How does your 'football memory' work?

[ManchesterMagpie]

Oooh, I love a good nostalgia thread!

Like many have said here I tend not to remember too much about matches themselves (especially anything from the past 10 years!) but I do have random memories lodged in my brain from the 45 years I've been watching Notts. Here's a few:

In the late 70's my mate's dad's mate would honk the horn of his Ford Escort estate when he picked us up from Clifton on Saturday lunchtime and always get annoyed if somebody was in HIS parking space in the Meadows (he was a man of routine and if he was parked anywhere else it would effect the outcome of the game!). If we won he would sing along to the theme of 'Sports Report' when James Alexander Gordon would read out the results while the car windows de-misted! The car was also full of fag smoke...

During the same era my mates dad always insisted on us standing in HIS spot on the old Kop terrace - even when it was given entirely to away fans. When Stoke won promotion on the last day of the season in 1979 and brought over 15,000 fans to the Lane a copper spotted us in our Notts colours and saw that I was absolutely terrified. Thankfully he got us moved to the relative safety of the Main Stand but our Ken still wasn't happy that he'd been moved from his spot.

Getting my first season ticket in the temporary 'Family Club Stand' - which back then was a few rows of wooden terracing right behind the Meadow Lane terrace. I think this was actually the remnants of the part-demolished Meadow Lane stand before they cleared it entirely to make way for the sports hall / Meadow Club etc. We watched some great games from there (including the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea but that was the first big away crowd I saw at the Lane) but my abiding memory from this time was running down to the 'sweet shop' (bar?) under the stand which an old fella called Tom Lord (and his cat?!) used to look after. He served us our County Cola and crisps.

Sitting in the Main Stand for reserve matches where, if you were lucky, one of the first team players like Iain McCulloch would be returning from injury and you could get their autograph. Always amusing as a kid to hear the players and managers shouting and swearing at each other!

The incredible atmosphere at my first 'proper' away game at Birmingham on the last day of the season (1979/80) a 3-3 draw in front of 33,000 fans at St Andrews, most of whom ended up on the pitch at the end of the game!

By 1980/1981 I was old enough to go to home matches on my own/with mates and this was without doubt my favourite era for obvious reasons. My memories from this time include:

Getting soaked on a rainy day at home to Watford when we could have secured promotion to the top flight but lost 2-1 and had to wait for the Chelsea away game (which I couldn't go to).

My first time on the pitch when we celebrated promotion after beating Cambridge on the Tuesday night...(think it p1ssed down then as well?)

The feeling of elation in the away section when we beat Forest 2-0 at the City Ground in our first season in the top flight (1981/82)

Ditto when we beat them 3-2 at home the following season (1982/83) - still my favourite Notts match ever! I was absolutely buzzing, sitting upstairs on the steamed up South Notts bus back to Clifton after the game. Can still remember it clearly to this day. School was going to be fun on Monday...

Away days at Field Mill when we actually used to beat the Stags in the late 80s. Loved the pre-match tension in the Plough Inn when a few Stags would usually come and try their luck only to be chased off down the road.

Fast forward to the Warnock era, those play off nights in the Meadow Club, the convoys down the M1 to Wembley (drinking our weight in 'Diamond Whites on the coach!) and back in the Meadow Club asking Derek Pavis to give Warnock an extra tenner a week to stop him from going to Chelsea. Also Mrs Charlie Palmer on hearing the fans sing his song in the club saying ....."really..? Does he now? Well if he does he doesn't give me any!"

Spurs away in 1991 and the carnage in the away end when 5,000 Pies went mental as Don O's screamer hit the net!

Lincoln away during the Big Sam promotion season (1997/98) and flying over the advertising boards when Jones or Farrell scored - can't remember which but that was a great day!

Getting really emotional in the Sirrel stand Z Block when the club was on the brink of going bust in 2003 and we had fans from loads of other clubs sitting in the stands to support us. Some of us really though that might be the last time we would go to Meadow Lane for a game.

The Torquay Takeover' weekender in 2010. Bouncing up and down with Hughesy on the pitch at the end of the game.

I could go on and on but I'll save some more for another day!

[nw6pie]

During the same era my mates dad always insisted on us standing in HIS spot on the old Kop terrace - even when it was given entirely to away fans. When Stoke won promotion on the last day of the season in 1979 and brought over 15,000 fans to the Lane a copper spotted us in our Notts colours and saw that I was absolutely terrified. Thankfully he got us moved to the relative safety of the Main Stand but our Ken still wasn't happy that he'd been moved from his spot.

All of that was great - but this in particular really made me laugh.

Sometimes, being with the “wrong” fans adds to the fun - I was with a Palace fan in the home end when we finally won away from home for the first time in over a season - I think Devlin got both goals in a 2-1 win. The Palace fans around me were a pretty gracious bunch. Then again, I did get into an argument with an idiot Palace fan when we lost to them in an FA Youth Cup tie in the aughts - I especially had to point out his error when he called us a bunch of thugs from Derbyshire.