Mark Bonsall - Paris France
My first game was a 4-1 victory against Leicester City in (I think) the 1976-77 season. I went with my old fella and i have since been absolutely hooked. Charlie George scored 2 and hit the post and i will always recall this game as the day I first fell in love (with DCFC not Charlie George!).
The early years saw sporadic trip to the BBG and even less frequent away trips,limited as I was , by the fact that i played regularly on a Saturday and my old man was a referee. This meant Ithat trips to the BBG were infrequent treats. Abscence only makes the heart grow fonder.
It wasn't really until the mid 1980's that I really began to go regularly (home and away) during injury periods when I was not playing.
Highlights in my memory are a win against QPR on New Years Day, the Telford win in the FA Cup thanks to Bobby Davisons' hat-trick, a long away trip to Newport .
The one thing that re-affirmed my love for the club more than anything though, when i was 7, i was hit by a car and spent three and a half months
in hospital in N*tt*ngh*m. A neighbour of mine sent a message to Derby County F.C telling them how mad keen i was and that I was going to be in Hospital over xmas.
Imagine my surprise when one weekday instead of my Mum who I was expecting to visit, Steve Buckley turned up instead with a number of presents ,including something i still treasure today- his training shirt. He stayed for two hours and gave me an afternoon to treasure.
Since then i have seen the Rams on 40 odd grounds country wide-seen them beat Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United ,Chelsea and most importantly L**c*st*r and F*r**st.
There is no other football club as far as I am concerned
BON C2001