Your loneliest moment as a Rovers fan...

[Barmby Rover]

Watching the semi finals of the Conference playoffs has to be it. I think it was a Monday night, in our local, about 6 people in the bar and just me in the back room with a big screen watching and having a pint. Being VERY pleased with myself when they won the penalty shoot out and then absolutely no interest whatsoever in the result when I went through. Mind you, then I got a ticket to the final and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and the pub has been finding out about Rovers ever since!  

[stockholmrover]

Depends on how we are defining lonely. I was in Portugal trying to find a bar to watch us V Reading on sky back in Feb. All I could find was tons of egg chasers watching England V Wales. I managed to find a bar and tried to plead with the barman that it was Donny and he should switch it on... he asked the rest of the bar and got a few mutters.. that felt very lonely

But then 15 minutes later a group of lads walked in who turned out to be Leicester fans so we watched the game and waxed lyrical about one Rikard Wellenski

Lonely and then happy within 15 minutes... you gotta love togger!!

[Colin C No.3]

Colchester at home when we 'lost' our Football League status.

Walked onto the pitch with my brother, we couldn't speak. 30+ years of watching our beloved Rovers & I knew we were both thinking the same, \"Is this the end of something that had given us comfort, a sense of belonging?\".

Coming to games all those years, we 'lived' through drama, heartache, sheer joy. Found brotherhood, the feeling of belonging. Rovers were our escape from a less than happy home life. Rovers were our family. Bl**dy Hell that day hurt.

I've been fortunate enough to tell him this personally & I would simply say, \"Thanks JR for giving me my club back\".

[Herman Hessian]

after losing at hartlepool in the Autoglass Trophy or whatever it was, as a conference club on a tuesday night. got a lift back to donny with the world's smallest geography teacher, gawping at a partial lunar eclipse on the way. leave AB at home in sprotborough (or thereabouts) and set off on the rest of the journey home at midnight - just another 220 miles to go, then !. reach peterborough on the A1 and it starts getting foggier, and foggier and f**king foggier - crawling along at about five miles an hour, i navigate the circuitous route off the main road to a travel lodge (or similar) at about two in the morning - whole place was locked up and pitch black, so settle down for a freezing cold few hours kip in the back of the car - had one or two doubts about whether or not it had been a wise move to attend that particular game....

[BobG]

Something on the same lines Herman. Must have been '75 or thereabouts. Rovers away at Newport County on a winters Friday night. As I was a student in the Midlands South wales wasn't all that far away was it? So in my clapped out old banger off I tootled. On my tod. The game itself was ace. That was the night Peter Kitchen scored the wonder goal I rave about from time to time. The 'better than Tony Currie' dribbled effort. And we won 3-2 after being 3-0 up. But the journey back wasn't so great.... I ended up having to kip in the back of a freezing motor, without any obvious means of getting any warmth (I couldn't afford to buy yet more petrol - not that there was anywhere likely to be open anyway) in the middle of some Godawful and frighteningly black, eerie forest. Forest of Dean I now know it was. But it was a real shit night that was.

I also remember setting off for Shrewsbury around the same time. Again on my own. But this time the rain just rained and rained and rained. Roads closed all over the place. So with all the detours and delays by the time I got within reach of the place, it was time to come home again. With all the detours now having detours around them. When I heard the final score I thought I'd beeen saved an embarrasment: we'd lost 7-4. But later I learned that after being 5-0 down we got back to 5-4 before the Shrews eventually stuck the knife in. It must have been some comeback that one.

Cheers

BobG

[BillyStubbsTears]

kin ell, this is getting scary. I had  a similar experience coming back from Boston in 2001-ish (the night that t**t Clare scored twice in the last 10 seconds to get them a 2-2 draw).

Went out to the car park with our kid. He suddenly realises he's forgotten to sort out a lift for the next away match that I can't make, so he goes running off to find the other lads who are driving home in a different car. 45 minutes later, all the 6 fingered duck-fcukers have left the car park and a pea-souper is descending. No sign of our kid. Pre-mobile phone era for me ( I were one of the last) so I've no fcuking idea where he is. Went for a grope through the fog a couple of times and couldn't find him. Eventually gave up and drove home on me todd. Then missed the sign for the A52 (pre-Tom Tom - I still haven't got it - won't have some mellifluous bint-ish voice telling me, \"In 300m yards, do as you are told you shadow of a man, you\") and ended up driving half way to Peterborough on the A16 at 20 mph through the murk. Ended up driving through the back roads of that nether-land, part earth, part-sea, part shite that is southern Lincolnshire through a fog that could have swallowed John Holmes, Ron Jeremy and Rocco, and still had room for me.

Turns out the get had shouted \"I'll get a lift back with the lads\" as he got out of the car, but I didn't hear him as I was concentrating on setting fire to Daryl Clare's genitals in the photo in the programme with the car cig lighter. (\"The Get\" being our kid, not John Holmes.)

