Aston Villa Football Club - California Supporters: 2014

Friday, December 26, 2014

Happy Christmas from the Mad Dog in the Fog!

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Happy 140th!

North America Lions Club members collaborated and put together in the last 24-hours a video to wish Aston Villa Football Club a Happy 140th birthday and many more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXdcGHuMgdg

Saturday, August 2, 2014

California Lions Club Caps to Support Acorns

A California Lions Club cap was produced for the Texas tour and were sold to support Acorns Children's Hospice, Aston Villa's charity partner. A limited supply of these special caps are still available.

If you are interested in purchasing a cap, email avfc.california (at) gmail.com. The caps are $20 USD each + shipping costs. All net proceeds go to Acorns. In your email, please specify quantity and shipping address. All payments should be made via PayPal. Caps will ship as soon as payment is received. UP THE VILLA!

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Villa Park in May and Texas in July

Sorry for the lack of new material here. Back in May, the North American Lions roared into B6 for the final matches of the 2013-14 season (Hull, City, and Spurs). A great trip that included playing in the annual chairman's game and enjoying the Lions Club Awards Night.

(Image courtesy of Alicante Lions)

In July, Aston Villa headed to the Lone Star State to play two pre-season friendlies with MLS teams (FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo). There was an amazing turnout by the Villa faithful from all parts of the U.S. and from around the globe. Funds were also raised for Acorns, Villa's charity partner. It was an amazing trip - I am hoping that Villa will be visiting the U.S. again sooner rather than later!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Season and Suffering has Finally Ended

Another Premier League season has come to a close and Villa had to battle again to avoid the drop to the Championship. Now begins the summer drama of (1) new ownership (2) transfers and (3) and all the rumors that fly around!

Let's hope this is the beginning of a new (much more positive) chapter in the history of Aston Villa. UTV and VTID!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Nice start... not so nice finish.

Westwoods free kick got Villa started fast, but Man Utd scored multiple times through a weak defense. The game could have been very different if Beneteke could have made at least 1 or 2 of those 3 great chances he had. Sigh.

Monday, March 17, 2014

North America Invasion 2014

Lions Club members from all over North America will be descending upon B6 for the final week of the Premier League season (Hull City at home and 2 away fixtures at Man City and Spurs). Following the Hull City match, Lions Club chairmen will take to the Villa Park pitch for the annual UK Lions vs Overseas Lions match and then followed by the annual Lions Club awards night.

(from our Chicago meet-up for the opening of the Premier League season in Aug 2013)

How Did You Become a Villa Supporter?

"I wonder how many fans are actually originally from Birmingham or surrounding area. I am and I'm always interested if someone isn't from near Villa Park, why did they pick Villa as the team to follow." .............................................................................................. "I like Rick's story, he picked Villa as they were 'sponsored' by Acorns Children's Hospice at the time, a cause close to Rick's heart."..................................................................................................................... "I was born in Solihull (12 miles south of Villa Park) and my older bro turned me into a Villa supporter"................................................................................................................ "I am originally from Vauxhall (Birmingham B7) and have followed the Villa since my dad took me to see a game at Villa Park on my 4th birthday. I was a season ticket holder at VP from 1968 until I moved over here twelve years ago."........................................................................................................................"I am from Halesowen which is right next to the black country. Which is tesco carrier bag territory. However my dad is from the city and he always took me and my brother to villa games. I was a season ticket holder in the holte untill 2007 when I moved out here."......................................................................................................................."So why do I support Villa if I've never been to Birmingham? That's a very good question that I've asked myself many times over the years. When I started following the league almost everyone was a Liverpool fan for the same reason almost everyone now is a United, City, or Chelsea fan. Not being someone who follows the crowd I wanted to support a team that was unique and different. When I was a kid, Andy Gray was one of my favorite players and I used to read his columns in Shoot magazine about playing for Villa and thought a lot of the things about the team were unique: the team name, colors, and specially the history."..................................................................................................................."Born just a couple of miles from Villa park, with my father, mother, grandparents and more than half of my extended family with claret and blue blood (you can work out who the rest of that motley crew supported SOTC) it was written in the stars that I was going to be Villa through and through."...................................................................................................................I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. Played the game for 30 some odd years and have been a Villa fan all my life. I have seen 2 live games(both losses, but a great atmosphere none the less). My grandfather was a steward at Villa Park for many years. My father and brother are members of the Canadian Villa fan club in Toronto. I'm here in the central valley, and know of couple of villa fans here in Fresno................................................................................................................