I have fond memories of West Brom. On the pitch, yes, but also off the pitch. The day was September 5th, 1981. I was eleven years old and a massive supporter of my local team, Swansea City, who had just weeks earlier played their first match in the First Division after shocking everyone (myself included, I was on the terraces) in a 5-1 win against then mighty Leeds United.
Of course, I hadn’t asked my parents and I was caught in a trap where I wanted to go more than anything. I knew that if I asked my parents, there’s no way they would have let me go. So, instead, I lied.
The night before the away match, my friend gave me the gameplan. “Okay, we’ll pick you up from your house at 4:30 in the morning and we’ll then drive to Swansea to catch the supporter’s bus.”
Stupidly, I went to sleep that night without still having said anything to my parents. I slept through the night and was awoken at 8am by my furious parents who wanted to know why my best friend and his father were knocking on the door of our house waking everyone up (except for me, who was in a deep sleep dreaming about a trip to the Hawthorns probably).
Swansea ended up getting beat 4-1 against West Brom at the Hawthorns.
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, World Cup, Euro 2024 & more
- Includes NBC, USA, FOX, ESPN, CBSSN & more
Live & On Demand TV Streaming
- Price: $69.99/mo. for Entertainment package
- Watch World Cup, Euro 2024 & MLS
- Includes ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 + local channels
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $6.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $13.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, Championship, & more
- Also includes daily ESPN FC news & highlights show
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $4.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & NWSL
- Includes CBS, Star Trek & CBS Sports HQ
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $4.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season
- Includes Premier League TV channel plus movies, TV shows & more

The Gaffer
June 1, 2007 at 6:00 am
Nope, I was stuck home after I missed the supporter’s bus to the match.
A trip from Wales to Birmingham as a youngster seemed like a world away.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
The Scout
May 30, 2007 at 8:39 am
Don’t leave us hanging! Did you actually get to go to the match at West Brom? 🙂