[MartinB]

For me it was in St. John's Newfoundland (where I now live) we were playing Arsenal in the League Cup. I had arranged for a pub to show the match on PPV, they agreed to put it on for free if I drunk $25 worth of beer. So I sat there in my Rovers shirt watching the big screen, loads of locals started watching it and no one knew who little Donny was, after a quick explanation suddenly the whole bar were cheering on the Rovers. I drunk about $80 worth of beer, I was gutted to lose on penalties but when I went to pay my tab I was told one of the punters enjoyed watching such support through the game and they paid my tab in full! Never happened since but what a night!

[tommy toes]

Donny v Arsenal 2005

We'd booked a holiday in Tenerife not knowing Rovers would be in such a high profile game then. Anyhow, a local bar was showing the game, so I put on me red and white hoops and took the box seat 2 hours before the game. There was me and loads of Arse fans in the bar. By kick off time I was well hammered. When Greeny put us 2-1 up in extra time I raced round the bar jumping about like the drunken fool I was by that time. I tripped up and went full length over a table where two couples were enjoying their evening meal. Food me and one of the women on the floor. They were surprisingly good natured about it, so I paid for replacement meals for them. At the end of the game the Arse fans were quite sympathetic, and about 6 free drinks appeared on my table. Neverthless I was heartbroken.

[Dutch Uncle]

DMnumber4 wrote:

Hounslowrover wrote:

Same again River Don - I took my stepson and we got well beaten, on top of that I got a parking ticket, didn't even notice the pay station in the car park next to the ground.  If I remember it was peeing down as we left.
I can also remember goiung to Notts County, years ago when you could walk from behind the goal to the other, the game kicked off and by time we got to the Rovers attacking end we were at least 2-0 down and eventually lost 5-2.
Worth rembering I've had lots of good times too, especially the last years.

I remember that Notts County game, my first ever away game  

I unfortunately had many lonely moments. I'd get dropped off at ASDA by my mum and walk to the popside turnstiles with my season ticket in hand. Once in the ground at 2:15pm I'd stand down at the front wall in line with the edge of the Rossington End 18 yard line and wait for my old man to get in to the ground from the pub at 2:55 or even later.

He wouldn't stand with me though, he'd go up to the back and have a few cheeky smokes (something i knew nothing about!) with his mates.

I remember numerous times it p*ssing it down and having to stay at the wall because i couldn't see from the steps.

One particularly sore game was the 5-4 defeat to Yeovil.

Also felt fairly lonely a few years ago when i decided to go to Port Vale for a pre-season friendly on my todd.  :dry:

Some great and some very moving posts in this thread

I remember that Notts County game as well. We had a young red haired centre half called David(?) Williams playing what I think turned out to be his only first team game for us. I think I must have been in or with County fans because when the teams were read out one County fan was asking me (seriously) if it was Charlie Williams. Not only were we 2-0 down in 5 minutes - we had missed a penalty in that time as well. Doc Pace (ex Blade) scored a hattrick and I think our left back Jim Watton scored 2 own goals.

Of my two most lonely moments, one was being in the middle of Spurs fans at White Hart Lane in our League Cup Quarter final 7-2 defeat ca 1975 - after an hour we were bossing it, unlucky to be at 2-2, and the locals were getting restless.   The other was being all alone on the terraces of the Vetch Field about 1967 when we lost 6-0 and hardly had a kick. Swansea were relegated with us that season. We conceded 117 League goals, a total not beaten by any league team since, with the closest being 113 in 1998 .......yes by ourselves.

[DRFC-Hanksie]

For me, Oldham away Sunday 2PM kick off, think it was March 07.

We went on train left Donny about 8am, atmosphere was all good till we got to Oldham and got spotted drinking on the streets (us only being 15 & 16 then) so the Police decided to put us all in an escort to the ground.

So, get into the ground, watch the game. This was the game we lost 4-0, and I knew what time the train back was, but all my mates left after the third goal, 'not watching this shit', so I thought might aswell stay and watch it as I know they aint going to get an early train.

Whistle goes and I'm walking back to Werneth station on my own, thinking fcuk that was a load of crap. And when I got back to station, all my mates were there, the atmosphere on the way back was just dull, nothing to shout about a 4-0 spanking really, and no beer either  

[Lesonthewest]

Late seventies away to Port Vale last game of the season. Had booked two places on the coach for me & the girlfriend (now wife). We go into town for a bite to eat before catching the coach. We have an argument & she feks off home leaving me with a bruised shin & a spare ticket. Go to the game on my own & get given a free ticket outside Vale Park for their mainstand, so again sit on me jack watching a utterly dismal 3-0 defeat, crap, lonely day that was. Incedentally I think that was the day Dave Harle made his Rovers debut.

