For many Villa fans, Gabby Agbonlahor was the one and only constant

Yesterday, Gabby Agbonlahor announced that his football career had come to an end and it got me thinking about my experience as an Aston Villa fan.

Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

A little backstory: Like many Americans who embraced football later in life, I had been searching for a football team in England to support but I didn’t want to root for a team like Arsenal, Manchester United, or Chelsea because I thought that was too easy. I didn’t want to jump on the obvious choices that Americans would know about without trying too hard.

On September 2, 2007 destiny intervened.

I was on holiday in Las Vegas. The football bug had bitten me and rather than go hang at the pool, I decided I’d rather watch the Premier League game that was on TV that day: Chelsea vs Aston Villa. I knew who Chelsea was but I hadn’t ever heard of Villa.

Villa’s colors stood out. The only other time I had seen that combination of colors was at the high school I attended. And there’s another funny similarity: my HS was founded in 1847 while Villa was founded in 1874. Not the exact same years, but the same four digits. To me, they were the signs that I may have found my club.

But I digress...that match in early September was an amazing performance by Villa. I loved seeing (what was to me at the time) a ‘smaller club’ take it straight to Chelsea and rip them apart that day on the counter. I loved the pace and just overall dynamic play that Villa showed on that day. A 20 yr old Gabby sealed the match in the 88th minute for a 2-0 victory over Chelsea in Villa Park. I was ecstatic.

When I got back home, I soon realized that Villa was no small club, after doing some research. They’d been the Kings of Europe in the 80s and had a pedigree that rivalled any team in England. What I learned, reaffirmed my hunch about this team. I had found the team that I would root for.

Fast forward through the next 11 plus years, being a Villa fan has sure had its ups and downs but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Gabby (until the end of last season) was the one constant player in my experience and he epitomized what I loved about the players (or annoyed me) depending on the season. Like I said though, I have enjoyed the ride.

With the announcement of his retirement, I just want to say thanks to him. Thank you for playing a role in helping me discover Aston Villa. He played a massive role in me becoming a fan and I’ll be forever indebted to him.

Cheers and best of luck Gabby.