[Archived] Foreign Rovers Fans

[Torgeir]

My older brother supports Chelsea and his best friend is a Villa fan and they were always trying to get me interested in football from a young age. I didn't know much about any of the top teams so the Villa fan suggested I support ManU as they were a good team (this was in the late 80's), but somehow I never did. A couple of years later, around 90-91 I was looking at the league tables in the newspaper and liked the name 'Blackburn Rovers' so I decided I'd follow them from that day. My heart was probably not a 100 percent into it until 93 though and it's been an emotional roller-coaster ever since.

[rebelzero]

1998 before the world cup the US National team played a warm up friendly against Scotland. But the player all over the pitch who impressed me the most was Kevin Gallacher. Started following Rovers from that moment on.

[J-2]

The Premier League was first shown in the States in 1992...during the inagural year. An occasional highlights show was on, along with a match of the week that was a couple weeks behind (but who knew since it was pre-internet?)

I hate to admit it, but I supported ManU that year. They were literally shown every single week as MOTW, and I felt bad about them not having any success since the late 60s...so I pulled for them...

However...

I also liked another cool team that played in blue and white halves...I watched in awe as they gave the then-first place side Norwich City a 7-1 spanking on a rare non-MU MOTW. This striker named Alan Shearer was absolutely amazing, and he seemed to be all business and no show. Basically, I liked both Rovers and ManU.

I went into the following year still liking both sides...but the first time they met, I found myself listening to the match on short wave radio and fiercely rooting for Rovers to win. I wasn't sure why I liked them so much, but that decided it for me. Later in the year when they won 2-0 over ManU at Ewood with Shearer's second-half double, I was ecstatic. I went to London and Stamford Bridge in 1994 to watch Rovers beat Chelsea 2-1...I also went to a bookie at Heathrow on the way home and laid 30 quid on them to win the title at 7-2! Ah, how sweet it was. I still support them to this day, and follow all the results as closely as I can. I have the fortune of working for a sports media company, but on days where I can't see the match on my TV at work, I'll likely just call off and watch from home if it's on.

Oh, and I actually played against Brad Friedel in high school. He was a senior when I was a freshman, and I played wing, so I only got one shot off on him (which he saved, naturally).

[rovers1993]

well i live in a big apartment building. all the people who live here are liverpool fans. except my brother who is a newcaslte fan. so i grew up watching football since i was 3 years old and i remember that in 1993 the first ever match i watched was a blackburn match and i just fell in love. 'love at first sight ' after that im a true rovers since 1993 hence my username.

[stowell]

live in blackburn in melbourne- too easy

[allrovertheworld]

Great stories on here been reading all of them, how about letting us UK based fans hear some stories about your first live rovers games and the cost and drama it may have caused you to get to Ewood.Cheers for picking our little team.

[Teemu]

Call me a glory hunter, but I started to watch the league at around 93,94,95. Would there have been any other option

Liked the kit, the crest, the name, the fact they were one of the originals and just the whole kick-ass team that was at around that time

It did also help that some old w@nkers that supported teams like Arsenal absolutely hated Rovers. Some of them still do. Made the Fa Cup game against them quite great.

[Perth_Rover]

Reminded me the most of the Melbourne demons, one of the oldest teams and the underdog still. Family came from the Lancashire area made the choice even easier

[Guest JB_Rovers]

- Hi i'm from Malaysia

- Studied at Lancaster Uni during 1992-1995 so Rovers is the "local" club for me to support. Pride of Lancashire.

- I hate MU supporters with their arrogance so i support Rovers as underdog.

- Like the saying "small town club in the world greatest league". Rovers illustrates a great example of survival with limited resources in a very competitive/challanging/biased world (which are MH & JW greatest talent).

- I love king kenny & now MH.

Long live Rovers

[American]

Great stories on here been reading all of them, how about letting us UK based fans hear some stories about your first live rovers games and the cost and drama it may have caused you to get to Ewood.Cheers for picking our little team.

First live match was Fulham away Easter Monday a few years back. I remember standing in the concourse with Tris at half time, both of us resigned to relegation, then the elation of Stead when he scored the winner, making him one of my all time Rovers heroes.

Luckily this past spring I was able to make a 32-hour round trip journey to the semi (the details were posted at the time) and then a trip to Ewood for the final home match. All things going well, I should be able to see Rovers live several times a year starting in the late fall.

[DanLad]

I just thought I'd post to say how immensely proud I am of our international fans. I think they're great!

[Daremz]

>>>see also

1 word; fantastic!

