Tottenham Hotspur. It’s more than a club to us fans. We’ve all grown up with the club, and we’ve all seen the effects it can have on us all. The missed chances, the stars we let go, but at the end of the day, that is what it is all about when you support Tottenham Hotspur. It just wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have the hard parts. The tough times are what make the good times amazing.
I’ve grown up surrounded by Tottenham, and I think that’s why the club means so much to me, but I’m not the only one. The majority of our fans have been fans for generations, with fathers having their sons and daughters loving the club, and that is why there is so much passion in every one of our supporters. Each fan has their favourite player, or the player they wanted to be when they played football at the park.
The new stadium will obviously mean more fans, and more money, but for the supporters who have taken the pilgrimage to the famous White Hart Lane every season, or even if it Is just that one time, it means a lot more. The new stadium introduces what we have been waiting to happen for many years. Sure, the Olympic Stadium would have made more financial sense, but it isn’t Tottenham. East London isn’t Tottenham, and the protests made sense to us, and that is all that matters. I cannot wait to walk up the Tottenham High Street after coming off of Seven Sisters station with my family and my girlfriend and see the fantastic new stadium, all the fans looking in amazement at what the club has built.
Tottenham runs through my family. It always has done come to think about it. My granddad has always supported Spurs, ever since we beat Leicester in the FA Cup final in the almighty year of 1961. He went to every game he could at the Lane, but then things changed. My mum came along, and also discovered her love for the club and followed the squad through many a cup run, accompanied by my grandfather. She grew up watching the likes of Gary Mabbutt, Paul Gascoigne, and Chris Waddle. My grandfather grew up watching Cliff Jones, Dave Mackay, Danny Blanchflower, Jimmy Greaves, Glenn Hoddle, Ray Clemence, Ardilles and Villa. It’s amazing to think at all the history just these two have witnessed at White Hart Lane, Wembley and many other places.
Then comes me…
For years, I watched on Sky Sports my heroes play for the famous Lilywhites. The likes of Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, Ledley King, Paul Robinson, Gareth Bale just to name a few. These were players, who I looked up to, and if I played in goal I was Robinson, but if I was a defender I was “Deadly” Ledley King. It was amazing. But there was one game that I had looked to go to at least once in my lifetime. That was the North London Derby, and it wasn’t until this season that has just gone, that I managed to go. My girlfriend was the one who got the tickets, and we made our way to the ground, and feeling the atmosphere is what made the day. I knew it was a good day when Ledley came out at halftime (side note, my girlfriend has admitted that Ledley is a great name, but she wouldn’t buy Pavlyuchenko, or Chimbonda. She wouldn’t even bite for Thorstvelt.)
But seeing the joy in the faces of every single Tottenham fan on that day, alongside the fact that everyone was singing their admiration for a certain Harry Kane. This joy and love is what this club means to us as fans. The history, the players, the atmosphere and just everything that makes this club great. Tottenham runs through the blood of some, and some are born into the club. Either way, the fans are all the same.
Other clubs may have a lot more tourists at their games, other teams may not even fill up their stadium (we know who that is) but none of them can match the passion and love that the Tottenham Hotspur fans have for this great club. I write this in the hope that anyone reading this remembers some of the moments that they love about the club. Whether it be winning the double, the cup victories, the first game or first derby like myself, I hope this allows some great memories to flow.
