How old were you when you first went to games on your own?

[Brovion]

Reading the "Did you support another team?" thread got me thinking to when I first used to go to matches. I used to go to Palace with my Dad and Grandad, or badger my Dad into taking me to Stamford Bridge. But when I moved to Lancing I started going to Brighton games with my new friends. We'd meet at Lancing station, get on the train to Hove, go to the game and come home again all unaccompanied by an adult. Nothing strange about that of course - except for the fact we were all EIGHT years old! (Some of the older ones may have been nine or ten but we were all very young). Ok this was the mid 1960s and a different era, (if you let an eight year old go to football match now unaccompanied you'd probably be arrested), but did other old 'uns do this? Or was it because we were council estate kids?

 

[Jonno]

First went with a mate in the North Stand at the Goldstone when I was about 11 or 12, stood in the middle where the big surge used to happen when we scored, terrified me at first but soon learned to love it.

 

[fosters headband]

Reading the "Did you support another team?" thread got me thinking to when I first used to go to matches. I used to go to Palace with my Dad and Grandad, or badger my Dad into taking me to Stamford Bridge. But when I moved to Lancing I started going to Brighton games with my new friends. We'd meet at Lancing station, get on the train to Hove, go to the game and come home again all unaccompanied by an adult. Nothing strange about that of course - except for the fact we were all EIGHT years old! (Some of the older ones may have been nine or ten but we were all very young). Ok this was the mid 1960s and a different era, (if you let an eight year old go to football match now unaccompanied you'd probably be arrested), but did other old 'uns do this? Or was it because we were council estate kids?

I used to go on my own at nine years of age not only to football but speedway aswell (in the evenings) where I lived in Southampton then.
It does seem strange now, that being so young we were allowed to do these things safely.
Not being a snob, but I wasn't a council estate kid. I don't think it was anything to do with your background, but just that the world was a safer place in my younger days.

 

[Gwylan]

I think I was 12 when I first went to football by myself but I remember going to cricket by myself when I was 10 or 11 - I suppose cricket was deemed safer and I wasn't got to get duffed by the Cow Shed bootboys.

 

[Lord Bamber]

Mine was 16.

Although I was allowed to get the train to Crawley on my own at 14, far more dangerous!

 

[Acker79]

I kind of eased in to going on my own, in that my dad stayed in the south stand, and I got a season ticket n the west stand so we'd travel to the games together, but would split up and just meet at the car afterward. Then some friends would go occasionally and so I started going with them.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Aged 10 - although it was the first year at Secondary school. We went on the No 7 from Ovingdean to Hove Station - over the footbridge. Happy days.

 

[skipper734]

I was 8 and a council estate kid and so were my mates. They were homes for heroes in those days though.

 

[Bean]

Home and away games were different for me. I was allowed to go to home games unaccompanied at the age of around 10 but I was allowed to go to away games with my friends at around 14.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

11 I think but it might have been the end of 10

 

[Left Footer]

13,

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

I used to go on my own at nine years of age not only to football but speedway aswell (in the evenings) where I lived in Southampton then.
It does seem strange now, that being so young we were allowed to do these things safely.
Not being a snob, but I wasn't a council estate kid. I don't think it was anything to do with your background, but just that the world was a safer place in my younger days.

The strange thing is that the world is a far safer place these days than it used to be. It's just the perception of danger is far higher than it was.

 

[Return of the Rev]

home 11 away 14 shrewsbury

 

[fosters headband]

The strange thing is that the world is a far safer place these days than it used to be. It's just the perception of danger is far higher than it was.

I am sorry but I can't go along with that.
When I was a kid in the late 40/50's a murder was so rare and in fact was always front page headline news in the papers, today they are so common place that they just make small coloums in the inside pages.
I feel it is a far more threatening world to the kids of today and parents are rightly very careful about letting youngsters out on their own.

 

[Joe Gatting's Dad]

First game was a cup replay on an afternoon in the late fifties against Norwich which we managed to lose 2 - 1, before the advent of floodlights.

I only had eleven pence on me and a nice policeman gave me a copper to make up the one shilling child's entrance!

 

[Curious Orange]

Living as I did in the misty depths of Surrey I didn't start attending games at the Goldstone by myself until I was 17 and had a driving license, and access to a car (I still drive that car too... many, many years later!).

 

[Gwylan]

I am sorry but I can't go along with that.
When I was a kid in the late 40/50's a murder was so rare and in fact was always front page headline news in the papers, today they are so common place that they just make small coloums in the inside pages.
I feel it is a far more threatening world to the kids of today and parents are rightly very careful about letting youngsters out on their own.

Not true - number of child murders is steadily falling. Roughly half what it was 30 years ago according to this article

Our irrational fear of child-killers | Society | The Guardian

And by far the greatest number of these are killed by parents or other family members.

 

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

about 13 i think... though not actually allowed... then i got crushed at one of the goldstone pitch invasions (the one that ended the game and snapped the crossbars) thus forever proving mummy correct

after that came the nomad years so allowed whenever i wanted by the time they got back to withers all seater non-threatening stadium of wonder and gentlemen

 

[Bakero]

14 for home games- home was 70 miles in Gillingham at that point though.

 

[Paxton Dazo]

15 to Spurs Away games, most of the time my Dad would be there too, but I'd be on seperate trains/different pubs etc etc.