AFC Bournemouth
I’m a transplanted Scotsman, moving from Glasgow in my teens to the Bournemouth area in 1982. Being a football fan, I wanted to follow the local team and that started my connection with the Cherries. My memories from these days are standing in the terracing on rain-drenched winter afternoons where the canopy covered just a percentage of the fans, sustaining ourselves with tea from polystyrene cups and greasy pies. We didn’t care!
I then embarked on a technology career that took me to the USA, where I’ve lived for 25 years. My career put football following on hold but I resurrected it about ten years ago, and following my decision to semi-retire in 2020, I wanted to focus more time on my passions, one of which is AFC Bournemouth.
We kick-started a community of Cherries supporters in my adopted home of New Jersey, USA. Things started slowly but we steadily grew! We usually watch matches in an established spot for football fans in the area (The Dublin House, Red Bank, NJ). You know you’re making progress when the bar now reserves the main TVs for Cherries games and relegates people coming to watch the usual big clubs to the secondary screens.
I came home for Christmas this year (the first time in at least 20 years) and with help from Rhianna Walton at the club, we were fortunate enough to secure tickets for the Boxing Day clash with Fulham. It was great to be back… a tremendous victory; the confidence and poetic flow of the team right now was a joy to watch live… and great progress on the facilities since the ‘90s, especially the food, drinks and toilets!
Returning to New Jersey we’re looking forward to watching our next clash with the NJ crew. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see the lads here on US soil in a summer tour soon (hint, hint). We’ll keep the support coming from over here and will be delighted to see any travelling fans, or fans from the New Jersey area, join us to watch games (details in our X account @AFCB_NJ).
Go Boscombe!
