The Premier League is a global success in business terms, at least, but it is great to hear from fans all around the world. On not606 Spurs we have a number of posters from the USA and Australia and a few I think from other parts, from Spain of course and the 'Home Countries' . Tottenham Hotspur is a truly global name so maybe a thread for our 'world friends' might work. Let's try! Here you could post your experience of being a Spurs fan in your locality, are you a rare beast or do you have a local group? Do you have rival fans locally? Like me for example, I live in a remote village in Scotland 30 miles from the nearest supermarket and who is my next house neighbour? Yep an Arsenal Fan from North London. What is it like being a Spurs fan in your part of the world? Of course the internet is fabulous for bringing us all together, so that we can mix with fans who are regulars at White Hart Lane, does it make a big difference to your being a Spurs fan? Anything that is connected to being a long way away from the team you support let's hear it. Maybe USA and Australian fans can compare their experience, is it very different in their respective parts of the world? As usual you will make or break the thread, so it's over to you.
If Scotland is going to be a marker then might have to include myself: working in UK and Spain, but home is now in West Cork, Ireland, closer to nearest local shop and pub (3 miles) and the landlord is also a lifelong Spurs fan!! Happy Days!!
A good decade ago l was in Melbourne and got up about 2.00am and went to a bar full of Spurs fans , being honest ok but not terribly friendly. In Larnaca, Cyprus a bar on the seafront full of Cypriot Spurs as well as the owners, very generous hosts . In Montevideo Uruguay in a central food market that sells the perfect goucho steak the bloke next to me reckoned he new Poyet and was a Spurs fan . In Jaffa , Israel looking after my old mama, stayed with her mate a Bishop . Many of the Arab Christians had a soft spot for us . In Suffolk there many of us . A lifetime and empathy with my fellow lily whites.
I got talking at the Lane yesterday to a guy who owns a Bed and Breakfast in Texas. A life long Spurs fan who travelled to London from Dundee for every home game until he met an American lady and relocated to live with her in Texas. Yesterday was his first trip back to the Lane since Jurgen Klinnsmann made his home debut for us. Daniel Levy will be delighted to hear the guy spent £250 in the club shop.
I ought to mention first of all that I’m a dedicated and fully paid up member of the amalgamated society of non-joiners. It’s not that I hate everyone, just that I believe people are vastly overrated. While a considerable minority are delightful, most are involved in a vast conspiracy to destroy your happiness and life on earth, in that order. One of the things I like about being a Spurs fan is that it doesn’t bring me into contact with people except insofar as I choose. So my real experience of being a Spurs fan is shared with exactly three classes of people 1. my beautiful and wise wife, who is by months the senior Spurs fan of the two of us 2. not606 Spurs posters 3. cartilage free captain spurs fans. It’s quite different from not606 by being mostly American, less well informed and rather dedicated to a particular kind of inside running joke. But I enjoy my pilgrimages to see Spurs and other Spurs fans. I can see local Spurs fans at the big local football pub, but haven’t joined any Spurs supporters groups (see above). I’ve acquired a very occasional hobby of speculating what character flaws led locals to an Arsenal or Chelsea kit. My brother in law is a big Liverpool fan, but I’ve found the generosity of spirit to forgive him for that. It may be, however, that this has led my wife and me to encourage his children, fondly referred to as the devil spawn (in fact they’ve turned into likable young people, especially the youngest, a big Sanders backer and hater of all things suburban).
There's a bunch of Belgian season ticket holders that sit on the seats behind me, one is somewhat the leader of the group and has the best English (often tests me on my pronunciations of Alderweireld and Vertonghen, while also enjoys head-locking me on occasions when we score ), another that looks like Donald Cerrone (MMA fighter), while there's about six or seven others who rotate for the remaining four seats in different games. Despite knowing them for nearly two years now, I found out just a couple of weeks back that they all actually still live in Belgium, not far out from Ghent, which just amazed me. I initially assumed they were Belgians living over here in England but nope, for every Spurs game they get a coach through to France, onto the ferry and then straight to WHL, then return back home either same day or the following one depending on the timing of KO's. Incredible commitment and I take my hat off to them.
We have such a high-profile Belgian contingent I've often wondered how many of them make the journey on a regular basis. It can be far cheaper and even quicker than some ****ty train up to manchester Now you just need to find out if that S Korean contingent who sit in Paxton Lower make the commute!
They'll be happy to know that our U17s won some sort of 5-a-side thing and the keeper's Belgian: 16-year-old Jonathan De Bie won goalkeeper of the tournament, apparently. Belgian Spurs: The Next Generation.
Here in Oz we do have a designated supporters group of which I am a silent member. The main gathering point in Sydney is a pub near the CBD which is about 40-45 mins from where I live. The issue is this is fine for those that live nearby or even don't mind losing lots of valuable sleep, but getting transport (parking is expensive) at the times when Spurs play is very iffy. So I prefer to watch via cable tv or online. See the occasional Spurs shirt around my local shopping centres but mainly ManU and Chav shirts. At work I am surrounded by Utd supporters - nice people in spite of that! The groundswell through the local media is that we are seriously the league's form team of should def be watched for success - they agree in most part that its good for the PL for this sort of thing to happen.
A couple of years ago, I was in a pub in a place called Struy, which is a hamlet about 25 minutes from Inverness. Me and Mrs Spurcat and one guy sitting at the bar. His mobile rings to the tune of "Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur". Turned out that in his prime, he was an apprentice at Spurs under Bill Nick and although he got released and never made it, he remains a life long Spurs fan.
You should hear them when the teams are being announced before KO, every Belgian player gets a mighty roar and one of them has the obsession of saying "TOBYYYYYYYYY!". It's even better during the games, if one of the Belgian players does a mistake they rip into them in their own tongue as if they're having a direct convo with the player, would love to know what's being said! Great bunch of guys though, will miss them when this season is over as I have no idea if we'll be seated near each other at Wembley/ new stadium. Ahh, Spurcat! I'm glad I saw your name pop up. Remember when you quoted me after the Chelsea game about Graham Robert's half time speech where he mentions about how Bill Nich came to see him and got him signed to Spurs but you mentioned how Roberts was a Spurs player during the Burkinshaw era? Well I done a bit of research, Bill Nich was signed as a consultant at the time when Burkinshaw was manager (a request made by Keith) and Bill was instrumental in the signings of Roberts, Galvin, Mabbutt and Hoddle.
