The stereotyping is a pity in this day and age... but reflects the tribalism of the club's origins. We've had a few posts like this and it really does run counter to the Norwegian kopite branding most Evertonians are so fond of.

All I can say is that we are here for all Evertonians, Rog, no matter what their origins.

if your bloods blue, your bloods blue,

slightly off topic, but looks like we can put the moutinho rumours to bed once and for all

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11671_5218000,00.html

shame

I wouldnt get upset about it Rog. I’m perfectly happy to wind up the RS supporter in my office about being a cockney red even though I was born down south and currently live in Berkshire! I loathed seeing Manc and Chelski shirts everywhere when on holiday in Vietnam but thought it was brilliant when I saw a local wearing a fake Everton shirt in Brazil.

Basically if they are Sky4 fans they’re there to be shot at. If they are Evertonians they are there to be congratulated.

Hypocritical? Absolutely!

Hi Roger,

I can understand your frustration at the attitude you perceive but would like to take this chance to intercede on behalf of "those" with who you feel aggrieved.

I believe the siege mentality has arisen in us Evertonians, due in no small measure to a number of factors: Benitez?s stupid and obvious snipe after his team were unable to break down a resilient Everton defence in a nil-nil draw over the park; the media?s total obsession with the Sky Four in absolutely "everything"... and various others I won?t prattle on about.

So forgive my fellow Evertonians but they mean no slur on those that were lucky enough to be introduced to all things Everton while being born hundreds, or thousands of miles from Goodison. It?s merely them flicking the V at those teams who, without their travelling (and I mean to home games) fans, would have gates of ten thousand (at least) less than they presently have.

It?s Evertonians saying "We don?t need all that ? we?re Everton, and we?re doing just fine without of all that, and our supporters AREN?T just jumping on a bandwagon."

I?m pretty damn sure that any Evertonian would feel rightly proud to meet someone from other parts of the country, or world for that matter, who loved the Blues as much as they.... the sarky comments about Norwegian RS supporters et al DOES get right up their noses though... so it can?t be all that bad *L*. I used to say during the dark times "I wonder what the RS?s support would be like if they?d had the bad years that we?ve experienced", and I have a fair idea that it would be similar to ours.

Just one last thing on the "bandwagon" theme. One of my brothers "jumped on the RS bandwagon some years ago after years of little or no interest in football. I used to ask him to name the team from that week... he struggled! Ask any Evertonian over a certain age to name the team and he?d be able to name the one that won the FA Cup in 66...

Reg, at least you have a reason to be a Blue and you have been to some games. You know about Everton and waht it’s all about. Fair enough.

What I can’t stand is people who have no reason at all to support say Liverpool or Chelsea, never go to any games and know nothing about the club, etc, etc. You all know what I mean. I live in West Yorkshire (originally from Merseyside) and you see these dickheads walking around in Chelsea strips who watch the odd game in the pub. What sort of supporter are they?

I forgot something!.... Another factor in it may well be down to the fact that when Evertonians see kids in the area wearing the Blue of Everton, it makes you stop and say "Now that kid's got something about him, because wouldn?t it have been so much easier for him to opt for the dark side and instant (though fading) success... but instead he?s chosen.... sorry ? BEEN chosen as one of us!

I know what you mean, Roger, I?m in the same boat. Living in Leicester, I?m surrounded by Manure fans that have never been to Old Trafford. I think the difference is that I?ve spent thousands watching Everton round the country when they were shit, even stood on uncovered terraces on a cold December night, watching a boring 0-0 at the old Meadow Lane. We?re not glory supporters ? ultimately we are chosen.

I know what your saying Rog, I was born in Liverpool but my family moved down to london when i was 2 and i hadnt picked up the accent unfortunatley so now i speak with a south london accent and when ever someone asks me why i support Everton i feel the need to go through the story of why i am an Evertonian, Born there, and my Dad supported them, Born a blue basically! But i like to tell the story cos im proud that i was born there and you should be proud of where your from to, your as much a blue as any everton fan no matter where your from.

The way I see it, I don't know why people don't support their local team. Ok, there might be exceptions if family members were originally from the area etc.

