Luton are back: The impact of our promotion on generations of fans

Each generation of Hatter has had a different experience following Luton Town.

As I watch the first weekend of the EFL kick off, still in relative disbelief that we are not taking part (for the right reasons this time), I thought about what this promotion means - what it really means. 

The financial benefit of promotion to the Premier League for the football club (roughly the same income as the last 15 seasons combined), and indeed the town, has been well documented. There is a deeper meaning for us though isn’t there? 

I am a Luton supporter despite never having lived anywhere near the town. I grew up in Norfolk and now live in Leicestershire. I am a Luton supporter due to one person, my Dad. My Dad was a Lutonian and as a child, I was regaled with stories of the glory days (the programme of both the 1959 FA cup final and 1988 Littlewoods are tucked away in our spare room). I was dangerously close to becoming a Norwich City supporter, until Dad ensured that on my 10th birthday, I was Luton mascot for Luton at Carrow Road (we won 1-0 thanks to a Bontcho Guentchev penalty) and that was that.

Bontcho Guentchev celebrating a goal. Picture from Hatters Heritage

Dad lost his battle with Leukaemia in July 2010 after seeing us spend our first season in the conference and lose to York in the playoff semi-final. His ashes sit beneath the goal line at the Kenny end - I should mention how incredible the club, particularly Stephen Browne, was throughout this period. Dad and I were very close and for that reason, I struggled to attend home games for a little while. Fast forward to 2014 and while attending Mansfield away, I saw my nephews for the first time since Dad’s funeral and we’ve been going to matches home and away ever since. 

Like many in the stadium, I was in floods of tears after that Dabo penalty sailed over the bar, thinking of those that weren’t there. This is encapsulated beautifully in the BBC Three Counties piece ‘The Remarkable Rise of Luton Town’ by Justin Dealey.

So what does promotion to the Premier League mean to me and all those like me, who missed out on the glory years the first time around? It means we can finally have a shared experience with those who introduced us to this wonderful club; our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunts who took us to our first game; showed us pictures of Billy Bingham, Steve Foster, Mal Donaghy, Mick Harford and Ricky Hill and talked of the glory years in the top flight. 

Mal Donaghy playing against Liverpool. Picture from Hatters Heritage

Promotion isn’t a new start for the club; it’s a continuation of the thread that has been woven through all our lives as fans, joining generations of families together through shared experiences, both the good and the bad. As I see my little boy in his first Luton kit, I suddenly understand why dad was so passionate that I share his love of the club. I am now that dad, and Luton for us, like many others, is an inescapable part of our family story.