Tomorrow’s match against Welling will be a very special occasion for our Match Sponsor, Lisa Hambly, as her husband and fellow Gulls fanatic Chris explains….
Well, where do I start!? I’m Chris and I am Lisa’s husband. This is all one big surprise with Lisa being the match sponsor for this game against Welling, as tomorrow is her birthday and I wanted to make it extra special and a once in a lifetime memory for her!
I met Lisa about 9 years ago and it was not until 2020, just before lockdown first hit, we both knew we did not want to go through it alone so we chose to be each other’s person for the duration.
One thing led to another and we soon decided to label it as a relationship! When I first met her she was totally against football, bringing up the usual ‘they get paid too much’and ’they always fall over’ etc (you get the gist) and I explained to her she has never experienced non-league football! Her one and only football experience before this was watching Exeter City and she actually walked out at half time as she felt it was too boring! Geddon!
For her birthday in 2020 I bought her a TUAFC shirt as a way to gently get her to warm up to football, and rather surprisingly she agreed to attend a game once the lockdown restrictions had eased! Fast-forward to December and we had a cold Tuesday night game at home against Maidenhead. Being back at Plainmoor was amazing, and standing in the away end as a home fan was an odd feeling! For Lisa she was captivated by the atmosphere and hooked on that somewhat odd feeling of adrenaline after a nail biting end to the 2-1 win!
After the game I took her on a small tour around the ground and we ended up at the mosaic, what happened next changed my life forever…she proposed to me and of course I said yes!!
Following on from this she was hooked on football! She is obsessed with the mighty Torquay United and our lives now revolve around the games! Her shirt collection is now greater than mine and we now have a passion for collecting and framing player shirts to put up in our house!
Her favourite player was Ben Wynter and I thought that would never change…that all went wrong after the 21/22 season, with Ben ‘abandoning’ us for Barnet. She always had a soft spot for Asa Hall so he immediately became her favourite player, with Shaun Donnellan now her close second!
It was this season for 23/24 that we decided to go the extra mile for Torquay United. Having gotten our season tickets sorted we thought long and hard about what more we could do and we decided to sponsor a player! It was Lisa’s choice and no prizes for guessing she chose our captain, Asa Hall! We are his away shirt sponsors and we are over the moon that Torquay’s first goalscorer this season was none other than Asa Hall himself!! Top man and a great first time finish too!
This year has also brought us the amazing news that we are expecting our first baby early next year and we could not be happier! We have also recently added a kitten to the family and Lisa called it, should I have expected anything less, Wynter! In her defence, calling a cat Hall doesn’t have a ring to it!
I hope the boys reward us with a win today and I hope everyone gets behind the lads to make this a wonderful day for Lisa.
Come On You Yellows!
Lisa’s Quick-Fire Questions!
- First football memory: Watching Manchester United on TV with Dad
- Premier League Team: Brentford
- Football idol: Asa Hall
- First football shirt: Torquay United 18/19
- First position played: In the stands!
- Best stadium (Apart from Plainmoor): Pride Park, Derby
- Best game: Yeovil 1-2 Torquay (her first away game!)
- Room-mate at away games: Chris!
- Aim for the season: Donnellan’s match shirt
- Cheat meal: Chinese
- Best subject at school: Drama
- Most famous person met: Dean Moxey
- Favourite pre-match song: Children – Robert Miles
- First song purchased: Doctor Jones – Aqua
- Best holiday destination: Disney World
- Something on bucket list: Visit DisneyLand
Match Sponsorship At Plainmoor
Whether you’re a business looking for a staff day out, or a family looking to celebrate a special occasion, Match and Match Ball Sponsorship packages provide a memorable matchday for all involved! To discuss our Match Sponsorship opportunities at greater length, please call Commercial Manager, Sharon Musker, on 07949 005832 or email [email protected]
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