I am not from Everton, I am from Liverpool, but 'if you know your history? as the song goes, Everton were the first proper team in Liverpool and represented Liverpool... so, as far as I am concerned, every one in Liverpool should support Everton.

If they don't support Everton then they don't know their history and so they are ignorant, and if they do know their history then the only reason to support Liverpool is becuase they must be glory seekers.

This is the stereotypical Liverpool fan that I really despise: they've probably never won anything in their lives and never will, and so by supporting Liverpool it's their only chance to ever get that winning feeling and feel they are above others.

Every chance they get they want to get one over you and rub salt into the wound. They don't really support Liverpool ? they just enjoy the feeling of feeling superior.

I don't think there can be many glory-seeking Everton fans because of the lack of silverware over the last 20 years; they will have long since jumped on the LFC bandwagon.

I suppose the more successful we become, the more support we will get and the bigger the club can grow, so we can't really complain. But I just have a fear we will become another Man Utd or Liverpool and loose our identity...

Good Post Rog. I too started supporting Everton after listening to to the ?66 Final on British Forces radio in Germany as a 9-year-old. I have been going to matches home and away for over 30 years and in the early days I was greeted with much suspicion and no little aggression but, once I got into debate with fans and proved my knowlewdge about the history of the club, most Everton fans were delighted that a Southerner had been "chosen" to support the Blues.

Ironically, after the semi-final, we were out celebrating in West London before getting late trains home, surrounded by scores of Southern Toffees and 3 Norwegian Redshites and of course we felt it our duty to take the piss out of them (they had never visited Analfield of course). We are members of ESSCA a southern-based supporters Association with well over 100 committed Blues. Finally, I have teenage daughters who have also received their calling.

So, to all of you lucky enough to have been born and raised on Merseyside, rest assured our numbers continue to grow and grow and we will continue to spread the Gospel that is Everton Football Club

Gary Green (Bournemouth)

As one of the most distant Everton Supporters - Melbourne Australia - and born here I am right with you Rog.
The 1966 FA cup Final was in fact the first game of football I ever saw, having be brought up on a diet of Aussie Rules. It was a grainy black and white recording but there was something about Everton which immediately won me over and I have supported since that day and have been to Mecca ... i.e. Goodison. Now in the days of cable seeing 90 per cent of Everton games live is Nirvana. I realised very early on that once you are hooked there is no way out. In June 1967 visited Austrlalia and I actually talked to, and got autographs from, George Best, Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton ... just to name a few, we actaully got Dennis Law out of bed to sing us an autograph ..... how times have changed. Hoever ever that exposure never swayed me from being an Everton supporter. History tells me that Everton actually toured Australia in1964. At that stage my awareness of Everton was non-existent, the seminal moment did not come until that 66 FA Cup final. However a little research shows that 1964 visit included Gordon West, Brian Labone, Johhny Morrissey, Colin Harvey, names I came to know well.
The last time I saw Everton play in Australia was in June 1987 just after the last Championship win.
There have been stories floating around down here that there is a good chance that Everton may play in Australia in June or July this year. However the signals are mixed. With Tim Cahill the obvious link the crowds would be great.

Rog there is only a small minority of fans who actually think that you are a Blue only if you come from L4 or the surrounding, they are unfortunately idiots.

We use the Norway thing for the RedShite because it winds them up, the same with United.

I couldn’t give a toss where you are from, if you are next to me at teh ground you are my Blue brother (apart from the two dozy pricks who sit in front of me).

One lad near to me at Wembley was a Cockney but it didn’t stop me giving him a manly bear hug after Jags slotted.

I’m from London and LOVE Everton. I’m on this site evrey day. I watch everything I can when EFC are on telly and I go to games whenever I can (I even luckily scored a ticket for Saturday!)

I’m not having anyone tell me I’m not an Everton fan. I love the club and am trying to covert my wife away from Villa to Everton.

COYB

Interesting question this.

I moved from Liverpool to Bedfordshire 29 years ago but have continued to support the blues home and away and in Europe. My son who is 22 has not for one moment ever questioned which team he supported. BORN A BLUE like his dad, grandads and great grandads.

If you have supported EFC for a long period of time, no one can accuse you of being a glory hunter or a band wagon jumper because you have had far more grief than glory so it does not matter one jot where you are from you are a blue.

