Colchester United

Why I'm On Board - Tom McCormack

. click HERE In the meantime, to take a look at our Season Ticket brochure,

In the first of a series, Tom McCormack explain why he's decided to get his first Season Ticket since the move to the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

The U's have been pleased to see so many fans getting on board and the good news is that there are many fans who are either getting a Season Ticket for the first time, or returning after an absence. Very promising!

Season Ticket sales have started really encouragingly, with sales to date around 20% up on this time last year. 

In 2001, I moved to Colchester from the fortress of football that is Manchester and with the accent to match, at that time and to this day I am asked because of my accent "Are you red or blue?" The answer has very much changed since then.

Back then my father-in-Law was a Spurs fan - I expect he is to this day, but he’s no longer my Father In Law - and we went to Layer Road to watch a pre-season friendly between them and Col U. 

I was in the strange position of not supporting any team because some of my family are Man United, some are Man City and others support Bury, Stockport and Liverpool with each vying for me to support their love.

My first match experience was at Old Trafford at the age of eleven, I saw Mark Hughes score in a 1-0 win over Norwich City, but I wasn’t overly bothered about the result. I was a fan of football, but no single club.

Throughout that subsequent season after that Tottenham friendly I went up to Layer Road with new friends from work and back to Terrace Three, but my love of Col U came when I decided one week to go into the Barside.

As soon as I walked through the turnstile I knew I belonged there and have ever since answered that perpetual question: "Neither, I’m Blue & White."

The season after I became a Season Ticket holder in the Barside in the 2002/2003 season and then in January 2004 went to my first away game for the FA Cup clash with Coventry. To this day I lament Scott McGleish hitting the post at 1-1, but I was in the Barside to see the victory in the replay so all’s well that ends well.

After the 2003/2004 season ended, I moved back to Manchester, but didn’t give up the season ticket and made the 500 miles round trip by train every other weekend to see the U’s until the move to the Weston Homes Community Stadium happened. 

I didn’t know where I wanted to sit, what was going to be the equivalent of the Barside? And the atmosphere didn’t live up to what I was used to when I did attend a game, even when Southend came to play.

Combined with the distance those factors made my decision to let my Season Ticket go and just attend the odd game until this last season. 

WHCS didn’t seem like home to me, but that’s because I didn’t have memories of battles and the crowd pulling together with the team to fight like I’d seen at Layer Road until this season.

Nobody wants to be in a relegation battle really, but with something to play for the WHCS really feels like home to me now.

I’ve moved heaven and earth to attend games towards the end of the season to be part of the fight and the team responded to the commitment we all showed.

It was a truly magnificent sight to see 5,000 people at the Shrewsbury game, it reminded me of those days at Layer Road with the noise and passion. 

It made me realize I have to be a part of it next season and I wanted to buy a Season Ticket for it because, just like in the Barside, I feel like I belong in S1, but I didn’t know if I could afford to.

The one thing I always tell fans of other clubs on my many away travels and my family - "Col U is a football club, not a PLC."

The one thing I have always loved is that the club listens to its supporters, such as when we moved to the WHCS and ticket prices needed tweaking.

And this season the club know that times aren’t easy financially out there, so what have they done, made it more affordable for us to buy our season tickets.

Have you got a story to tell? Are you a renewing fan? Or one that has bought for the first time? Or maybe you're back after a gap. Tell us your story - drop us an e-mail to media@colchesterunited.net and we'll tell you what we need!

I’ll be sat in S1 row M seat 28 next season, come and say hello to Col U’s original Mancunian supporter. 

For the first time since Layer Road, I’ve bought my Season Ticket.