[Pintolager]

This thread has certainly got me thinking and I can remember a game at Lincoln back in '96. I went on the train at lunch time and after having a few pints and something to eat, made my way to the ground. The weather was awful, tipping it down it was but still hopeful that Rovers would get a win - oh how wrong I was! Rovers played like the weather...awful and we ended up losing 4-0. What I also remember during the game was when a young lad was thrown out of the ground when he broke a seat in front of him just by gently pushing his foot against the seat in front and despite his dad telling the stewards it was an accident, he was led out of the ground which pissed me off even more. There was however some light entertainment when Saturday Santa was having a laugh with a few lads behind me when taking the mess out of Ken Richardson which had me laughing. The walk back to the trainstation was a miserable one with a few of the Lincoln mob threatening a couple of our fans which didn't result in anything, but made things more uncomfortable. The train back home though was a musing though because a group of Rovers fans started a chant something along the lines of \"there's only one Johnny Schofield\" because the conductor was the spitting image of him.

[streatham dave]

Staying over in cheltenham after we lost. But at least we got to go to the playoffs on the back of it.

[PDX_Rover]

Too many!  But it's all worth it.

[RobTheRover]

tommy toes wrote:

Donny v Arsenal 2005

We'd booked a holiday in Tenerife not knowing Rovers would be in such a high profile game then. Anyhow, a local bar was showing the game, so I put on me red and white hoops and took the box seat 2 hours before the game. There was me and loads of Arse fans in the bar. By kick off time I was well hammered. When Greeny put us 2-1 up in extra time I raced round the bar jumping about like the drunken fool I was by that time. I tripped up and went full length over a table where two couples were enjoying their evening meal. Food me and one of the women on the floor. They were surprisingly good natured about it, so I paid for replacement meals for them. At the end of the game the Arse fans were quite sympathetic, and about 6 free drinks appeared on my table. Neverthless I was heartbroken.

Thats reminded me of another one, TT.

As the Arsenal game at OBV was a sell-out, our usual parking spot was chokka, so I ended up parking on the grass verge on Bennetthorpe, close to the Racecourse roundabout.  It was a spot I'd never parked in before, but lots of others were there so it must be a safe spot to leave your car, right?

Anyway, 2 and a half hours later, after Gilberto had ripped my dreams from my grasp, and now in the foulest of moods (as I tend to be when we lose), we get back to the car, only to find someone later than us has parked right across the front of us.  Slapping it into reverse and dropping the clutch, still turning the air blue with a combination of that bugger Gilberto's goal, our penalty inadequacies on the night, and now this knob had blocked me in, I proceeded to scrape a f**king great telegraph pole right down the side of the car - I didnt even slow down when the grinding noise started, just hammered it a bit harder.  None of my pals said a damn word.

I didnt get out to look until I got home.  That was the loneliest drive home ever.

The insurance company paid the repairer over £1600 to sort that one.  Thank Jehovah for protected no claims!

[not on facebook]

when rovers were playing derby county at BV in that carling
cup fixture that went to  pens

me and a rovers mate were out in magaluf for the week and were
sat in a bar on the lash watching whatever carling cup game
sky were covering,it was not the rovers/county  match.

there was updates from the rovers game and if i recall donny were 3-0 up at one point for derby to bring it back to 3-3.so on final whistle me and matey had made that much noise
a  few passers by dropped into this small bar

cant recall if game went into extra time but i do recall the pain of the penaltys at end of game.we asked the bar owner to turn the sound up and we stood and listened,it was just like
listing to the wireless

every peno was shear murder either it be doncaster or derby one
must have been the amount of drink that did not help or fact
we was away from blighty/doncaster and it was just hitting home at this moment.

there was only two of us rovers lads in bar but bar said we made the noise of 10+,thing is when we both do attend odd rovers home game were not one for jumping out of our seats
if rovers score/win.

must be the fact that you can take the lad away from doncaster
but you cant take doncaster away from the lad.

derby missed a pen and rovers won and rest of nite is a blank
but both as happy as pigs in muck

[Sandy Lane]

Every day!  ;-)

Except when I'm on here.

[BillyStubbsTears]

RobTheRover wrote:

in the foulest of moods (as I tend to be when we lose)

I bet you were a bag of laughs to go out for a pint with in the 1990s then Roberto.

As for your car story, struck a chord with an old tale of mine.

1992, I was working on site at Hillsborough on the re-build of the South Stand. Just as we started on the groundworks, it was announced that Hillsborough had been awarded the Cup Semi-Final match (which, to digress, was another example of the utter crass stupidity of the FA, coming 3 years after 95 people were crushed to death there, but there you go...)

We had to keep a road open to the ticket office. One day, some flash be-suited, be-gigged laddo turns up in a band-new Saab 9000 3.0 turbo cabriolet. (This WAS Sheffield, 1992, so heads turned...)

Flash t**t goes up the the ticket office, raps on the window and demands, Alan B'Stard-like, the tickets for the semi that David Hirst had supposedly promised him. Lass behind the counter shrugs and says she knows nowt about it. Work on the piling has stopped by now with everyone watching the theatre.

Flash t**t swears several times, runs back to his car, gets in, slams the door, sticks it in reverse and wheel spins straight into one of them posts that folk use to block off parking bays. Went so far into his car, he could have used it as a second gear stick.

Laddo gets out of car screaming, f-ing and blinding to be met by a round of applause from the lads on site.