Being a Young Dee

[Reverend Lovejoy]

On 10/07/2020 at 20:14, Ricky Spanish said:

Walking from my grandparents' house in Kirkton, up the Old Glamis Road then doon the Provie for every single home game with my Grandad. He was the one who took me to Dens from a very young age.

I only got the lifty over the turnstiles as he wanted me to experience everything.....he even encouraged me to crawl under a few times haha.

My Grandad did all the 'Dad stuff' with me when I was growing up, Dens/haircuts/kicking a ball in the park, he was Dundee daft and a huge influence on me, biggest male influence in my life. He passed in 2007, miss him every day, but memories of Dens in the 80s with him keep me smiling 

Brilliant post @Ricky Spanish your grandad sounds like he was a really special guy. 

Edited 11 July 2020 by Reverend Lovejoy

[Reverend Lovejoy]

Racing up the original Derry steps to see the Mighty Dee, programme in one hand, pie in the other.

[Darkblue64]

Did the same Ricky, walked up old glamis rd doon the provie wi the old man then lifted over the turnstile and then had to crawl under when a bit bigger. Sometimes got the bus and remember getting off and it seemed like millions of people were on their way to Dens. Then walking up the slope and then seeing the pitch and the feeling waiting on the dark blues running out. Then it was onto the Derry, up the stairs and that’s where I’ve watched ever since!!

[Ricky Spanish]

1 hour ago, Reverend Lovejoy said:

Brilliant post @Ricky Spanish your grandad sounds like he was a really special guy. 

He really was Rev, greatest guy I've ever met, will never meet another like him

[Annandee]

On 10/07/2020 at 16:58, Cobra said:

What do you remember from your time as a young Dee that is no longer a thing?

The crush barriers (pretty terrifying at times for me as a wee lad), the cigar smoke, the fanzine sellers on the corner, the Sporting Post being available minutes after games finished.

Anything you remember?

The slope at the Dump. Smell of deep heat/ralgex.  Tommy Coyne . Decent away crowds. Joe Mcbrides winner in 4-3 derby.  2-1 skol cup. Full days travelling to and from Dens from Annan. Blue/Red/White bucket hats. My first Dens visit/game v Clydebank. Shoot league ladders.  Excitement!!!!! 

[Ricky Spanish]

9 minutes ago, Annandee said:

The slope at the Dump. Smell of deep heat/ralgex.  Tommy Coyne . Decent away crowds. Joe Mcbrides winner in 4-3 derby.  2-1 skol cup. Full days travelling to and from Dens from Annan. Blue/Red/White bucket hats. My first Dens visit/game v Clydebank. Shoot league ladders.  Excitement!!!!! 

Everything you've listed is outstanding but that Skol Cup derby

[Cerulean]

I think, for me, it was more the anticipation of a game on at Dens that got the adrenaline flowing.

From my mother's bedroom window I could climb up up to the inner window sill and see the flag fluttering on the pole which would indicate whether a game was on or not. (Reserve game or 'big game' - 'big game' being first team match). I would sometimes be given admission money to get in and sometimes not; either way, I would stand at the corner of the Provie Road/Sandeman Street and ask random passers-by for a 'sneaky-in'. A successful mission meant a programme and a pie was a bonus but an unsuccessful mission meant having to pay in at the boys gate.

This would've been from around 1977-1980 before my customary birthday season ticket in August.

I wouldn't now dream of allowing my seven-year old to approach grown-ups on their own to elevate them over a cast iron turnstile into a drunken environment!!! 

 

No flag meant standing at the corner of Arklay Street/Sandeman to get a sneaky-in to the away end at Tannadice until they prohibited the practice. I spent many a Saturday as a youngster being a 90-minute fan of Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibernian, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Partick Thistle...........................

[TheDarkBlues]

Spent most of my youth at the bottom of the Derry wall with my head poking over watching the game..... sometimes I spent more time staring the red pebbles which ran around the pitch than the game, because it could be truly dire!

[Cerulean]

Alluding to the old days, my first ever game at Dens was the 1974 Scottish Cup replay v Hibernian. My elder cousin and her fiance took me; the memories are a bit sketchy but we stood to the left of the covered South Enclosure although most of the time I was on their shoulders.  I remember holding onto the 'Golden Goal Ticket' for dear life as play raged.  Also, my first venture out of the city to an away game was at Starks' Park in the late 70's. My next door neighbour and his grandfather took me there and I can still remember it to this day.

Both my cousin and next door neighbour, who were huge influences on my team of choice, can now be found leaning towards a team 100 yards down the road. I think I felt out with my cousin in 2016 after the Doon Derby at a family get-together and my next door neighbour in 1987, two weeks after Gothenburg. Both occasions elicited tears of laughter on my part.

 

 

[HK Blues]

The H/T scoreboard - The Tea Trolley trundling around the pitch - The Dupies - Games finishing at 4:40 - Cheap (quality, not price) crisps; were they Chipmunk brand or something like that? - Sneaky ins - UB40 card for cheap entry - orange footballs - tobacco smoke smell - TV vans on a Friday outside Dens - Wee kids sitting on the perimeter wall.   

[Reverend Lovejoy]

9 hours ago, Ricky Spanish said:

 

Edit-  quoted wrong post.

Edited 12 July 2020 by Reverend Lovejoy

[Travellingdee]

On 11/07/2020 at 15:23, Alf Resco said:

I seem to remember cycle racing round the track at half time. Was this a one off, or was it a regular thing?

Don't remember cycle races but "hawkhill harriers" had a footrace most weeks when I was a kid.