i can remember being in the burlington ( I think ) when I was 8 years old, and my brother was there too as my father left us in the pub ( on our own, my brother was about 13 ) to watch the game, as he had something to do, i cant remember too young, but it stopped him watching it ( he would have been the old gaa head too, but he would always make a huge effort ensuring that we got to see these sorta games, i spose he knew how much the atmosphere and everything else would mean to us, not the love of soccer as such ), anyhow i was only ickle and my brother could see and tried putting me up on a stool but i still couldn't see, so this man ( i wonder what age he is now, but he seemed really old then ) saw my predicatment, grabbed me under the arms and swooped me onto his shoulders ( i was always scared of going on peoples shoulders on their back was ok but not shoulders ), anyhow i remember the penalties, watching on this little small screen, and i dont think this man could see completely but i could thanks to him. I wouldn't have been very aware of all the players then, but I remember hamilton saying timofte against bonner, and then wooh i was holding onto the curls from the mans head and pulling htem out of his head with fear and excitement - fear of falling off him and excitement as bonner had saved a penalty. I must have pulled out a few hundred hairs and ruined his curls!! And then oleary scores - but the memory goes somewhat after that. We left the pub sometime after and i remember ( my father hates being behind slow cars, really really impatient ) all the cars beeping and it took us about 2 hours to get out of dublin, and these lads on the street were stopping all the cars and tried to get my sister and cousin out to dance with them/kiss them. It was very funny. But that memory was one of my first footballing memory and from then on I was always very attached to Ireland and never missed a chance ( taking off school etc ) of seeing them play on TV. So thats why I would put it down there as one of the greatest charlton era moments for me. I would also put down the game v Italy, as I was in some crap place in France on holidays ( France is so crap its so boring unless you go to brittany - as a kid i mean ), in some chalet in the middle of nowhere with nothing at all to do, but my Father did his utmost to get a TV ( Cos it was all his fault we were in France and he felt guilty i think!) and we got one, and it was me and my brother watching it again, we stayed up till 2.30 or something like that, and I remember Cantona saying Ireland were giong to win 1 - 0. It was class when houghton scored, that was a great thrill for us given how "far" away i thought i was and thinking we wouldnt get to see it. It was brilliant. Would have been far greater if we were at home though :( I was always away somewhere for the big matches.
In terms of pure enjoyment and relief and excitement it would have to be alan mcloughlins goal against NI, as I was coming to the age where I could watch soccer "sensibly" and understand everything etc. Plus i was in my neighbours and it was great craic.
