It's a big year for me 2009 - it's 25 years since I first went to Carrow Road to watch a live game of football.
Yes, back in November 1984 aged nine years and eight months I saw Norwich hammer Everton 4-2.
Without kids of my own yet, I always felt a bit of responsibility to my take my oldest nephew Sam when he was roughly the same age. And today, aged nine years and eleven months I took him along with my brother Andrew to watch Norwich take on Barnsley.
Norwich have gone through big changes since I went to that game in 1984 and big changes since I was last at a game with my brother - that would have been March 1987 - 22 years earlier!!
Back then Andrew and I went to two games in a fortnight at Carrow Road as Norwich took on Wimbledon and Luton.
Both games finished in 0-0 draws, the quality on the pitch was so bad that I vividly recall standing on the River End and Andrew saying to me early in the second half of the Luton game that he wanted to get some doughnuts and go wait outside for me.
He stuck around and would have seen Bryan Gunn doing his best to keep the likes of Mick Harford and Brian Stein at bay.
Gunn of course was made Norwich boss this week and this was his first game in charge - a fact lost on Sam who only knew one Norwich player and that was Wes Hoolahan because someone at his school knew him.
Sam looked half asleep in the first half and quite right - the football was rubbish and the only time his eyes lit up was when he devoured a huge half-time hot dog.
I was praying for goals to give the kid something to tell his nephews about in the future and my mind went back to November 1984 and the fact I saw City hit four.
Lo and behold the goals came as who else but Hoolahan gave Norwich a 55th minute lead. Sam sort of stood up and cheered a bit. Jamie Cureton made it 2-0 with a tasty lob on his return to Carrow Road and by the time Sammy Clingan and Darel Russell notched up late goals, he was really starting to enjoy it.
I'd say he passed the test - so thanks Norwich for making it so memorable!
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