Have to say hugging my son and dancing around Wembley with him on Sunday, amazing, total unconfined joy.

I also was lucky enough to score a ticket for Sunday, and I am a Evertonian from down south.

Believe me when I say the many people hugging me and jumping round like idiots alongside me cared not where I was from on that day... we were Evertonians together, that was our bond and I was proud to be with them supporting my beloved club.

Every single Evertonian inside that stadium should be proud, I can’t recall an atmosphere quite like it... especially considering what was in fact, as Michael says, quite a poor game/performance!

COYB!

Don?t let it bother you... in years gone by, I?ve had ?you?re a Southender (being a Liverpool 8 man) and Everton?s a North End club? ... Yeah, right. The main thing is you know the Club and your history; bandwagonners don?t. I always ask alleged kopites the standard questions
1. Spell Anfield
2. Who was manager before Shankly?
3. Who was John Houlding
One Carlsberg-belly (from somewhere called Crock Eeh) was in the pub giving a Man U pal of mine the usual ?5 times? sounding like a Klingon with a hairball stuck in his throat; I asked him the above
He managed Anfield but could only give me Fagan and Smith(!!) for Q.2 then ran out of ideas... At that point he blustered 0 ?I?m only 35, that was before my time?
Called my lad over:- ?When were you born, son?
?1981 Dad?
?Name the ?33 Cup-winning team?
He rattled ?em off
?Who scored?
?Stein, Dean and Dunn?
My Man U mate just grinned and said to the gobshite ?That?s you fucked... probably?

Rog, coming from Belfast, I totally agree with you.

But I just wanted to remark upon the Everton v Coventry match in 1977. Amazingly, that was one of the not many occasions I have been at Goodison. I travelled over on my own on the Belfast/Liverpool boat which left at 8:00 pm and arrived in Liverpool at around 6:30 am. If you have ever made that crossing you will know what an unpleasant journey it is, especiallly arriving at dawn with a hangover.

But heck, was it worth it? Bob Latchford actually scored a hat trick, the last a volley at the end of a magnificent move. Andy King also scored a cracker and other players I remember from the day were Dave Thomas and Martin Dobson. That was some team we had then, and you know, Coventry weren?t bad either. I think they were about third or fourth in the league at the time.

Great memories!

Everton?s connection with North Wales goes back to the beginning of the last century when thousands of North Walians helped to build the city... check out the Welsh names on streets even around the ground. Most North Walians have or have had relatives living in Liverpool.

I saw many coaches from North Wales at Wembley on Sunday, a few supporting the Mancs but most were blue boys. Everton is the biggest club nearest to North Wales so we have as much right as anyone from the city to be a proud part of the Everton family.

I’m from down South, but it’s never stopped me supporting Everton since I was aged 7.

When I first went to Goodison 9 on my own the first time aged 15 ) I remember that when I stepped out of Lime Street I had no idea where Goodison was, but the man I asked took me to the ground and kept an eye on me on the Street End and even made sure I got on the right bus back to Lime Street. That’s my idea of a typical Scouser.

Of course I have also met with some suspicion and aggression, especially when playing London teams and I remember when I was 15 on about my 3rd visit to Goodison, running into some utter knob twice my age, who tried to intimidate me to never return. He proclaimed that as he was from the Dingle he was a better Evertonian than me and spent most of the match hurling abuse at Graeme Sharp! Needless to say I took no notice and have been to Goodison many times since that day 27 years ago.

Nobody can accuse me of being a Glory Hunter. Bordering on insane perhaps, but that’s what Everton does to you, isn’t it? It’s like a curse or a blessing - depending on how we are doing, but I will always be proud to say I’m an Evertonian!

Fuck off glory hunter we dont need you!

Ha ha, only kidding pal. Don't ever feel the need to justify your love for the blues, to anyone. Its been explained to you in more detail above but in recent years we have had to sit through them being at the right end of the table and winning cups whereas we have battled relegation so we used anything we could to hold our own in arguments against them.

You were chosen, simple as.

