[Archived] 18 Years Ago Today - Premier League Champions

[Kamy100]

18 Years ago today we were celebrating becoming Premier League Champions.

Thank you Jack for all the memories, no one can take them away. We will try our best to preserve your legacy.

[Rover_Shaun]

Makes it even more sad now the club is a hollow shell

[Kamy100]

For me it the opposite, it gives me a sense of pride to see what we achieved and to have those memories, it is something that Venky's can't take away from us.

Yes the club is hollow and totally screwed up, but we were here long before Venky's and we will be here long after Venky's.

[thenodrog]

18 years!! wtf did that go???

[mhead]

Wow! That 18years went quickly....but shows you have to support the Club thru thick and thin WHOEVER is in charge.

[philipl]

What an incredibly different feeling to be a Rover today compared with that halcyon summer.

The pride of our past achievements drives us on to prove to the one who cannot be named and his cronies that they bit off far more than they can chew when they decided to mess with our club.

[Andy]

No matter what Venky's and the team of slimy hanger-ons do, they can never take that day away from us.

I was only a very young man then, but remember every second of the season, build-up and that final game at Anfield.

Pretty safe bet to say that it won't ever happen again.

[Mike E]

Whoa. That's a whole 'person who can drink and vote' ago!

[Paul]

Queued all night at Ewood for tickets. My wife brought the seven year old down to the ground in case it would really be one per person!

Stood at Anfield with a radio and my seven year old beside me. "Dad what's happening?" Most of the folk around me watching my face rather than the game for the last few minutes.

Huge hug from an Anfield steward "You deserve it" as a I shook with emotion walking down the stairs.

Gave my lad his framed ticket in his 21st - old enough to look after it.

Magic

The Raos can never know that feeling

[EgyptianPete]

What an incredibly different feeling to be a Rover today compared with that halcyon summer.

The pride of our past achievements drives us on to prove to the one who cannot be named and his cronies that they bit off far more than they can chew when they decided to mess with our club.

At last a good positive post Philip but you are right, a proud day to be a rover and one me and my lad will never forget and no one can ever ever take it way.

[Kamy100]

Queued all night at Ewood for tickets Stood at Anfield with a radio and my seven year old beside me. "Dad what's happening?" Most of the folk around me watching my face rather than the game for the last few minutes. Huge hug from an Anfield steward "You deserve it" as a I shook with emotion walking down the stairs. Gave my lad his framed ticket in his 21st - old enough to look after it.

What a fantastic memory Paul.

I was also there. Never been so nervous in my life, when Redknapp scored I thought that our dream had died, very rarely have I felt such a feeling of dispair. However, what seemed like seconds later that dispair turned to pure joy! There was a old guy next to me he was in tears, saying that all he ever asked for was to see us win something once.

I'll never forget the scenes at Ewood when we arrived back on the coaches or the feeling of total elation throughout the town. For once we ALL had something that we could be very proud of.

It's memories like this that make all the pain worthwhile. I deon't care if we never win anything again in my lifetime as I will have seen as win the league and a domestic cup competition.

All thanks to one man Jack Walker.

[Paul]

You got me started now Kamy. I remember we drove back up the M6 in a convoy of 7-8 Rovers cars. As we made our way on the 'A' roads from the motorway people were cheering us from the pavements.

Eventually got home and had to have a long hot bath to ease the tension. A scouse friend phoned with congratulations and then wanted to know why I was in the bath instead if the pub!!!

[Roverall]

What an incredibly different feeling to be a Rover today compared with that halcyon summer.

The pride of our past achievements drives us on to prove to the one who cannot be named and his cronies that they bit off far more than they can chew when they decided to mess with our club.

Dead right, Philip.

[jim mk2]

I was living in a different part of the country at the time and had no hope of getting to Anfield. Decided to play cricket to take my mind off the match but it was impossible to think of anything else. Goes without saying that i was out for a duck because I couldn't concentrate and my mind was more than 200 miles away. Didn't help of course that my team-mates were winding me up from the boundary saying that Rovers were losing and United were winning. Great day - never to be repeated.

[Gav]

Couldn't get a ticket for the game, it really wound me up for a long time after, due to several people I know who managed to get them and didn’t even know we had a football team in Blackburn 5yrs earlier....

I remember getting down to Ewood after the full-time whistle and the streets started to fill up. Then the coaches arrived back and it was party time. Only downside was a good number of us got knocked over by a prat in a car who decided to accelerate into the crowd! I never saw him coming but gladly wasn’t that badly injured.

A day I’ll never forget that’s for sure!

[Proudtobeblue&white]

I was only 31 then, sob, proud to say I was at Anfield....seems an age away. Thankfully the Loons can never take those memories away!

[windymiller7]

I was at Uni in Liverpool at the time & didn't manage to get a ticket through the official channels. One of my mates was a Lpool ST holder and my other mate went regularly so we trotted off to the ground with only 1 ticket between 3 of us. I had my mates Lpool scarf on with my Rovers shirt & he had my Rovers one on with his Lpool shirt, such was the support for us that day from the Scousers.

Got to the ground and both me & my mate paid £30 each for 2 tickets from a 'tout'. Opened the envelope to find 2 season ticket spare vouchers! Gutted!

Just then a respectable looking bloke with his kid in tow came up to us, "you after tickets lads?" "Yeah, just been ripped off for these!" Suddenly half a dozen touts came running over offering this bloke all kinds of money. "@#/? off!, I'm talking to these 2!" He said.

