When it comes to life or death football probably isn't more important to us but our club may well be. If it wasn't we probably wouldn't have done what we have done in such a short space of time.
I suspect the majority of us started supporting Wimbledon Football Club because it represented the local area. I started supporting the club because it was the place where I was born.
In 1977 I was 14 and my family were living in Cornwall, I was proud to have been born in Wimbledon and I still am. One day I was reading the sports section in the national papers in the local library. Usually I would have just taken a look at the first division table to see how Liverpool were doing (top as usual) but I was drawn to the fourth division and I spotted Wimbledon (mid table at the time). I never even knew there was a Wimbledon Football Club, I knew nothing of football outside the first division. From then on I kept an eye on WFC's results and as time went on I got more upset about WFC losing than I did Liverpool. My loyalties were gradually changing over during that first season. Liverpool winning all the time was boring, never knowing what WFC was going to do became exciting.
Over the years I have followed the exploits of WFC sometimes at Plough Lane or Selhurst Park and at times from the other side of the world in the Army listening to the results on a barely audible World Service whilst freezing to death in the Falklands or on BFBS in the swealtering heat of Belize as well as other places. I had the piss taken on many occasions by those that supported the big clubs but the mickey taking slowly stopped when they realised how serious I was about WFC and they saw that I actually did go to games. I flew from Northern Ireland twice to be at Wembly for the Cup Final and the Charity Shield and many other times to be at league games.
Wimbledon means a lot to me and what has happened to the club saddens me greatly. When the idea of AFCW first came up I was in favour of it but I had great difficulty with the idea of not supporting WFC anymore just like most fans did. I knew I had made the break in my mind the first time I thought 'so what' when news about the club or a player was in the paper or on a website.
Many people have put a lot of their time and energy into the formation of AFC Wimbledon in many ways. Some have worked 18 hour days in the WFC office, businesses have been allowed to slide a little and maybe families not received quite as much attention as they might have otherwise. I'm sure those families were very understanding and patient.
On Saturday 17 August 2002 all that hard work and dedication will come to fruition at 3 o'clock when the referee blows his whistle and the ball is kicked for the first time in anger at Sandhurst Town. Will the result matter? I'm sure it will, at least it will matter more than the results of the friendlies do.
For Bill Shankley football may be more important than life or death, it isn't for me but AFC Wimbledon is.
