A teenager’s view on Arsenal (25/3)

[gooner.ed]

usual thread starter... and for those of you asking why i posted something by a teenager who has attended a single arsenal game. we all had to start sometime. his heart is in the right place as he's evidently foresaken the glory hunting route by maturing from being a chavski fan.

[Basil is a Gooner]

Ed, there is no problem with posting this article, all opinions are good to read. I feel as a parent,however, we have some responsibility to ensure our children do not stray down the wrongly coloured path and stick firmly to the red brick road. My 3 year old daughter told a Chelski chairman last week that "Chelsea were yuk" and that "Arsenal and Thierry Henry were the best", which proves it is important to start this guidance early. (Brainwashing - what's that??!)

[MK Gould]

I'm always wary of fans switching allegiance - even if we're the beneficiaries. Hopefully you've made your choice now, and will stick with us even through the bad times. My parents aren't football fans, despite having good north london based childhoods. So I guess that I too stumbled into being a gooner (When asked I always use my parents london connection as the reason, but in truth it probably had more to do with us winning the double in 1971....). But I've stuck with them through thick and thin ever since. And my 3 kids are also committed to the cause. Why do they support arsenal? I don't know if you'd call it brainwashing. Its just that it was always part of their being, like the colour of their skin or their religion. They were joined into JG's, wore arsenal babygrows. Why would anyone bring up children to think they had a choice about something as important as this. Good parenting, that's what I call it!!

[Basil is a Gooner]

You are right MKG. Good parenting indeed. Brainwashing jokes aside, my kids have made their own decisions about which team to support, and luckily these decisions have been the right ones! (Obviously helped along the way with Arsenal kits/programmes/photos/songs/Sky Sports/MOTD/parents and grandparents who would never speak to them again.... etc etc)