Gazza, family ties & a kiss from Clough - why we love our clubs

Gazza, family ties & a kiss from Clough - why we love our clubs

Why do we tie our fates to a particular football club?

It may be we were born close to the clubs stadium, that a parent passed the torch on, or perhaps because we became enamoured with a certain player as a child.

Or it could simply be that we were delighted when Brian Clough kissed our grandads head.

As part of a campaign called My Club, My Passion, Premier League fans have been sending stories to BBC Sport about how and why they fell in love with their team.

The story about Clough is just one example.

Danielle Sarver Coombs, researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom, says the teams we support provide us with a shared identity.

"It becomes a way to find a kinship, a community that no matter where you are, you could find a pub with other fans of your team," she said.

"In a world thats increasingly lonely, this provides one way that we can have connection and the feeling that were part of something bigger."

Here are some of your submissions:

Ryan got to meet then Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough in 1991 and his grandad received a kiss, despite being a Sheffield Wednesday fan.

My first Forest game was at Hillsborough with my grandad, a staunch Wednesday fan. Back in 1991 he turned up, said he used to work at the ground and asked if we could have a look around pre-match.

Then Forest turned up. Mr Clough jumped off the bus and I asked for his autograph.

He told me to come into the dressing room where I met all the players, then he posed for pictures and kissed my grandad on his bald head.

We lost 2-1 but what a memory!

Katie says watching Everton at home is a "safe space" for her son Harry.

In our house, Everton means football. My son is selectively mute and autistic so its his safe space. No matter if we win, lose or draw Harry still calls the players his superheroes.

We sing all the Everton songs for seven hours on our way up to Liverpool and sometimes will be bouncing all the way back. Sometimes the car is very quiet on the way home.

Leaving Goodison is the right decision for Everton but personally it comes with a new set of challenges for my boy. But as long as his superheroes keep going, so will Harry.

Tottenham Hotspur fan Mikey fell in love with Spurs after Italia 90.

As an eight-year-old after Italia 90 and the heroics of Lineker and Gazza, there was only one team for me.

That was cemented in 1991 by that Gazza semi-final [when he scored in a 3-1 win against Arsenal] and, sadly, the last time we won the FA Cup.

Despite all the lows and those Spursy moments, my heart has never wavered. Banishing years of torment in May [by winning the Europa League] was pure joy.

Seeing grown men cry and children who could not remember the last trophy celebrate at the stadium will never leave me. My boys dont know what theyre in for!

Carl shared the very personal connection his family has with Anfield.

Liverpool FC is in the blood - my DNA is in the ground.

Bill Shankly often spoke of there being one casket buried under the Kop - many ashes were scattered but only one casket buried. The ashes of my grandad, about a foot down in the goal in the Kop. Shankly would say the man under the Kop would head goals in and head them out, he referred to him as the invisible menace.

Its something Ive been hugely proud of, to know my DNA is in that ground. My roots are part of one of the things that makes Liverpool special and unique.

My grandmother wrote to the club and Shankly replied personally. He was buried on a cold and frosty morning - his name was Henry Jones.

Marilyn has been able to share a love for Manchester United with her family through four generations.

My dad was a lifelong supporter but died at the end of 1992, just before we won our first league title since 1967 (the year I was born). I was so gutted that he had waited so long and then missed it, but I started watching and taking an interest and basically got hooked.

Then my son got into football and he also supports Man Utd, which has been a great part of our bond over the years!

Through the good times and the not so good, Ill always support United. This photo is of me and my grandson, who is also a United fan.

Brett expressed his love for Brighton mavericks such as Julio Enciso and 1970s midfielder Brian Bromley.

I first watched Brighton in the 1963-64 season, on the "chicken run" at the Goldstone Ground. My first professional game and my team forever.

What excites me is the maverick who gets you out of your seat and when possession-based football takes a rest for a split second and something magical happens.

The epitome of a maverick in Brighton colours is Julio Enciso and his goal of the season in 2022-23 against Manchester City was such a moment.

Another maverick from an entirely different era was Brian Bromley and the above letter from manager Pat Saward in 1972 is something I will always treasure.

BBC reporters Jonathan Buchan, Nizaar Kinsella and Mike Taylor shared their own stories about what makes them proud to support their clubs.

A journey that links generations - Jonathan Buchan

BBC Radio Leeds sports editor Buchan says he forced his dad, who wasnt a football fan, to take him and a friend on a half-mile walk from their home in Wortley to Elland Road:

"Personally, I owe a lot to that trip - a lifelong passion, friendships lasting decades... oh, and my entire career.

"Listening to the away games on BBC Radio Leeds ultimately resulted in me ending up in the role I find myself in today."

Chelsea supporters relentless and demanding - Nizaar Kinsella

BBC Sport football news reporter Kinsella spoke of the "relentless and demanding" fans he has come to be familiar with over a decade of covering Chelsea:

"Blues fans travel in great numbers.

"Some of the supporters I could highlight include Cathy, who has not missed an away match for 47 years, Terry, who relocated from Japan to London purely to be close to the club, and Basil, described as a Chelsea Women superfan on the clubs own website - and one you can hear chanting loudly at Kingsmeadow matches.

"It is these people that make a matchday and enrich my role covering the club."

Wolves fans are a community - Mike Taylor

BBC Radio WM reporter Taylor praised the collective spirit at Molineux.

"Listening on the concourses, you are reminded that football clubs are so much more than scores and numbers.

"They are a community, drawn apparently at random from all classes and generations, united by one devotion.

"Like all relationships, it goes through times of strain - and faith can be tested - but the love remains."