I am from the Far East and have supported Everton since the 80s. And where I came from I must have fought the biased press on so many times I lost count. Once I questioned the press for the scant mention of Everton in their '95 cup win while putting the MU 96 cup victory in their sport headline 1 year later. They were shocked I kept note and gave the lamest excuse. They are still biased now but beginning to show respect for my Toffees.

Rog, I too do not get to many games due to finance and split loyalty with my local Scottish team which my parents injected into me since I was born.

When I was around 10 (circa 84-85) I wanted to support an English team as well, I wanted a good team (I guess I was a glory hunter) and everyone around me was banging on about the brilliant Liverpool team but there was something about them I just didn?t like, so chose Everton by myself. I had no idea at that age about the local rivalry between the 2 teams, that just makes my decision even sweeter now! :)

I?ve always interpreted Moyes?s "People?s Club" tag as meaning the sort of "Power to the People", Blue Collar type description. I thought he was saying that our fans choose to support Everton and not glory; the supporters are good, honest normal people who support a team and are not false, shallow, glory-hunting people who support the glory a team brings them.

I thought he was indicating that if Liverpool had as lean times as we?ve had then they wouldn?t continue to get as great attendances as we have (as so much of their support wouldn?t be as happy to travel the distances they do now).

I think it?s the same in Manchester, Man City was essentially their People?s Club, when they dropped 2 divisions the attendance figures were still ridiculously high, figures that Man U probably couldn?t boast if they dropped 2 divisions.

I think the main beef the supporters are having when they?re having a go at Norwegians is that they?re having a go at the ones who were probably travelling over to watch Leeds 8-or-so years ago! :)

I am maybe getting the wrong end of the stick entirely here though, and I am maybe sub-consciously shoe-horning the "People?s Club" tag so that I can fit into it...

I am a 69 year old grandma who has supported Everton since my Dad first took me to a match aged 5- born and bred in Litherland, Liverpool. I love my roots, my Club and anything to do with Everton... my eyes welled up with tears when I saw the lads? reaction to winning on Sunday and was immensely proud of my fellow supporters giving their all to the team to support them and act as 12th man. I was also proud of the fact that there was no crowd trouble.. or none that I have seen reported anywhere.

I would just like to say that I don?t care where you come from or where you live, another Blue is another Blue as far as I am cncerned, and hopefully, we will recruit many more in the future.

I live in Carmarthen, South Wales now, and on Monday I saw a Welsh lad walking along the street towards me wearing his Everton shirt. As I drew level, I said to him "You can wear that shirt with pride lad".. he just grinned and said "Yeah". [Must have thought it was an old girl off her trolley!!]

I was born in Essex and now live in Sussex. My old man is a QPR fan and I had no real interest in football until the age of 6 or 7. This lad started at my school and it was my job to look after him - he was an Everton fan and for some reason (I think that I was born a blue but just didn’t know it yet!!) I followed on. This was 87/88 so Everton had just won the league title but I wasn’t really aware of that.

In one final attempt to convert me, my dad took me to watch Pompey vs QPR; our most local team vs his team. All I can remember about the day was crawling around the floor and eating sweets coz the game was shite with QPR winning 1-0!!! Needless to say it didn’t work and blue was to be the colour for the rest of my life!

My first memory of EFC was watching the 89 cup final round a mates house; his family had moved down from Liverpool but were reds so there I was a family of Reds and me - when Stuart McCall scored in the last few minutes I gave them hell!!!!! By the end I was in tears and I remember a big manly (well as manly as it gets when your 9 years old!!!) hug with my RS mate and thinking that despite losing I was so happy to be blue.

Sadly it wasn’t till 95 that I would taste success with the blues - not being able to get a ticket I had to settle for watching the game at my local football club with a load of glory hunting MU fans - what a great feeling that was - surpassed only by the feeling of sunday; at Wembley (wasn’t gonna miss this one) with my old man (who now has a second team!!!) surrounded by fellow blues making the place shake it was truly awsome.

I have been to Goodison many many times (I’ve even played and scored there!!) and I love the people up there. If my family/work connections wern’t so far south I would move up there tomorrow its a great place and sometimes I wish I was born there so I wouldn’t have to defend my position against Man U, RS & Chelski fans most of whom haven’t been to their respective grounds!!!!

