How did you become Liverpool fan?

[Needles]

Dad didn't like football. Best friend didn't like football. The kid who sat next to me in 1st year of secondary school (in1986) supported Liverpool. The rest is history!

[Bloodraven]

At the age of 4 or 5, my mum asked which bedsheets I wanted, and I replied "the blue one". My 11 year old brother threatened to kill me apparently, so I chose the red one.

[Tatterdemalion]

No but if it was it’d be Sir B

Well, of course, Sir SB!

[Tatterdemalion]

I grew up about 14 miles from Manchester and went to Old Trafford several times in the 60's watching Best, Law, Charlton etc. Then around 1967 went to visit my Dads cousin who was Alf Arrowsmith and played briefly for Liverpool before injury ruined his career. Saw all his medals including a 1st division winners medal and have been a fan ever since.

That's pretty damn cool

[Tatterdemalion]

Great thread. So many examples of fate playing a key role in determining which club you support. My story is no different on that front. Let me explain:

I was born in Tottenham in '75. My parents are from Cyprus and had moved to London in the late 60's due to the communal troubles on that island at the time. When I was a year old they briefly moved back to Cyprus which by now had separated along communal lines (not ideal but the killings had, at least, stopped).

We stayed there until I was about 4 at which point we moved back to London, staying with family, etc. until we could get our own place. During this time my folks had a small combined radio/TV thing with a wooden frame and a tiny black and white screen. I can still remember the way it looked now. It was old back then but now would look like something from a different era entirely. They watched it from time to time but I had no interest in it whatsoever.

One day in '81, my dad brought home our first colour TV. It was tiny by today's standards but represented a huge step up from what we had before. As they were oohing and aahing over it, I noticed that something was on the screen I hadn't seen before. These guys were kicking a ball about between themselves. One team in red the other in white. I'd recently done shapes in school and I could swear the team in red were making triangles and rectangles with the ball. I asked my dad about this and he explained that this was football son (he had previously been an Arsenal ST holder) and that this was the biggest game of the year (turns out it was the European Cup final but I only realised that long afterwards). My favourite colour was red. I asked him who the team in red were. "That's Liverpool" came the response, and I've been with the same bird ever since.

Fate is key. I've long said you don't pick your club, your club picks you.

Brilliant story.

[Tatterdemalion]

1986 FA cup final. Supported liverpool since then. I remembered the passion of the commentary of the last goal by rush and that was it. I was 10

My favourite ever Liverpool game.

[baitman]

There was a little camping shop having a grand opening day on Prescot road in Kenny., maybe 1972ish?
the celebs were Kevin Keegan and Phil Boersma so me and a mate went along for a look, got Kevs autograph.
also, a relative of Kevs lived near our house, they were in Lockerby road. We'd cycle round and occasionally we would see Kev come out and get in his triumph stag and drive away as he gave us a wave as we chased his car down the road.
cant remember the exact game but it was 1976, it was 75p on the Kop and i think I saw a few of Kevs last games for us.

[SB]

There was a little camping shop having a grand opening day on Prescot road in Kenny., maybe 1972ish?
the celebs were Kevin Keegan and Phil Boersma so me and a mate went along for a look, got Kevs autograph.
also, a relative of Kevs lived near our house, they were in Lockerby road. We'd cycle round and occasionally we would see Kev come out and get in his triumph stag and drive away as he gave us a wave as we chased his car down the road.
cant remember the exact game but it was 1976, it was 75p on the Kop and i think I saw a few of Kevs last games for us.

i first read that as 1927

[Catrin]

There were only three channels on the telly and one of them was showing the League Cup Final replay between Liverpool and West Ham. A certain Kenny Dalglish scored a goal where at the point where he was shooting you couldn’t see much of the goal and with televisions in those days being anything but flatscreen it looked a lot more difficult than it actually was. I then discovered that the most natural goal-scorer the world has ever known happened to be Welsh and played for Liverpool. Then a school trip to watch Liverpool v Swansea (a certain Colin Pascoe’s full league debut) sealed the deal. It was the day of the Grand National so kick-off was 11.30 am. Jurgen would have lost his head.

