Supporting Birmingham City Down Under
Feb 12 2009 by Emma McKinney, Birmingham Mail
HE may have lived Down Under for more than three decades – but that hasn’t stopped Birmingham-born Keith Norris from being a devoted Blues fan.
And now the 66-year-old has proved he loves the team so much, he’s even set up his own Birmingham City FC fan club in Australia.
Keith, who left Birmingham in 1974 for a new life in Melbourne, said his passion for the Blues started when he was just eight years old when his uncle, a season ticket holder, insisted he join him at a game at St Andrew’s.
“My uncle wanted to make sure he got to me first before someone else encouraged me to become an Aston Villa fan, so he took me to my first match and I’ve been brainwashed ever since,” said Keith.
“We moved to Australia to enjoy a better lifestyle and have loved every minute of it but it is hard being so far away from the club.
“Fortunately, a lot of English football is broadcast in Australia on pay-per-view TV so we can watch most of the games live. The bad news is that the games are normally on at any time from 11pm to 4.30am – but I will always watch them live, for better or for worse.”
Keith, who says membership to his Aussie Blues’ fan club is growing by the day, frequently travels back to Brum to buy Birmingham City merchandise to take back to his new recruits in Australia.
“I travel back to Birmingham as often as I can,” he said.
“I’ve been back around 40 times since I left and during those visits I have been to around 60 Blues games,” he said.
And Keith is making sure he is keeping his love of Blues in the family. Despite being born in Australia and never having been to a Blues match, Keith’s 28-year-old son Andrew, named after Birmingham City’s ground, is also an avid supporter of the club, along with Keith’s wife Ann.
“Ann supports the club because the rest of the family does and it could become quite a divide if she didn’t take an interest,” added Keith. “We’ve followed the Blues for so long now that she really is into it, although she gets a little upset when there’s a game on at 3am and Andrew rings to discuss a free-kick.”
Keith added: “I will always love The Blues and I’ll carry on making the 24-hour trip back to see them as often as I can and try to turn everyone I meet into the club’s newest follower. That’s what being a fan is all about.”
A spokesman for Birmingham City FC said: “This just goes to show that we are not only a national brand but also an international brand.
“We have supporters from all corners of the globe and it’s great that supporters who are far away are constantly promoting our club, keep up the good work Keith.”
