Mon, 29 Apr, 2024

A Premier League Fan? Rightly so.

By Bidish Acharya

Premier League, the best football league in the world has got a great impact in Nepal. Fans in Nepal are really passionate about the team they support in the premier League. All the fans support their teams in their own fashion. Just so you know, different sets of fans have formed their unofficial identities. In this article, I will talk about those obvious kinds of fans, who you are likely to meet in any football junction. The Glory Hunter: Probably the most common insult to the fans, who are not completely attached to a single club, and keep switching between the clubs if the first one doesn’t do well. There are indeed many fans in Nepal, who keep changing their clubs in search of glory and are appropriately named “Glory hunters.” The Emotionalist: These are the ones who cannot wait to draw their emotions after a big loss of their team. Be it posting a status or making a profile picture change in Facebook, they need their emotions to come out. This season, I have dealt with lots of “Win, Lose or Tie, Arsenal till I die” and “In Wenger We Trust” posts and images. The Favorite-Player Team: At times, one player leads you into supporting a club. Like, Wayne Rooney is the reason why most people (of my generation) support Manchester United. Similar is the case with Steven Gerrard of Liverpool. Most of the fans eventually get attached to the club, but some keep revolving around that one player. I had a friend in college, who was a Liverpool supporter, and now he claims to be a die-hard Chelsea fan. This is because Fernando Torres moved to Chelsea. This is the typical example of the type of fan I’m talking about. The Passionate: The type of fans, who will always stick with the club no matter how tough the situation is. They don’t care what the rivals will say; they never get involved in pointless arguments. They never boast and rivals don't boast to them. The Commentator: The commentator is the one who keeps posting the status of a live game in Social Media. “What a spectacular volley by Gerrard. C’mmon Liverpool. #YNWA” 10 minutes later, “Shit! Wilshere equalizes. We must do it. #YNWA” The Reviewer: Just when the game is over, the reviewers come into action in the social media. “What a terrific game! Well Played, Eto’o. What a fixture to get your first hat-trick for the team. Let’s keep the momentum going. #KTBFFH.  The History Teller: These are the recently-joined fans, who are proud of the history of their club and never stop boasting about it. Their team is facing the downfall in the Premier League, but they keep talking about all the trophies they had won in the times when they weren’t even born. The Hater: These are the fans, who support and follow a team in the Premier League, but can’t stand some teams from the other leagues. Most Manchester United fans in Nepal can’t stand Barcelona fans who do not hesitate to return the favor. The Arguer: The one, who is always searching for arguments to win a discussion. They speak their minds out to defend their team. These persons are even harder to tolerate when they don’t know that they don’t know. The Lovers: There are very rare female fans in Nepal. Some get attached to a team on their own, while some start supporting a club, because her partner loves that team. And, no surprise, the team changes with the change in boyfriend. The Yeller: The one who gets overexcited while watching the game and yells at the players as if they were in the same room. While watching a game with my friend, who is a Manchester United supporter, I often find him yelling, “Don’t pass the ball to Welbeck, he never knows what he’s doing!The Clueless One: These are the ones who will call you in the middle of the game and ask, “What time does the game start?” They have no idea what is going on in the league, but will be the first to shout when they find out about the victory of their team. The Coach: These are the ones who know what is going to happen beforehand and always have a reason to back up the result. They know whom to play and how to play; If you are so confident you know better than the players, go and play football manager, dude! The Complainer: They never stop complaining. When a referee makes a small mistake in a game happening over 4,000 miles away, the complaining process runs here in Nepal. Finally, let’s face it – we all have annoyed someone at some point of time, because that’s what makes a true football fan. Someone who stands neutral while supporting a football club means he doesn’t support a club at all. I, myself have been in a debate with different rival fans to defend my team. I cannot stand when people say that Liverpool fans are history tellers (which I am not), I often end up calling them plastics, nerds or so. To pick up the categories from the above list, I fit the categories of The Passionate, The Reviewer, and confess to having a healthy dose of The Complainer and The Commentator. Which one are you?