Apr 18
I’ve created a new topic for the next few weeks that will allow people to share their favorite memories of Highbury. Just click submit and go to the bottom of the topic list to submit your favorite memory of your favorite place to be on a Saturday.
3 Responses to “New topic as the season draws to a close”
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April 19th, 2006 at 2:58 am
My first game was in about 1974 when my dad,who was American, took me to watch Middlesboro who were even then regarded as the most boring team in the league draw 0-0. At the age of about 8 it was an unforgettable experience and we would go about once a year until the early eighties when I was old enough to get on the train on my own.
My real memories about Highbury were forged in this era of truly awful football when really the only thing we had to be proud of was our history and of course our stadium. We were the best ground in London and always hosted the FA cup semis in those days which were huge games back then.
It was standing only in the clock end and the North bank with no games really requiring tickets,however many people came they all got in. I will never forget being in crowds of well over 60,000 people wedged together which until the trgedy at Hillsborough we didn’t think could ever be dangerous. The noise was deafening as the crowd was 98% working class males who had mostly been in the pub for at least 3 hours before the game and the language was to say the least colourful.
I also remember the fighting which happened regularly especially if we were playing any London team or Utd. You would see big spaces suddenly open on the North bank or Clock end as the away fans tried to take it over and in the middle the boots and fists would be flying until the police got there to break it up. There was a rawness of emotion that is missing now but it has been replaced by a pureness of football that we would never have dreamed of back then.
After living in the states for 17 years I have returned to London to live so now get to see about 10 games a year as well as a couple of trips to Prague,Turin and hopefully Paris[eurostar booked already]. You still get the same feeling when you go to Highbury though,it is a special place in an unspecial neighborhood. It is my history and as I start to take my nephews who are now old enough to go I will bore them with my memories of cold,wet magical nights freezing my arse off standing on the corner of the North bank.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:42 am
Perhaps it is a bit Fever Pitch, but the first time I went to football at Highbury is still a strong memory even though it was over 25 years ago.
How a 0 - 0 draw against Birmingham excited me, I dont know, but walking to my seat in the East Upper and the noise during the game meant I had to go back again.
Tonight is my last game at Highbury ever so I am looking forward to it just as much.
April 21st, 2006 at 12:02 am
My first visit to Highbury was not to see Arsenal. 57 years ago in April 1949 I was a 14-year old kid standing in the terraces to watch Leicester City upset strong favorites Portsmouth 3-1 in an FA Cup semi-final. Winning goal was scored by Don Revie - anyone remember him? Ticket cost 10 shillings if I remember correctly.
My final visit was 55 years later, on May 15 2004, after living in the U.S. for 47 years. Coincidentally one of the teams was again Leicester City. But the other was “The Invincibles” playing their 38th and final game of that amazing Premier League season. We all know what happened of course, although I wondered when we were down 0-1 at half-time. This time I sat in relative luxury, but the ticket cost me a couple of hundred times that original FA Cup visit as a kid.
God willing, I’ll be over to see the Emirates Stadium within a year or two.