I now have a daughter who will be brought up a blue, she has a shirt and has gone into nursery today wearing it ha ha!!

One last note - my brother is a RS fan (i still love him to bits tho!) because he wanted to do the opposite to me. I think that says it all about RS fans!!!!!!!!!!

Can’t wait for the final just hope I can get a ticket somehow!

Guys - stop beating yourselves up. You could never be accused of being glory hunters supporting Everton FC ;) ? slighty mad, yes... :) The fact that you all do speaks volumes about your strength of character honesty and integrity.

As we get more success this will breed more fans in the future ? this is exactly how we will grow as club and what we have failed to capitalise on in the past. Some fantastic stories up there of how you formed your loyalties.

There is an argument that you are even a more loyal fan to have stuck with your allegences despite being remote from the local vicinity. Same goes for those who cannot get to the games for financial reasons or other personal committments ? we are all in this together.

I think the responses safely suggest that the ’outsider’ tag is a pile of unmitigated crap - I thought the article from the Norwegian toffee last week, more than categorised it as that..

It doesn’t even work as a joke.

I was born and raised in the North-East, and born an Evertonian. And I have worked with lots and know many other Evertonians up here who aren?t scouse.

In fact I sat down in a pub to watch the semi-final on Sunday to plenty of Everton tops dotted around.

We are a globally supported team like it or not, I however am very proud we are.

Good point Reg, I think it’s more the "Johnny come lately" so called fans (some of whom would probably never have gone to a game pre Premier League days) who attach themselves to successful sides like Man Utd and Chelsea to go glory hunting who get on peoples nerves.

Parochialism has no part in it though it’s where your heart is that counts and yours is definitely in the right place.

When I was abroad last year, I was happily greeted, along with my blue blooded family, by a load of toffees. When they asked what part of Liverpool I was from, and I told them I am actually from Stafford, all I got was snide remarks and abuse!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKING CHARMING AY!

3 Evertonians in a downtown Tel Aviv pub. 20 odd Man U supporters. You will not be surprised that even in the pub we made more noise than them!

End of the match and we are laughing and crying simultaneously... Yes, there are even a few locals who chose to support us ? proving that they really are chosen.

Yes, even though it will cost me an arm and a leg, I and my kid (who was born in Israel) will be at the Final - come what may; flight already booked.

The one instance that highlighted to me just how shallow some football supporters are happened in 1995 on Cup Final day. I was walking to the local shop with my son who was wearing his yellow Neville Southall top, when some young cretin, wearing a United top shouted "You lot are shit!". whereupon the conversation went something like this;

"How can you say that when we just beat you 1-0 in the Cup Final?"

"Oh, er did you?" came the reply.

Can you imagine an Evertonian not knowing the result of any match in which they were involved, let alone the Cup Final?

When someone says they’re an Evertonian, I know they’re passionate - and it doesn’t matter what part of the globe they come from!

To any non-Scouse Blue who?s been made to feel unwelcome (or worse) by the minority of insular knobheads... I?ve met true Evertonians worldwide and UK and without exception I?ve had more in common with them than non-Blue Scousers.

You must know the feeling... you get talking to a stranger, both say you?re Blues and you realise this person knows as much as you about the club, been to the same games, loved the same players, knows who wore 1 in ?33, ran on the pitch in ?66, saw the Bracewell pass and the Kanchelskis derby; you may well have hugged or cried with them and never knew it!
Please don?t mistake animosity to plastic kopites and glory-hunters as more than that ? we?re a proper football club, we?re not just ?fans?, we belong to that club and all who have been touched by and embraced the St Domingo spirit are welcome.

I have handed out shirts, shorts, hats and loads of stuff to people in places like Kenya, Egypt, Israel, Spain, holland and Brazil. Plenty of othe stuff within the UK. I did this to spread our name around a bit cos there's a great feeling about seing an Everton shirt in a foreign place. I am from Liverpool 3 but welcome you all to our club....

For myself, where an Evertonian comes from has no relevance AT ALL to anything.

I genuinely couldn’t give a shite, in fact I like the idea of there being blues all over the place.

Sadly, you just have to accept that from time to time, you will encounter the occasional Daily Star reader.

