Gibraltar has Spurs Fans!

by Mark Viales

There are many reasons why a fan outside of the UK would support “Tottingham”; from the foreign personnel the club keeps, to Spurs’ marketing exploits abroad. I can look back a few summers ago when I was in morocco and saw a local with a spurs shirt on, “Why Tottenham?” I asked the guy in French, “Taraabt,” he released in quick fashion, as if he was used to it. I can relate really, I constantly get asked in Gibraltar why I support spurs.

My love for Tottenham transcends from a cloudy previous generation’s dream, a thick curtain where I would struggle to see the titans of Billy Nick’s Blue White army cast all enemies aside. Or was it the class and guile of the maestro Glen Hoddle, Gazza’s mesmerising trickery and passion or even Lineker’s astute eye for goal? These were the sources of brilliance used to adopt me into the spurs family.

Past Memories

I must add that this is not the traditional spurs family you would find in the UK, in Gibraltar we are split into two categories of supporters: those who follow La Liga and others who prefer the Premier League. The majority of fans constitute Liverpool, Man Utd, Barca and Real Madrid, therefore rendering myself and other spurs fans the minority.

As much as I love to hear the stories and watch the videos, of which I do not tire, what really turned my coming of age self to the mighty Spurs was Jürgen Klinsmann’s debut goal for Tottenham against Sheffield Wednesday.

Debut goal for Klinsmann

I reminisce watching the game with my dad all those years ago and I still remember my pulsating veins with my heart in my throat as Klinsmann dived to the ground, teaching me the sense of irony in my early years. My dad explained the significance of this action after the game and he instantly became my hero.

So that’s it really, a moment of brilliance in a split second turned me into a fanatic. My dad being a spurs fan did help inevitably, however, it is often these situations that make a true foreign fan. Something special is required which cannot be ignored and marks the memory for a lifetime, paving way for an obsession which will not be tamed.

My heart does bleed for not being able to attend White Hart Lane on match days week in week out, the roar of the crowd with the all so familiar spurs songs and ecstatic celebrations when victory is ours. On the few occasions I have seen spurs (away as home tickets are practically impossible when you live abroad) I have felt warmth inside of me like no other.

Matchday at The Lane

Amid my fellow brethren in a cold and dreary night in Bolton for a League Cup tie I instantly felt at home. There were songs I heard, songs I hadn’t and some even made up on the spot by the most jovial of spurs characters. I was embraced and I climbed upon the spurs wagon where I saw us claim a 3-4 victory in the Martin Jol era. This was exhilarating to say the least, although having said that, we should have comfortably won 3 – 7, with our strikers guilty for not putting away some absolute sitters…Well at least I received an appropriate introduction to the spurs way, the hard way, but ultimately the most exciting!

Now we dawn into a new age where the top teams around Europe are talking about us in the highest regard, not least about our talismanic figure, the Welsh Wizard that is Gareth Bale. He would be a key player in Barca or Real Madrid, fact!

I am hopeful that the emergence of such a world beater will inspire a new generation of spurs fans here in Gibraltar and elsewhere. Already providing us with moments of extreme brilliance and class, I am sure this will be enough for a host of young Gibraltarians to turn onto the light that is of course Lilywhite.

COYS!!!!

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