"My wife & daughter can't make it today, these are for the main stand, sat next to me & my lad, all I want is face value, £35 (iirc) each!"

Done! We coppered together what we had left between us (so no halftime pie!) and went in with this bloke. The rest is history, still get shivers down my spine thinking about it.

So a massive thanks to the bloke who sold me the tickets.

Had a very boozy night round Lpool, found some bloke in a West Ham shirt who I bought a pint for the part they played in the day (especially Ludek Micloscow (sp))

Thanks Jack!

[Ryan]

Being 10 years old I don't think I really appreciated just how amazing an acheivement it was at the time but it's a day I'll always remember and look back on with great fondness

[Rover95]

That day was geniuinely one of the best days of my life and one I'll never forget! I lived in London at the time and my Mum got me tickets from Liverpool by post (very bizaare) so we were sat with Liverpool Fans (and plenty of Rovers fans). There was one guy who had a radio about 8 rows in front of us. We were constantly back and forward keeping up to date with the Utd game.It was true nail biting stuff with such a happy ending.

It is an achievement that will never be repeated in my lifetime but one that can never been taken away. When I see footage on TV of that time, it still brings a smile to my face.

[AJW]

I was sat at home watching it on sky with my parents and future wife, none of whom have any particular interest in football , flip/flopping between us and the Utd game , if i'm honest i probably saw more of the utd game

[Rover_Shaun]

Couldn't get a ticket for the game, it really wound me up for a long time after, due to several people I know who managed to get them and didn’t even know we had a football team in Blackburn 5yrs earlier....[/size]

I remember getting down to Ewood after the full-time whistle and the streets started to fill up. Then the coaches arrived back and it was party time. Only downside was a good number of us got knocked over by a prat in a car who decided to accelerate into the crowd! I never saw him coming but gladly wasn’t that badly injured.[/size]

A day I’ll never forget that’s for sure![/size]

It was the same when they decided to rob us of a decent civic ceromony and an open top bus tour (strangely they robbed us again after the league cup) and made the trophy presentation at Ewood first come first served thus allowing plenty of flybynighters to gazzump long serving Rovers fans. I saw quite a few nobenders and munichs from work in the crowd that day :/

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Couldn't get a ticket for Anfield either but danced with the thronging crowds on Bolton rd outside Ewood well into the night.Unbelievable feeling possibly never to be repeated.

I would donate a bollock to be 22 again and experience that feeling once more.Has it really been 18 years?..sadly,time waits for no man.

[thenodrog]

Queued all night at Ewood for tickets. My wife brought the seven year old down to the ground in case it would really be one per person! Stood at Anfield with a radio and my seven year old beside me. "Dad what's happening?" Most of the folk around me watching my face rather than the game for the last few minutes. Huge hug from an Anfield steward "You deserve it" as a I shook with emotion walking down the stairs. Gave my lad his framed ticket in his 21st - old enough to look after it. Magic The Raos can never know that feeling

Neither can the Glasers or the russky, or the ayrabs etc etc.

Couldn't get a ticket for Anfield either but danced with the thronging crowds on Bolton rd outside Ewood well into the night.Unbelievable feeling possibly never to be repeated.

I would donate a bollock to be 22 again and experience that feeling once more.Has it really been 18 years?..sadly,time waits for no man.

Me too! I'd donate one of your @#/? without a second thought or a backward glance SG!

[Seedstral]

It was some day that will always be in the memory bank. I remember being in the concourse at half time and everyone was saying that West Ham were winning but United had hit the bar, post and had numerous chances blocked and cleared off the line. I said it was all made up bulls**t and even refused to believe it when the score was announced at half time. The second half was a blur until the last minute when it turned surreal with an array of emotions. I still have a t-shirt today that I bought outside the ground for a fiver saying Blackburn Rovers Premiership Champions 1995 whilst every scouser around me was shaking my hand and congratulating me. That night and the party night at Ewood the night after was unreal and for 2 nights I staggered in to my living room put the video in fast forwarded to Shearer's goal then after celebrating it fast forwarded to the end and the celebrations and crashed on the settee a happy man. I was lucky as I was 20 years old when this happened and enjoyed it for all its worth sadly these scenes will probably never be seen in my lifetime again at Ewood and in ending all I can say is thank you Jack you may be gone but you'll never be forgotten

[Mike E]

It was some day that will always be in the memory bank. I remember being in the concourse at half time and everyone was saying that West Ham were winning but United had hit the bar, post and had numerous chances blocked and cleared off the line. I said it was all made up bulls**t and even refused to believe it when the score was announced at half time. The second half was a blur until the last minute when it turned surreal with an array of emotions. I still have a t-shirt today that I bought outside the ground for a fiver saying Blackburn Rovers Premiership Champions 1995 whilst every scouser around me was shaking my hand and congratulating me. That night and the party night at Ewood the night after was unreal and for 2 nights I staggered in to my living room put the video in fast forwarded to Shearer's goal then after celebrating it fast forwarded to the end and the celebrations and crashed on the settee a happy man. I was lucky as I was 20 years old when this happened and enjoyed it for all its worth sadly these scenes will probably never be seen in my lifetime again at Ewood and in ending all I can say is thank you Jack you may be gone but you'll never be forgotten

I hate the fact I was 4. Although I distinctly recall asking my dad why he was crying and trying to cheer him up (not that he needed it).