So cool to read all of your stories (and all the Americans in here! Great!)! Very interested in foreigners (like me) stories of the first visit of Ewood, as I have that planned within a few months myself!

[3rdpillar]

I honestly don't remember............I was 11 at the time. At that age you don't always think logically when making decisions

Excellent!

[benlloninho]

I have no ties to England, so my choice was completely arbitrary. I'm from a small town, so are the Rovers. Small club with a big history. Plus, I always found it funny that most people from America just happen to support ManYoo, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Arsenal. So I guess my reason for following Rovers is as good as anybody else's not from England.

[daren]

A friend of mine met the Rovers team in a hotel in London in the promotion year, and asked Kevin Moran for his signature (being Irish and all). Moran signed it and had a good chat with them, and encouraged them to come to the game (no idea who it was against). He came back and raved about them to me, so I looked them up. Loved the blue and white halves, and the next year when we came 4th kinda cemented it for me.

Went to a game for the first time last year, and had a ball. Everyone we met was brilliant and the craic was mighty. Thanks to rover_groo for organising the 5-a-side and tickets beside him and the NI supporters club at the Pompey match!

[blue/white]

I love Blue and White. And the blue and white halves jersey stood out among the rest in 1994.

It has been 13 years of ups and downs.

Why, thank you yellowSub.... nice to hear that, but maybe we should go easy and start as 'friends' ??

The 1978 World Cup winners captured my 12 year old imagination and while I worshipped (still do, actually) the Great Kempes, I also loved the ripples that Ossie and Ricky caused in England. Years later, while still paying attention to the wee man's travels, I noted Rovers and while he left quickly, I always paid attention to Rovers' travails and early 80's reality.

That interest then forged an desire to know more of the clubs' history. Once it dawned on me that Rovers are an original, that they are the 'little engine that could', how can you not get behind that? That uncle jack then came into the frame a short while later (I was in university and beer was mostly on my radar screen) precludes my love of Rovers.

I have also found that Rovers shares something in common with my family's team in Argentina: San Lorenzo: that misfortune of having mgmt. sell the teams' best players and a constant breaking up of championship teams.

Great start to the Prem. Well done boys, we officially 'own' the Smoggies.

[heapbag]

My dad is from Blackburn, my mum is from Accrington. If Stanley were ever in the Prem I'd be torn, but it's never gonna happen........................................................is it?????

[Hypo-Luxa]

I've mentioned it before but I'll mention it again as it affords me time to wax nostalgic...

The Fall of 1994...I worked for an oil company (now synonymous with dodgy dealings in Iraq and the old CEO was none other than VP Dick Cheney ) and we used to house these Scots and Englishmen for a few months at a time so they could train and then be released out onto the North Sea. They being devout footy fans would have their women/mates/mums/brothers tape the highlights and/or games and send them over. Since I played footy and World Cup 1994 was my first chance at watching soccer not being taped (Prior to WC '94 I grew fond of an Italian exchange student and she would have AC Milan tapes sent over. They were my first favorite but they've fallen along the wayside to make room for Blackburn) and I ate it up.

Watching the highlights you of course saw the best of the team but when I was watching this Alan Shearer bloke potting goals right and left (hat-trick against QPR and two goals against Everton sealed the deal for me) with this other bloke named Sutton trying his hardest to keep up with his partner and all of the assorted others like Atkins, Le saux, Wilcox, Sherwood, and of course Colin The Lion Mane Hendry I was hopelessly hooked. After these guys left my football knowledge was left in a lurch. The only thing I could get were text files of the scores and goalscorers. And lo and behold Blackburn Rovers won the League! Amazing stuff. I thought this was never going away and Blackburn would be perennial winners, which of course came to a screeching halt a few years later.

I have been a fan ever since and Big Bad Brad's inclusion to the team has just been the icing AND the cherry on top.

That other stuff about being a Founder club, Jack Walker et al just makes me even more proud to be a Rover.

Rover through and through!

[naperrover]

As with Philly Rover I was a big fan of Duffer (having always supported the Republic in international competition). It was as a result that I began to follow Rovers. This was unfortunately for me after the Worthington Cup triumph but I've still loved every minute.

I firmly believe that one should not abandon one's boyhood teams, and Rovers are my "boyhood" English club so I guess I'm Rovers till I die. Bearing that in mind, I also keep an eye on the standings for Dag & Red (took them to the Premiership in CM) and Southend Utd (some former work mates are devoted supporters).