[memzey]

I'm loving these stories. Each one so human and unique. Random events resulting in lasting and profound impact to the person. Just awesome.

[Buzzo]

Born in Scotland in 75 I grew up in an era when there were a lot of negative portrayals of what it was to be Scottish. We had the see you Jimmy Russ Abbott bull**** and I did feel a lack of understanding as to why the place I was from would be the butt of the jokes.

Positive Scottish role models were few and far between.

But there was one.

Kenny Dalglish.

My admiration of him and the awe in which everyone viewed his talents was quite something. He (and a few others within the team) were viewed as World Class. I needed to know more.

Following football remotely in the 80’s was a fairly low reward experience. Few games on the TV so it would be MotD highlights and the odd live game. The fact that we won the European Cup in 84 was huge - Bruce and the spaghetti legs. This was what we as kids were talking about the next day at school.

The love affair was complete.

My first match? Luton Town 4 - Liverpool 1. I was bewildered

As I’ve grown older and being able to connect with fans, visit Liverpool a few times and also go to a few cracking games that shared understanding has continued and the clubs values have been a huge driver. The city has a lot that I see as being different from most places in England. I love that outsider POV. I love the unique sensibilities. The quirks. The humour. The friendliness. We visit each time we drive darn sarf.

The second coming after years in the wilderness where we were realistically miles off it - was Klopp. And his golden era coinciding with my kids getting into the team as well.

And, the return of a Scottish role model for me and the kids in Robbo. Again the culture and values of the players and club were easy to buy into. Mane, Salah, Firmino, Hendo, Tren, Van Dijk, Allison everyone seemed driven to prove themselves.

A magical time.

Will it ever be so good again?

[Buzzo]

Belting idea for a thread btw. How have we not had this before?

(or maybe we have and collective memory loss prevails)

[Irishnev]

My Dad is a Spurs fan so I didn't follow him, we moved from his city to a small town in Ireland and when my Dad started his new job the first kid I got to know was the son of another worker and he was a year older and a LFC fan. We then went to watch Liverpool play the year after in a tour around Ireland (https://www.lfchistory.net/friendly-games/8166) and then I was in. The success + Irish connection was an easy sell I guess.

I went to Anfield for the first time with that friend and he died in his early 20s from cystic fybrosis - we played YNWA at his funeral and I well up when I think about it.

[peterbread]

I grew up in Hong Kong so didn’t really get much football on TV. We had FA cup replay shows, with great intro music by the way, and the occasional game but no league highlights until it became the premier league. The only I’ve game was the cup final. While my dad is English and grew up in London he watched a bunch of different teams as a kid and never really had a team and left for Australia when he was I his early twenties and wasn’t a huge football fan like I’ve made him, as well as a Liverpool fan now.

The other kids I was friends with all got into football and apart from the ones who’s dads had a team we just picked the best team of the time and the only one we saw when football was on TV. Being the 80’s in Hong Kong there wasn’t a lot so it was Shoot magazine and things like that. I remember a friend had a VHS of the 1986 cup final we watched and the cup final was always on. The 88 final and 89 finals are big memories watching with my dad as they were the only game we had live every year. I was so upset after the 88 game but the 89 final is still one of my favourites.

Just loved supporting the club and even though, probably like a lot on here, I started at the end of that great period I was hooked and had to watch that other lot win it all over and over. Makes what we’ve experienced recently so enjoyable especially as I’ve got my dad more and more into football and Liverpool over the years. Will always be one of my favourite times watching Liverpool with my dad.

I’ve been lucky enough to go watch them a few times at Anfield, the first being a surprise from my dad when I was 18 and we sat in the Kop for a European game. I’ve got a 100% record with 3 wins so I’m available for the big matches if the clubs interested.

[Tatterdemalion]

Belting idea for a thread btw. How have we not had this before?

(or maybe we have and collective memory loss prevails)

I suspect we have, but years ago and the respondents would have been different, so worth doing again if it's a repeat, I think.