The dolt who needs to feel part of a ’special’ little herd.

The idiot who needs to divide to ’conquer’.

The achieve-nothing pleb who will grasp at anything to feel superior.

"I hate people from London" (ie: France, Pakistan, Jupiter, anywhere other than their own street - and they usually don’t get on with their neighbours).

Years ago, going to away games, I remember blues getting off at Runcorn, Huyton, even Edge Hill (fnarr) and being slagged as ’wools’ by those going to Lime St.

So never EVER let one of these insular pricks put you off.

Steve Callaghan has it spot on - the difference with the top-four supporters from out of town, is the ’glory’-hunting element.

Nothing ANY blue could ever be accused of.

Just to put this in some sort of perspective, I went to the semi and chose to drive down.

All the way down blue flags, scarves etc hanging off cars. My lad and me counted the Man Utd cars, at least those displaying colours and managed a total of 7 between the north west and south of Birmingham.

As author of the post written yesterday "our club, our community", I certainly did not mean to cause any offence. In my post, I admit I am from Manchester and do not have a scouse accent. I am 4th generation Evertonian and this tradition will be handed down to my mancunian children.

My point is that the core of Everton’s support is local to Everton, Walton and the surrounding areas within the city of Liverpool. I think that counts for a lot. It is fantastic that there are blues dotted around the rest of the country and the globe and I think we are always welcomed with open arms at Goodison. I really don’t think there are many of these so called "insular pricks".

I also work in Salford so I meet a lot of the local Man U fans. But they’ve now been priced out of going to the game. Man U are a global brand and have lost a lot of their identity because of that. I think they’ve lost a lot of cohesion amongst their match going fans, which Everton still has hence why it feels like a community. When you looked round Wembley on Sunday, the Everton end was a hive of activity - people jumping up and down and shouting and singing their hearts out. Man U fans were sat down and very quiet similar to the atmosphere inside Old Trafford.

Everton fans are true football fans and not tourists and it doesn’t matter where you’re from because you’re always welcome inside Goodison.

Here here Rog. Best to ignore the petty mided bollocks you see on here on this subject. I left Liverpool in 1980 to seek fame & fortune. Found neither, but my love for my club is undimmed. If you’re a blue, you’re a blue.

Adrian Senior - And your point is? Success brings you international support. Had we gone on to win the European Cup in 1986 & later then we’d be in the same boat.

Grow up.

As a blue born in Stockport (and but for a stroke of luck and being locked in at a Man U game as a six-year-old would have been at the other end on Sunday), I would like to express my genuine thanks to the feelings of acceptance from Liverpool-born blues. Since 1969 I have been to hundreds of games and always been made to feel part of the Everton family.

On the back of five of the best days out of my life in the 80s, when I graduated I only wanted to live in London.

I?ve now been here so long I?d almost forgotten how good this city can be when it's full of (proper) blue shirts. You couldn?t move in London for blues on Sunday and it was fantastic to see.

This is how you build a brand. We?re everywhere in the media (even the local biased papers) and i?ve no doubt that many a neutral that watched that game will now be converted. Well everyone apart from my Norwegian father-in-law ? who supports Chelsea. Enough said!!

Now if only you could easily buy an Everton shirt anywhere down here....

EVERTON MARKETING DEPARTMENT PLEASE TAKE NOTE. DONT WASTE THIS GOLDEN CHANCE.

I was born in South East London, My father was from Liverpool and took me to my first ever match...Leeds at home in the 98/99 season. Needless to say I was hooked and have been an Evertonian ever since.

Been to many many matches since.

I don’t mind where Evertonians come from, I mean they must have sense supporting Everton!.

COYB

The feeling is that we associate GLORY fans with Utd, the shite and more recently Chelsea and Arsenal. Fans that would not give a shit about the team if the went down or went bust or even had a bad period.

Evertonians it seems are there for the long fight, through good times and bad.

My cousin played for Everton and I grew up just over the border in Wales and have been to matches all my life yet I still have to justify myself to certain fans.

Fuck ?em I say.

Look mate, for the simple fact that you support Everton is all the credentials you ever need. Simply for the fact that, no matter where you hail from, you GET it.

