Why Leeds United ?

[massimomilitia]

Giles and Bremner teaching pretty boy Keegan in the 74' charity shield. In the playground from that day forth I was always Bremner!

They would teach our pretty boys a thing or two today for sure .

[Jazz My Funk]

As a young boy growing up in London Colney, Hertfordshire I went around with an older boy who supported Leeds so followed what he did. Two years later he switched to arsenal but I stayed faithful.

My first ever live game was away to spurs.

[Verloc]

Dad took me for first time when I was aged 6. Seem to remember wanting to go before that. No conscious decision - they were my local team and I was already football daft - just seemed the obvious thing to do. There was certainly no 'choice' of team to be made, so easy in that respect.

[IrelandLeeds]

I first supported Leeds in the mid 1960's. Leeds had a great team then, and I didn't like ManU. Still a fan after all those years. It has been difficult at times, but good days too!

[daib0]

...

[daib0]

Leeds a very big draw out there -

[daib0]

not sure why the whole bit doesn't come out ...

[reinhardbeck]

1) I liked their white kit (I mean the one with the owl on it. Don Revie should never have got rid of it - worst decision he ever made!). It seems trivial but in my defence I'd like to say I was only 13 at the time.
2) Everybody (absolutely everybody at my school) hated them. So naturally I thought; "that's the team for me!" They needed me as much as I needed them because the other thing I liked was...
3) Their attitude. They were everything that I was not; hard as nails, fearless, brilliant, rebellious, revolutionary, they never give up. They never whined about bad luck (not very often anyway. Not like players and managers do now a days). They were everything I was not but wished I could be. And when they won I won and could glow in their reflected glory as I listened to the sound of rage and gnashing teeth of all those who wished them ill.

Their motto "keep fighting" should be everybodies motto

[reinhardbeck]

When I first started supporting Leeds United in 1970 I was at boarding school and nobody supported them; nobody. On the contrary everybody hated them. Their too obvious determination to win was not thought decent in polite society. All the respected figures in the game agreed that their sort were not the kind of team the English league wanted or needed. Leeds United didn’t respect reputations or the rules. They were a dirty team and they were cheats. They were physical and intimidating. They were bullies. They were from up North. They had no history or pedigree. They had no tradition. They were a nothing team from nowhere. How dare they gatecrash the playing fields of the elite? How dare they make a noise and disturb the repose of the aristocracy sitting in their drawing rooms sipping their champagne. They were troublemakers, a disgrace and the sooner they were sent packing the better.

But that is what I liked about them. I liked their pristine white kit that cut through the fog and gloom and they were all you saw. They were: hard, tough, ruthless, brilliant and they never gave up. I remember at boarding school I didn’t tell anyone that I supported Leeds United because I knew exactly what would happen when they did find out; “You support fuckin’ Leeds?...You wanker!” (No one was ever asked to justify why they supported Manchester United or Spurs or Everton). Everybody knew that they played dirty and were cheats so why would anyone in their right mind want to support a team like Leeds United? I supported them because they were everything I wasn’t but wished I could be. They were my champion. I couldn’t beat the school bully in a fight but my team could beat the number 2s out of his team; and that was good enough for me.

[daib0]

When I first started supporting Leeds United in 1970 I was at boarding school and nobody supported them; nobody. On the contrary everybody hated them. Their too obvious determination to win was not thought decent in polite society. All the respected figures in the game agreed that their sort were not the kind of team the English league wanted or needed. Leeds United didn’t respect reputations or the rules. They were a dirty team and they were cheats. They were physical and intimidating. They were bullies. They were from up North. They had no history or pedigree. They had no tradition. They were a nothing team from nowhere. How dare they gatecrash the playing fields of the elite? How dare they make a noise and disturb the repose of the aristocracy sitting in their drawing rooms sipping their champagne. They were troublemakers, a disgrace and the sooner they were sent packing the better.

But that is what I liked about them. I liked their pristine white kit that cut through the fog and gloom and they were all you saw. They were: hard, tough, ruthless, brilliant and they never gave up. I remember at boarding school I didn’t tell anyone that I supported Leeds United because I knew exactly what would happen when they did find out; “You support fuckin’ Leeds?...You wanker!” (No one was ever asked to justify why they supported Manchester United or Spurs or Everton). Everybody knew that they played dirty and were cheats so why would anyone in their right mind want to support a team like Leeds United? I supported them because they were everything I wasn’t but wished I could be. They were my champion. I couldn’t beat the school bully in a fight but my team could beat the number 2s out of his team; and that was good enough for me.

great post