It also doesn't hurt that MGP appeared in an interview in a Chicago White Sox baseball cap a couple of years ago. I'm sure he has no idea who the Sox are but it was a nice touch.

[mike at picture]

Great thread this, especially for somebody who lives 6 miles from Ewood!

Amazed at how many of you live in the US and that your support isn't all down to Mr Freidel. I wonder if the Aussies on here are expats or if they have similar reasons for being a Rover as the Yanks?

[Lathund]

Something to add about Swedes in general, as you'll find a lot of them have quite an interest in the English game; In 1969 the first Division 1 game was broadcast live (Wolverhampton beat Sunderland 1-0). One game per week was aired between November and March every year, when there was no domestic football. That went on until, I think, 1998 or 1999 when cable channel Canal+ took over the rights, and started airing more games. But the Saturday games, and the show around it (Tipsextra on SVT between 1969 and 1995, and Tipslördag on TV4 since) became a tradition for a lot of people, as did betting on "Stryktipset" (13 games from the top two tiers in England, sort of a mix between a lottery (In the way payouts worked) and an accumulator) . You'll also most likely find a higher % of WBA supporters in Sweden than in any other country, due to some of the classic games aired. Basically any team who played entertaining football in the 70s, and to a lesser extent 80s, have a disproportionate support here.

[ManicRover]

I started watching soccer (in addition to playing) around the time of the 86 World Cup when Canada qualified for the first and only time. When the 90 World Cup rolled around I was supporting Scotland due to my Scot heritage. With the 92 Euro's I kept following Scotland which now included Kevin Gallcher as a regular. I started following the English league around that time with Gally's Coventry as my first team to follow. Shortly after, Gally moved to Rovers and my allegience switched to Rovers too. Of course, the championship season help cement my choice. Since then it's always been Rovers. Finally made it over for a match in 2005 (vs. Brum...goals by Dickov and Bellers) and am planning for a return soon. Til then will have to do with yelling loudly at my TV or taking stick from all the scum and chelski fans at the pubs around here!

[mattjansen]

The thing that had me goin for Rovers was in 1991 when i wasnt so thrilled about watching football but played at lot of games on my amiga and a game called "Championship Manager" came out, first i got stuck at Sheffield Wednesday much because Roland Nilsson and David Hirst played there. Then i decided to go for a smaller club, you know what i mean, and picked Blackburn Rovers mainly for the so cool name. Then i got totally lost for the club and started following them in papers and watching the sports on BBC World, no internet at the time but i bought a lot of magazines like Shoot,90 min and fourfourtwo. The first real hero of mine was Kevin Moran who was amazing in my eyes although ive never seen him play at all, but then as my mother worked at a Swedish company called Finvik now its Media Times Group, they are behind Bet24 and some Swedish tv-channels, and she got a dish and some cards from work and then i could watch more football the just saturdays.

Now im obsessed with Rovers and try as often as possible to get over and watch them, last time was Reading at home in may when i managed to get my girlfriend to go with me. And to my surprise she enjoyed it altough it rained at the end and some incredible train hazzle to get back to Liverpool wich took us 2,5 hours. Just booked my next plane ticket and will be arriving in Blackburn on the 3 november to watch Rovers beat Pool.

[brian_gallagher85]

Two words... David Speedie

This is one of my first posts on these boards... been on the official one for around a year and a half.

My interest in football began at around the beginning of the PL. I was originally a Liverpool fan like my Dad, however the transfer of a certain David Speedie soon changed all that.

Been a Rovers fan ever since, even through the second half of the Sourness years . My first Rovers game was v Liverpool in the Championship winning season and the last (also second at Ewood ) was two seasons ago also against Liverpool!

Have also been to the Liverpool away last season and the Cup Semi last year.

Hoping to get over to the Manure away, Next Euro away and the final home this season

"Mark Hughes Blue and White Army!!!"

[DanLad]

There seems to be a number of foreign/travelling fans that visit this site that want to attend games and meet up with fellow Rovers fans - probably preferably people that they 'know' from on here?

Does anyone ever make sure that they've got a good welcome at Ewood from their fellow fans? There's been a few rallying calls on here recebtly for help meeting up before games etc and I haven't spotted any responses, although people might have PMed them.

I'd hate to think of somebody travelling from say, the US, and attending a game without actually getting to speak to anyone (especially as we can be a pretty miserable bunch in East Lancs sometimes). It must be really daunting visiting a new country and attending at the cauldron(?) that is Ewood.

Maybe this goes on without me knowing?