Even if you were born outside Liverpool, you GET what it means to support Everton. That?s what it?s all about. That?s what is meant by "Evertonians are born, not manufactured". It?s not because you were born of Blue roots, in an L4 postcode, or whatever, coz I surely wasn?t. But I still ?get? it. As does Cahill, as does Moyes, as does Neville... as does Big fuckin? Dunc!!

I don?t give a toss where you?re from, if you support Everton Football Club, you?re my brother and we support the best fucking football club on the planet!!

Rog, in many ways it is harder for people like us.

I am also an Evertonian with no links to the city (well my wife’s mother was from St Helens but she was a red) and I live a long way away (Norfolk). I started supporting Everton as a seven year old havin watched Andy King’s goal back in October 1978 against the RS, and I have been an Evertonian ever since.

For years I have had to put up with sneers and comments and bizarrely at the gym last night (where I always wear one of my Everton shirts) a comment from an Arsenal fan to the effect of "They all come out of the woodwork when they win don;t they". I controlled myself enough not to snap back at him.

I don’t get to go to Goodison very often, but when I do I feel at home, people make me welcome, but Scousers alway seem amazed that people from outside of the North West or North Wales could possibly be Everton fans.

Do I want us to have glory hunter fans ? Yes, in truth, because it funds the club so that people like me who have had to put up with the rubbish, the derision and the constant fear of relegation can revel in the glory too.

I rambled on too much, but I hope all Evertonians can embrace each and every Everton fan, be they from Liverpool or Norway or even Norfolk !

Neil, to pick up your point I too am a London based fan. Earlier this year I tried without success to buy a shirt for myself and a strip for a god son in London. Wasted effort I’m afraid, however I was back in Belfast on a brief visit and thankfully was able to pick up the goods there. You are so right, our marketing dept really needs to sort itself out big time.

Many years ago back in Belfast it was kind of a tradition for Catholics to support the Blues and Protestants to support the Shite. My Father was very much an Evertonian and hated the Shite with a vengeance although these religious allegiances have long since disappeared. The club does still have a sizeable following there, although it now attracts cross community support which can only be a good thing. Like elsewhere however, they are greatly outnumbered by the fans of so-called fashionable clubs. But like their brothers in London and beyond they are the truly genuine football fans and if anything attract even more ridicule given the relative lack of success of the club. For them there is no safety in numbers and yet they keep the flag flying as others do around the globe.

39 Years. Portuguese Evertonian. No familly in Liverpool. Nothing to link me with Liverpool and surround areas. Even so, I became an Evertonian. I have been a supporter of EFC for more than 20 years. My son, already is a blue.
Why I became a blue? Fascinated with the team that won the Cup winners Cup against Rapid. I?ve been watching football for many years. Still that team was one of the best ever I have seen.

Then there was the click... knowing our history, our past, and was love... still is. Everyday I watch for Everton news everywhere... And i was fortunate enough to watch some games at Goodison Park.

EFC Forever. We?re Special.

I wasn?t craddled an Evertonian. I chose them.

As an American admiring the passion of the European "soccer fan" I took it upon myself to "choose" a team and follow them just over 2 years ago. I personally despise bandwagoners - hate them with a passion. Liverpool FC, it was clearly obvious, was full of those types. You see them all the time here in the states - wearing jerseys and having NO CLUE about their team.

Same, and actually much worse, when it comes to Man U in America. It?s sickening. They know NOTHING of their club, never watch, and tune in for the Champion?s League Semis and Final.

Everton fans are TRUE FANS!!! They are and were exactly what I wanted to bind myself to. The Club was stable, well run, and had rock solid support, plus fantastic history.

Also, there was a large influx of Irish to Liverpool in the early 20th century, and being of Irish decent and researching that many of these immigrants supported Everton, the decision was was simple - Everton was the ONLY club I could support. I?ve never regreted it for one moment.

I have missed maybe 2 or 3 games in my entire "Blue" life - only because I couldn?t find them on the internet, or they weren?t on Fox Soccer or Setanta here in the States. ALL my children scream for the Blues every weekend and week day they are playing. I?m building a small, family supporters club.

