I remember the first time I ever went to the Lane like it was yesterday. My dad, a life long West Ham fan bought two tickets for me and him for my 9th birthday. I was so excited to go and see the players I had only previously seen the year before in the FA Cup final of 1981. He had tried to get me to support West Ham but I wasn't having it and as surprise he arranged to take me to the game.
We drove to the ground in our dark blue Maxi and parked outside a friends house who lived near the ground. He was a Spurs fan for over 60 years and schooled me in the history of Spurs. The first thing I remember is the size of the ground. To a 9 year old boy it was absolutely massive and very daunting. I had butterflies in my stomach as we walked past the street vendors selling scarves and hats, declaring us FA Cup winners 1981. I was treated to a new scarf and we made our way to the turn style to get into the ground.
I walked slowly up the concrete steps to the seats in the upper North Stand and was shocked at how high we were. It looked even bigger inside than it did outside. The grass was a brilliant green, the white lines on the pitch freshly painted and the noise of our fans starting their chants wafted around me, then the PA kicked in and announced the teams for the day. I watched as the players went through their warm up routines, which in those days was basically walking around with a ball and show boating a bit.
No matter how may times Ive been back since, no matter how many times Ive passed the new stadium being built over the past year I will never forget that first time. Ive had some great memories at the lane down the years, as I'm sure many of you have had as well.
Seeing us get beat 3-1 by Liverpool and seeing John Barnes score with a back heel annoyed the hell out of me, however seeing a coach load of Liverpool supporters stranded as their coach broke down made up a little for it. The bloke who was brave enough (or stupid enough) to walk in the pub with Jason Dozzell embezzled across the back of his shirt and the stick he got was another memory I wont forget. However they all pale into insignificance to the day I met Gazza, Lineker, Walsh and Venables, sharing a beer with them and a friendly chat and my biggest regret of my footballing life.
A friend at school had managed to wangle his way into Spurs for his work experience, me I got a vets in Dagenham, he ended up at Spurs!. It wasn't all bad though as he managed to get me a free ticket on the shelf for our game against Villa in 1989. After the game I was to meet him outside the ground and bring a tie. A little bit of problem with that as on the way to the game Id bought a Teenage Nina Tottenham Hotspurs t-shirt of a street vendor and was proudly wearing that. He wasn't impressed but told me to put the tie on and follow him into the ground via the main entrance.
I did as I was told and he led me upstairs along this corridor with security at the end of it, They looked at him and smiled, then looked at me with the t-shirt on and a tie around my neck and looked at him again. I thought Id blown it but they laughed and said go on in but don't annoy anyone. I walked through the door straight into the players lounge. The first person I saw was Nigel Kennedy, a massive Villa fan, then Derek Mountfield, that man had the second best mustache in football behind Terry McDermott, followed by David Platt drinking his pint as quick as he could.
I followed my mate as quickly as possible as we went through another door and there he was patting Terry Venables on the stomach and telling him how fat he was. Gazza, my favorite player at the time, looked straight at me and said 'fucking hell son no one told me it was fancy dress' I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, I just stood there staring at him, he came over and said hello to my mate and then asked for my t shirt. I looked at him not sure what to do, Terry Venables came over and said hello, as Gazza asked again for my t shirt. I just nodded and took it off and handed it to him. Now here comes my biggest regret!
He was wearing a Spurs tracksuit top and handed it to me to put on whilst he wore my t-shirt. He walked around in it for a bit, showing it to the other players who had arrived, a few of them signed it, , David Howells, Mitchell Thomas, and Paul Walsh amongst them. He then came back took the tshirt off and handed it back to me, I started to take the track suit top off and hand it back to him and he said 'Nah you re alright son you keep it' to which I replied 'No thanks Gazza, I just want me t-shirt back' what an absolute tool! I had Gazza's tracksuit top given to me on a plate and I handed it back to him!. He just laughed and offered me a beer!
I spent the next two hours getting hammered with the Spurs first team. A memory I will forever cherish.
Other memories spring to mind, the local chip shop outside the ground putting hand written prices up for his food on match days, the packed trains from White Hart Lane Station, Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur playing at the end of a game we've won. Being the first English club to take down the fences around the ground after Hillsborough, I could go on.
They say you never forget your first, whether its a girl you kissed, a car you bought, or a film you'll never forget. For me I will never forget my first ever game at the Lane. We played Stoke on the 10th October 1981, 5 days before my 9th birthday and we won 2-0. I fell in love for the first time that day and its lasted all of my life.
I wont be there tomorrow, work and fiances don't allow me to go as often as I would like nowadays, but a part of me will always be in that old ground, a place where I have hugged strangers in joy and wept tears of bitterness at a defeat. Where I have sung with thousands who I will never know the names of, but where I know I will always belong. To me its like losing an old friend, Ill miss the history of that ground, the place where I chose as a 9 year old kid I wanted to spend the rest of my life.
White Hart Lane, thank you for some very special memories, Ill miss you.
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