I’m Shane Dolan. I’m a American who loves Derby County and I bleed black & white. Though not born into the Rams family I’ve been adopted by it’s amazing fan base that is more a family then fans. I’m a dad, husband & Rams fan! You can follow me on Twitter here!
Derby football encompasses an entire city and spreads across the world. The club means more than just football to a lot of us. It is an escape, an attitude, a heartbeat.
Rams football is a way of life! This is their stories.
My Derby County Story: Nearly 50 Years A Fan
Ian Cluroe, Phoenix, Arizona.
I was born in Derby and spent the first nine years of my life living in Borrowash and Spondon. My parents weren’t big football fans, but I had two uncles – Brian and David Smith – who were, and they passed their passion for Derby County on to me.
My first real memory of the club was when Brian Clough and Peter Taylor resigned in 1973. I was five years old, but I remember the newspaper headlines and a real, palpable sense that something important was happening in my little town.
It’s a shame that I didn’t really experience the Clough era, but over the next few years, we had a good team under Dave Mackay. Another Division One championship came in 1975 and I finally got my first shirt – a long sleeved Umbro with the blue diamonds down the sleeves. Charlie George was my favorite player and I remember sneaking a radio into my bedroom so I could listen to our away match against Real Madrid in the second round of European Cup.
The first match I went to turned out to be a pretty famous one in our history. We were moving to Canada in July 1977, so my father – again, not much of a football supporter – bought tickets for the April 30 home game against Manchester City. The club had started to decline, but we ran out 4-0 winners that day. As many will remember, this was the match during which the penalty spot disappeared and had to be measured, then repainted by a grounds man, before Gerry Daly put home Derby’s fourth goal. I was one of the 29,127 who squeezed into the Baseball Ground that day.
Since then, I visited the Baseball Ground a handful of times on summer holidays. Matches against Southampton, Oldham, others I can’t remember, and I think there was a Spanish team in pre-season one year. Uncle Brian – who’s now a matchday steward at Pride Park – knew someone in the club management and arranged a behind the scenes tour for me when I was 17 or 18, so I got to see the dressing rooms, sit in the dugout, and walk the perimeter of the pitch. My final visit to the old place – this time during my honeymoon – was our first match in the Premier League, a 3-3 draw against Leeds in August 1996.
I manage to get back to Derby every 18 months or so for work or to visit family. I’ve seen all kinds of matches at Pride Park over the years, in the Premier League and the Championship, as well as pre-season and cup ties. I came over for a weekend to witness that heartbreaking loss to QPR at Wembley in 2014. Going to a Derby match never gets old, and I love the walk up to the stadium, the roar of the crowd, and – hopefully – the chance to see a few goals and a win for the Rams. Then a pint or two of Strongbow to celebrate.
In the meantime, I support the team from afar via my subscription to RamsTV and ESPN+, so I manage to see virtually every match live, even if it means a 4am wake-up call. I’m a season ticket holder for Phoenix Rising FC and often meet people who recognize the Ram on my shirt or whatever name is on the back. Rooney obviously gets attention, but a Polish guy recently saw me in Kamil Jozwiak’s number 7. We had a good chat about the club and, in particular, how talented both Jozwiak and Krystian Bielik are.
Just a few weeks ago, I was at a pub in Phoenix watching England v. Scotland at the Euros. I took a bit of friendly abuse – from Scots and other Englishmen alike – when they saw my Wayne Rooney jersey, but within a couple of minutes, I was joined by another guy in a Rams shirt. Turns out, he’s a massive fan who happens to be the coach of Arizona State University’s women’s football team. Other than England and Scotland, there were more Derby County shirts in the pub that day than any other club.
I’ll leave with a great story (I think) about Johnny Russell. By sheer luck, his first match after leaving Derby in 2018 was in pre-season against Phoenix Rising FC. I already had tickets, but of course, I put on my latest Derby County shirt for the match, thinking I’d place myself in Johnny’s sightlines and maybe get a chance to say hello. During the warmups, I stood in an open corner of our stadium – which was really just scaffolding with seats – parallel to the Sporting Kansas City bench. Johnny obviously recognized the sexy Avon Tyres logo, which he’d been wearing himself until a few days earlier, and he made a beeline down to the corner, where we chatted for a few minutes and took a picture together. I’ve seen him a couple of times since during the pre-season and he’s always happy to say hello and catch up.
I know these are tough times for all of us Rams fans. But I’m confident that the history of our club, the great facilities at Pride Park and Moor Farm, and – especially – the devotion of (most of!) our fans will make us an attractive investment for someone to come along, spend a bit of money, and put us back into the Premier League. That’s where our club truly belongs.
If you like give me a follow on Twitter at @IDCluroe and, if you’re ever in Phoenix, let me know!
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