Those of us outside the area who, for whatever reason support EFC, must always recognize that whereas we?ll slit our wrists for the club... those people who hail from Liverpool will always have a little more of a right to enjoy the victories. It?s in their blood. It?s where they are from, grew up, it?s woven into their fiber.

We have a great guy in our neighborhood who?s a life-long Evertonian. His wife and he are from Liverpool. I called him after the game to congratulate him - because I know that no matter how INCREDIBLY happy and beside myself I was Sunday, it just meant that much more to him because THAT IS WHERE HE?S FROM AND THAT IS HIS HERITAGE AND CLUB FROM THE CRADDLE!

As far as I?m concerned, the Liverpudians will always sit slightly above the rest of us on the hiearchical scale.

But that will never stop me from passing my love of EFC to my children, from bleeding blue, and supporting them until I die without hesitation and with unbridled passion.

In short, no one will ever take my team away from me, scouse or otherwise. If they feel a bit superior to me in their support, I feel they have that right.

That having been said, I would always pray that the fans of this great Club I support would always accept me, my kids, and my support. But again, if I ran into a native that really took issue with my love of the Club because I?m not from the area, I?d simply allow him his opinion and promptly ignore any issues he might have with me and my loyalty of which he knows nothing.

There?s folks out here who appreciate a working man?s club - and our Club?s fan base can grow by welcoming them into the fold. Weed out the bandwagoners, welcome the true of heart who have the passion.

I was Born just over 2 years ago, and I was not manufactured.
COYB FTRS!!

Rog

I grew up near Peterborough and my boyhood weeek in week out Saturday team was the POSH - blue seemed like the natural order of things football.

My brother, also a POSH fan, had always and still has a second team called Liverpool....

I left home at 18 to go to University in Manchester, where I met a girl from Formby who is now my wife. Her entire family - especially her Grandad Alf and mother Sue - are all mad blues and in 1994 my indoctrination began as I started to go to watch the Blues at Goodison Park. As Alan Ball put it "once you have been touched by Everton nothing will ever be the same".

Ironically, my mums side of the family originate from Liverpool and last year she investigated our family tree. Turns out my Great Great Grandfather Henry Ashton was born in the village of Everton in 1865 and my Great Gran Foster, who I knew as a child, was born and brought up in Hampden St c.400yds north of Goodison Park. I dont stop taunting my brother that we are descended from true blue blood becuase a) our great great grandfather would have been 13 when the club was formed and b) he would have been 27 by the time of "the split" so I’m pretty sure his allegiances would have been rock solid by then. He might even have had trials for the St Domingo’s Youth Team!

Our Gran used to tell us how all her uncles were half red / half blue and it’s strange how me and my brother have carried on that tradition - me thankfully falling down on the right side of the fence.

So - 15 years on I’ve got two kids who are mad Evertonians and if anyone wants to tell me they’re not true blue they might just get chinned!

Evertonians are born, not manufactured.

We do not choose we are chosen.

Those that understand need no explanation, those that don’t understand, don’t matter.

We are all part of the family.

COYB!

As a footnote to my post above - this year is my 15th anniversary as a card carrying blue - wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate that with a nice, silver trophy.....

COYB!

I was born and raised in Liverpool and I was an Evertonian well before I knew what football was. I moved to Sussex as a young adult and have since had kids. There’s no way on this earth that they were going to be anything other Evertonians, each and every one of them, I have three. They are born and bred Southerners but they wear their shirts with pride, and they stick out like beacons amongst the hordes of ’Bandwagon’ clubs.

As an aside, I have met a fellow Blue down here in a sleepy Sussex village. Like had been said already, he really knew his stuff and we had a good old chinwag regarding all things Everton. His Dad was a Blue and, he says, it was natural for him to do the same.

Fair point, Rog, but it?s not really to do with the locality of the Liverpool/United/Chelsea supporters ? it?s to do with the suspicion that they are merely glory hunters. You couldn?t accuse non-Merseyside Blues of that!

Of course there are plenty of good Blues from other parts of the world, and no good Evertonian has a problem with this. But when a substantial part of a club?s following falls in this category, it should come as no surprise that genuine football fans will suspect motives other than a love of the club. We really do despise them for this. It?s that type of ?supporter? the jibe is aimed at ? not fellows like you!