Football has always been my favourite sport and I enjoy watching the game at all levels, from Sunday league to top flight. I also used to play a bit as well until a knee injury forced me to quit. My first senior �live� football match was undertaken when I was around 12 years old when my granddad took me to watch Birmingham City play in the �old� English Second Division against Bury at St Andrews, Birmingham. I couldn�t really see much of the game due to others in front of me but I�ll never forget the atmosphere of the crowd singing and the loud roar of cheering when Birmingham scored those four goals. Little did I know at that time Birmingham don�t very often score four goals in a match. From then on I was a Birmingham City supporter and went many times with my Granddad and, later on, with my pals. We travelled everywhere with the Blues to those �exotic� places like�.Bristol, Luton, Huddersfield, Carlisle, Burnley and Watford and the like. The height of our �away day�s� was an F.A.Cup semi-final at Hillsborough against Leeds United, we lost 3-0 but I�ll never forget the day.
During the mid 80�s, things started to go silly down the Blues with the introduction of membership cards and the necessity to book match day tickets in advance. Hooliganism was also rife both at home and away games and it was from hereon that I stopped going to matches. I still have a little soft spot for The Blues though, I suppose, and it�s usually their result I look for first in the English league.
My interest in ICT (well, Caledonian as it was then) started way back in 1978 when my girlfriend, Kathy, (now the wife) and I where touring Scotland on a motorcycle. We came into Inverness for the first time ever along the A9 from the North in the days before the Kessock Bridge. As we came over the Caledonian Canal I saw, on my right, a football ground which had a neat looking stand on the far side and a covered enclosure behind one of the goals. I also noticed the arched entrance in the corner of the ground near the garden centre. It appeared to sit in it�s own little time warp as it�s paint work looked very 50�s and the fading Caledonian F.C writing on the corrugated roof of the stand suggested it�s age was older.
When we arrived at and settled into our B&B I began to enquire about the team. The landlady then informed me that there were, in fact, three teams in Inverness and all playing in the same league. It was then that my brain suddenly kicked into gear and I recalled hearing some of these names occasionally in the Scottish F.A. Cup. My interest then became more involved and I promised myself that, some day, I would watch Caledonian F.C. in the Highland League. However, on return visits to Inverness, Caledonian were never playing at home and I saw Thistle and Clachnacuddin before Caledonian. It was always Caley that I wanted to see for some reason, I suppose a mixture of the name and the fact they played in blue and white (just like Birmingham !) and that �must watch a match at that ground� yearning.
A lack of cash and raising a family curtailed our adventures to the North for a number of years and it wasn�t until 1989 /90 season that I actually had the opportunity to fulfil this yearning when Caledonian were drawn against Airdrie in the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup. This fixture was due to take place on Saturday 20th January �90. Airdrie was �easy� to get to and from in a day (well sort of !) at that time and it wouldn�t cost a fortune. All I�d need is a bit of cash for a beer, fish &chips and my entry fee to the match, my train fare wouldn�t exist due to the concessions I receive with my job and I was already off duty that day, so the date was set.
I caught the 08:05 train from my local station just outside Coventry for the short trip into Birmingham. There, I caught the 09:05 service to Edinburgh and then travelled across to Glasgow Queen Street before reaching Airdrie at about 14:00.
The ground was easy to find, this was of course the old Broomfield stadium, and once there I enquired which was the �away� end. This was my first eye opener into Scottish football when the steward told me that there wasn�t actually an �away� end and once inside the ground I could go almost anywhere I fancied. I wasn�t ushered around or escorted like cattle which was the norm� back home. What a difference I thought and the atmosphere was so relaxed. I positioned myself in the covered terracing area at the side of the pitch and was rubbing shoulders with Caledonian and Airdrie supporters.
I didn�t quite know what to expect from this football match but what I witnessed was a non-league side almost turning over a league side after being a goal down and the magic of the Cup was there for all to see. I was impressed with my first encounter with Caledonian and wowed then to return and watch them whenever it was possible. I also thought it appropriate at the time to write to the club to wish them well in the replay and also enquired if shirts and other regalia were available. I had a nice letter back from Jim Falconer thanking me for my support and inviting me to be a guest of the club for my next home match.
After the Airdrie match I had to return to Edinburgh via Glasgow to catch the overnight service South. The train was booked to depart Edinburgh at about 22:00 and I had to travel via London to get home. I eventually reached home at about 10:30 on Sunday morning. Little did I know then that this would become a regular feature of watching Caledonian. Well that�s basically how it all started, the rest, as they say, is history.
My first Highland League match was at Lossimouth during our annual family holiday. Caley lost that match 3-2 but I was still impressed with the standard of football. I eventually got to Telford Street Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon when Caley took on Rothes. Here, I met up with Jim Falconer who then showed me around the ground etc. Caley won 4-0. Another day I�ll never forget. During the clubs Highland League days I went to matches at Elgin, Huntly, Buckie Thistle, and Forres Mechanics. Unfortunately I never witnessed an Inverness derby or matches against Ross County.
