

West Ham??? 

Yeah, I know, right? I cant figure it either.

There are a percentage of fans which are glory hunters, but I never really got why they are popular here. Could be a number of reasons, but it is good to see that they are football fans. In Australia, there is too much competition of sports referred to as football, and football is the 4th most popular behind AFL, rugby league, and union, but it is steadily growing.

Depending on where you grow up, or what code you follow, people here tend to get a bit "tribal" over which code they follow.

[Mjvilla]

I was also in Prague during the World Cup when it was in Germany. Even in Prague there were fans of all nations (the Dutch women ) hanging around with a big screen in one of the squares. I wore my villa shirt there and I remember fans from all nations putting thumbs up and saying hi. They weren't all villa fans but just obviously a mutual respect of all things football.

[El Zen]

1. Oslo, Norway

2. Vålerenga 

3. Watching us on telly, I must have been four or five, and being completely in awe of Dalian Atkinson () 

[El Zen]

On 11.11.2016 at 20:07, tarjei said:

In my lifetime I've met 3 other Villa fans. They are quite rare!

Get down here some time and we'll double that number easily. 

(There aren't too many of us here either, sadly, but during the early years of the Lerner era there could be up to 20 of us in the pub on match days).