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My Everton #24: The Bond My Son Will Never Outgrow

Everton and technical partner hummel are proud to collaborate to present My Everton, a weekly series of first-hand accounts describing the most-treasured memories of fans, players, and staff both past and present.

Got an entry? We'd love to hear it – and there are exclusive prizes for the best fan submissions, including VIP tickets to First Team matches, invitations to watch training at USM Finch Farm, signed merchandise and discount on hummel.net.

Enter by emailing digital.content@evertonfc.com.

My Everton story starts with my son, Milo.

We're Americans. We live in California and, from the time Milo was able to kick the ball, football (or, soccer, as we know it!) has been his life. 

Bob, his grandfather on his mother's side, has been a supporter of one of the 'big-name' clubs, so every Christmas after he was born he would receive new kits. 

But soon it went beyond that. He started really paying attention to all football around the world. 

He knew the names of players in all the Premier League teams, La Liga, Bundesliga, and the list went on and on. 

He would shock me with his knowledge of players, statistics, tactics and even his take on transfers and players in lower league teams. 

When he was on the pitch playing himself, his managers always said he was like having an extra manager on the field. 

Football became his free time, his wardrobe and his personality. 

Aged 12, his club team offered a chance to go on a trip to England and Wales to play some matches against UK-based teams, tour the facilities of England's national team and a couple of the Premier League clubs' training facilities and stadium tours. Then, to top it off, we were going to get to see two live matches. 

Our first match turned out to be a friendly between West Ham and Juventus just prior to the 2016/17 season beginning. 

It was their first match at the new Olympic Stadium. Of course, it was fun to go to the match but nothing particularly stood out from it.

We went about the rest of our trip during the week and my son played some matches around the country. 

Then came the opening day of the Premier League season - 13 August 2016 - and we were off to see Everton v Tottenham at Goodison Park. 

It was something different from the second we stepped off our coach.


We bustled our way through crowds towards the stadium and my son and I stopped at the Everton Two store to purchase our very first Everton home shirts.

Then it was into the stadium and we climbed up and up... and up! To the top of the Top Balcony to our seats.

It was incredible - the feeling was electric from the start. It was like nothing we'd experienced.

We never looked back from the moment we took our seats.

My son knew some of the Everton chants already and we all went crazy when Ross Barkley scored early on.

We collectively groaned when Erik Lamela levelled things up in the second half.

But, ultimately, we left Goodison Park as Evertonians.

On our coach back to the hotel after the match, Milo asked me if he thought his Grandad Bob, who was a supporter of another team, would be upset if he told him and asked to give him a call.

In truth, I think his mind was already made up.

Milo told him: "There's just something about this club. So many of my friends buy the shirts of the other clubs - but they don't even know anything about them. I'm an Evertonian. Is that okay?"

Since then, we have woken up at 4am to watch the Blues too many times to count. 

We've met up with the San Diego Toffees at pubs around town and many of the supporters have watched my son literally grow up from a little 12-year old guy, who knew more than most of them, to a 6' 3" young man. 

After a few meet-ups, if anyone had a question about anything related they would yell, 'Hey, Milo... Who is that guy? Where did he come from?' etc. He loved it and they loved it and that's how it's gone ever since. 

Every Christmas Milo gets a new jersey - and so do I. But now there's no question about which team. 

It's one of the great things that bonds us together.

Even as he outgrows his teenage years and prepares for adulthood, we'll always have Everton.

By Jaimie Muehlhausen, Evertonian