My Leeds United - 'The first time I went to watch Leeds I had a brick thrown at my head by a Chelsea fan'

Andy Peterson is a cynic who knows that with Leeds United it’s the hope that kills you, but ‘keeps taking my seat in the electric chair’

“The first time I went to watch Leeds United I had a brick thrown at my head.

The missile in question was launched by a Chelsea fan from the back of the Lowfields stand after a game in February 1983.

It hit the ground just in front of my feet, exactly the sort of thing my worried parents warned me might happen. I never told them. If ever a match was going to be a metaphor for the ups and downs of being a Leeds fan, it was that one – from 2-1 down, we were 3-2 up going into the last minute before an Eddie Gray own goal gave the Londoners – then far from the petro-dollar fat cats of today – a draw.

In what would become a repeatable pattern for the next 30-odd years, in 90 minutes I went through every emotion.

Even more of a revelation though was how it made me feel. A shy 13-year-old, the Kop hurled abuse at Manchester United, barged into each other and exploded when we scored.

The terrace was filled with cigarette smoke and the energy of people released from their everyday lives and into a place where they could say and do what they wanted.

I knew I was an impostor, but those 90 minutes changed my life forever.

It would be another seven years until United achieved promotion, dragged up by Howard Wilkinson’s master plan and Gordon Strachan’s brilliance. During that season I began to read the newly published Square Ball.

A year later, I put pen to paper, literally, and became a contributor. That’s continued, on and off, ever since.

TSB has been transformed, as has the game, it’s image and the nature of supporting a team. I’m now a regular user of social media – it’s a great way for people to connect and share opinions, but it also inevitably gives a platform to idiots. These days, we’re a click away from reaching out to a player or the club’s owner: 99 per cent of the evidence says this is not a good thing.

Through being a Leeds fan, I’ve experienced the constant ecstasy and heartbreak, but also met some incredible individuals, real-life heroes like Martin Hywood, whose courage has been an inspiration to me and my family.

I was also lucky enough to appear in the film Do You Want To Win, about those incredible, pinch-yourself glory days in the early 90s.

At the premiere I sat behind Vinny Jones, starstruck. It’s impossible to explain Leeds United to an outsider. I miss it in these odd, unprecedented times.

It bonds me and most of my friends together. Sometimes – like after Derby – I almost wish that rock had found its target.

Deep down, however, I know that there was no escape, because as every Leeds fan eventually realises, you don’t choose this fate – it chooses you.”

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