Spurs and me, me and Spurs.....

Guest Blogger - Gavin Still - October 2024

Unlike the majority of KiwiSpurs members my love affair and passion for Spurs started in New Zealand.

Both my folks are British but emigrated to South Africa where I and my brother were born, leaving when I was still really young as they had no interest in raising a family during apartheid. Dad wanted to move on to NZ , while mum favoured Canada. As a compromise they went back to the UK, we lived in Basingstoke where my brother and I rarely saw dad as he spent hours commuting each day. Sport was a big part of our lives. Given I am a big lump of a lad and have zero footwork skills, I drifted to rugby. I was aware that my father was a Spurs fan, but we rarely spoke about them at this point.

We moved to NZ in 1983. Dad and I started talking about football more, a way for him to remember England. He had become a Spurs fan during the Jimmy Greaves era and was seduced by the flair and never say die attitude, but I suspect also a little by the fact they were winning! To this day I have an internal challenge with anyone that supports Man Utd, City, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid etc. as they likely picked these sides due to them winning, and it made it easier - which is what my dad did. However, these types just don’t seem to be 'proper' fans - those who hope for the best but expect despair - as I do!!

As a kid in Aotearoa being a Spurs fan meant watching the occasional Cup Final on TV, but primarily listening to the scores on the radio in the morning, reading newspaper articles and catching TV clips. The real thrill though was trips home to visit family. These happened over Christmas. While he has never admitted it, we always seemed to visit England in the years Spurs had a home game on Boxing Day. I remember vividly getting up early, my grandmother scowling as dad had chosen to travel to watch Spurs over being with family, and my mother scowling as she was left with my dad’s family for the day.

The drive from Wiltshire to Tottenham always filled me with excitement, a proper religious experience - unlike being dragged to church the day prior. Finding a car park, then walking to the ground added to that special feeling. I remember us playing West Ham and thinking there were more police lining the road separating us than probably existed in NZ. Dad, who is as straight as anything, found a ticket tout and procured us tickets – where in WHL mattered nothing to me, I just wanted to be in the crowd, hearing the songs, chants and general banter and feeling like we all do as fans – part of an extended family that shared a single passion. I was lucky that I watched Hoddle, Waddle, Linker and Gazza over these years.

As a Spurs fan I have in inherent and instant dislike of anyone that supports Arsenal and like theoretical physics, I just do not get it, how could anyone support them?!

I have passed on the Spurs genes to my two daughters, both of whom learned, from an early age, to sing ‘Come On You Spurs’ whenever they saw the badge. Both girls understand that at either, if not for both Christmas and birthdays, they will get some item of Spurs clothing or merchandise. As any father of daughters will understand, meeting the first serious boyfriend is a moment of internal challenge – you want your daughter to be happy, but you also understand what the grubby lad probably has in mind! For me, this meeting was made easier when the clever girl told me the day prior, he was a big Spurs fan - as was his father - as such, I knew he had been raised well.

In an effort to slow the ever-growing waistline I enjoy a fair bit of exercise. The one thing that is a constant is that at least one item of clothing will be 'Spurs' – shorts or shirt - and not being a 'full kit wanker' is a challenge given over half of my items are Spurs!

My love for the club, and what and how we play is fundamental to who I am. Being a KiwiSpurs member has meant so much, while only a few years in, I feel like a member of the family despite only meeting a couple of lads in Melbourne earlier this year. I know I will enjoy a beer and a yarn with each and every one of you in the years to come.

A huge thank you to the group that work hard on keeping the KiwiSpurs whanau connected, all that remains to be said is COYS!

Gavin