What's your earliest Chelsea memory?

[Hutchinson56]

We've already got a thread here dedicated to experiences of attending Chelsea matches. However, for the ever increasing overseas fanbase, it's not so easy to get to the UK, let alone Stamford Bridge on match day. So this thread is for everyone.

Your earliest memory could be watching Chelsea on TV, stories told by a Chelsea supporting relative, a book, newspaper article - anything you like. Here's mine:

The 1967 FA Cup Final Chelsea v Tottenham.

I was 10 years old at the time, and had not long decided to be a Chelsea fan. Living in West London, supporting Chelsea wasn't exactly a rarity, but the precise reasons for choosing Chelsea at that age are lost in the mists of time.

Back in those days there was very little live football on TV, so the FA Cup final was always something of an event. So much so that even my mother would watch the match. I remember her saying before the game that she wanted Chelsea to win but she thought Tottenham would win it, also that she didn't like the Tottenham players because they looked ugly and nasty. And your mother should know, right?

We lost the game 2-1, I can remember the feeling of excitement in the build-up, and I can remember watching the game but very little about the game itself, so my abiding memory of the game would have to be a feeling of disappointment, the first of many in a lifetime of ups and downs that goes hand in hand with being a Chelsea fan.

To this day I've never been able to bring myself to watch a replay of the match.

[BlueBeard]

Strange enough, that FA Cup Final is my first real memory of watching Chelsea (also at the age of ten) - certainly the first time I'd seen an entire Chelsea game on TV. It wasn't much of a game, and the result broke my heart. I'd watched Chelsea on MOTD a few times previously, but those memories are pretty hazy though it's great to see them again nowadays via YouTube. So, I saw us lose to the scum from N17 at Wembley, and I've hated them ever since, along with every other Chelsea fan from that era.

Just three months later my dad took me to my first ever game, at home to Fulham - from that day on I was hooked!

Previous to all this, my uncle Pete gave me his collection of Chelsea programmes of the games he'd been to in the 50's and early 60's, and I'd spend hours reading them and savouring the pictures. Along with uncle Pete, my entire family were Chelsea fans - my mum used to go to away games all over the country with Pete before she got married, and my grandad remembered games from the 20's and 30's. When it came to choosing which team to support, I didn't have much choice - and of course I've never regretted it, even during the bad days.

[Marven gee]

My earliest chelsea memory was way back in 2007 when we played united in the champions league finals,earlier that day i bet with my friends that chelsea will win its first uefa cup,but luck desserted us and made us lose the game,i can never forget that day coz my friends started calling me john terry,lol

[AVB]

My earliest memory was when I was about 13 yrs old (5 years ago). I went to Stamford Bridge on a visit from secondary school, they didn't have any matches that day and it was just a trip to visit the place and learn about the History of Chelsea. What I remember the most was when we visited the Megastore, I got myself a Chelsea football that day and some souvenirs. After coming back from the trip, I really started to like Chelsea and started to get into football more.

We went to the home dressing rooms, but there were no players inside, so we couldn't meet the likes of Drogba, Lampard etc.. It was one of my best school trips and I will never forget that day.