Torquay Fans UK Origins

[AustrianAndyGull]

So you're a Torquay fan. There could have been many ways in which you came to support the mighty Gulls other than simply living in the town and going along to games. I suspect many of us who are fans have little or no connection to the South Devon area but support the Gulls like myself, so therefore I wanted to find out how many people who use the forum (and are happy to vote) were born, lived, grew up in the area and how many didn't.

Please feel free to tell us your story too.

[exilegull]

I'm Leeds born and bred - however my Dad's family is from Torquay and my dad is a fan so we used to go to Torquay for holidays at the grandparents and we'd go to a Torquay game while we were there. My support grew from there and was probably cemented by going to Wembley for the Sherpa Van Trophy final in 1989 when I was still just 9. I never really got into Leeds - for a start we never went to a game as I don't think Elland Road in the eighties was a great place to take young children!

[HeavenAndHele]

There might be a few permutations that aren't covered by the options above - I answered "Not born there but lived there for a brief period", although I'm not sure 6 years is a brief period

I moved here in September 2007, never supported a club before and in fact had never seen a live league match (although I went to see non-league Kingstonians with my brother a few times in the mid 90s when we both lived in the area). I'd lived in Plymouth from 2002-07 and considered going to Argyle a few times but never got round to it, and even when I moved to Torquay it took me until Feb 2011 to attend a match. Even then, I think I only really became a fan with my second match, the last home game of the 2010-11 season, an evening match against Chesterfield.

[Behind-the-Gulls]

Interesting survey this-perhaps Andy(or someone else) could draw up a map when this is concluded which indicates where those that respond are based.
I'm pretty convinced we have exiles that attend at least a few games a season, in just about every major town and city in the country-as well as in Wales,Scotland,Ireland,Channel Islands,Norway,Germany,USA,Australia,Germany,Russia,Portugal,etc.

[Behind-the-Gulls]

Ditto for Andy's demographic poll,which he's also posted!

[tktufc91]

I've grown up in littlehampton but my grandparents live in Newton Abbot and regularly attended Torquay game when they moved to the area from Fulham. I would regularly travel down to see them with the family as a kid and one day we went to plainmoor and I was hooked ever since, even if it took 6 years to see them win a game (I would go to 2-3 games a season) my mum is also a fan so I guess I got the bug from her but thank god it was Torquay and not the slime or the Grecians.

Torquay til I die!

[taunton_gull]

I was born and bred in Taunton but all of my Dad's side is from Torquay. I started going from about the age of 5 and have been hooked ever since!

[Dave]

For me Andy was not born in the UK. Son of a british soldier I was born in what was then known as West Germany, neither of my parents were born in South Devon either, dad is from the black country, mum from Gainsboro.

Parents decided to settle in South Devon brought a house in Newton Abbot, father was posted to Oxford, I came to live in Newton abbot with the rest of the family, at the grand old age of 11, in 1980, moved in next door to a family of TUFC fans and was taken to my first game which was 2.5 home defeat to lincoln, and the bug was bitten.

Strange but indeed true.

[chunkygull]

being born and living my whole life in paignton, torquay are my club, they are the pride of torbay and south devon .

my dad (from brixham) has watched and supported the club since 1955, he dragged me along when i had just turned 12.

i wasnt into football that much but it was the last match of the 86/87 season and we were under major threat of relegation.

my dad was determined i was going to watch a torquay united league match and this could have been the last chance, so, final game of the season vs crewe, bryn the police dog, paul dobsons last minute goal, 2-2, we stayed up, pitch invasions, players carried shoulder high, renditions of "you are my torquay". that was it, football and torquay united had me hook, line and sinker, ive been nuts about both ever since.

[AustrianAndyGull]

For me Andy was not born in the UK. Son of a british soldier I was born in what was then known as West Germany, neither of my parents were born in South Devon either, dad is from the black country, mum from Gainsboro.
Parents decided to settle in South Devon brought a house in Newton Abbot, father was posted to Oxford, I came to live in Newton abbot with the rest of the family, at the grand old age of 11, in 1980, moved in next door to a family of TUFC fans and was taken to my first game which was 2.5 home defeat to lincoln, and the bug was bitten.

Strange but indeed true.

Ooh don't forget the ugh on the end of Gainsboro! They'll lynch you up there I tell thee! :na:

Know Gainsborough well.

[Modgull]

Like H&H I think there are no answers which closely match my situation. I was born in Manchester, lived my early life in Warrington (and watched rugby league as a nipper), moved to the South East when I was 11 and went to my first football match at Elm Park before becoming a Reading fan. Briefly moved with my family to Paignton when I was 17 and saw my first Gulls matches then - in 1971. As with most of my mates, went to Uni, got work in the South East and only returned to Devon in 1985. Have been watching the Gulls ever since but relatively few games in the early days because I played rugby (union this time) on Saturdays. Been a regular attendee since the late 1990s and season ticket holder since the first season in the BSP. I brought my son up good an' proper and he came with me to most matches from his 8th birthday until he went away to uni too. He is still a mad-keen supporter but sometimes I can't help feeling that giving him a team like Torquay to support is tantamount to child abuse!

[Yellow4life]

Essex born, Devon based for the last 16 years...I'm only 20!

[Kernowgull]

Born and bred in Cornwall, my grandparents lived in Dartmouth. One weekend when I was about 7, we were visiting and having been to see Liskerd a few times, I asked my dad to take me to a game. He looked at the fixtures and saw the gulls were at home. We went, won 3-0 against Carlisle and I was hooked. And so began years of abuse from all my Plymouth supporting mates!!

[cambgull]

Well for a moment I completely forgot where I was born. I voted on "Born there and grew up there" before remembering I was actually born in Surrey! Oops. Moved down to Ivybridge when I was 2 though and used to go to see all three Devon clubs. I was once a mascot at Argyle and most of my friends were Argyle fans but I always preferred Torquay, and have followed them more as I've grown up.

[Gazzableedsgull]

All my family are Leeds born and bred apart from myelf, my Dad worked down there in the 80s and my Mam moved down there with him, they had me and decided to stay there until 99, I lived in Leeds till 2007 and then had a brief couple of years in Torbay by myself. I decided that its crap to live down there so I came to Leeds and try to visit as much as I can.