Now various
people have been asking me curiously why I have a keen interest in more than
one football club side. Some even go to the extent of questioning my commitment
to my ‘purported’ teams. Well, I’ve been thinking too and maybe they have a
point. I mean, in my twitter bio there are at least six different clubs listed,
obviously implying that I’m a fan of all of them. The general debate is whether
it is actually realistic to support so many teams concurrently. My take on it?
Pretty much yes, so long as it’s only one team per league. So I sought to set
the record straight on the matter. Basically I’m trying to analyze what kind of
a fan I am, and by extension, what kind of fans we are.
Arsenal
We all have
that one football club that we are synonymous with, one that we like to talk
about and watch their games more than the others. For me it is this English
side based in North London. I’ve already shed light in another forum about my
relationship with Arsenal, but it doesn’t hurt go over it again. Well in 1998
at the age of 7, football really got into me. At the time, my uncle Pat, who
was a professional footballer in the local league, gifted me with a football
and some Liverpool jerseys. Up to now, I’m not sure whether he wanted me to
become a Liverpool fan, because funny enough; he never talked about the team. I
remember looking at the club’s crest and seeing the bird (which bird is it,
anyway?) on it and well, it failed to appeal to me. Yes, I would put on the
jerseys and play in them, but that was just it; there wasn’t any more
attachment.
Then one
day I was just indoors, with nothing much to do. I switched on the TV and there
was a match on. Since I didn’t know the identity of the teams playing, I
decided to wait until the score prompt appeared on the screen. It was
Manchester United v Arsenal. Actually I didn’t read the ‘Manchester’ part; I
guess the name was too long. Basically I wanted to pick a side to support for
the match. Now during those days I had this particular liking, addiction even,
for bread. Where we lived there were two dominant brands of bread in the
market, Sunblest and United. I really hated the taste of United, so when I saw
the name ‘United’ on the screen, I inadvertently associated them to the bread.
I desperately wanted Arsenal to beat them, just to feel good. And yes, Arsenal
won the match 1-0. They had come good for me and for that I instantly loved
them.
From then
on I would go on to follow Arsenal intently, like nothing else matters. On
average every 5 minutes I think about something Arsenal-related. It’s just an
amazing feeling seating in front of the screen, watching Arsenal line out
before a match. And during the 90 minutes, the range of emotions I go through
makes it just the best life experience. Yes, I’m more than just a fan.
Admittedly, this ‘madness’ on more than one occasion has cost me relationships
with my girlfriends, numerous hours of study and even more tellingly,
unimaginable amount of sleep time. Almost on a daily basis I read a lot of
Arsenal literature from, tweets, emails, blogs, newsletters to my personal
favorite Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch. For now what I really want is for the club
to win the Premier League trophy, nothing more. That day would undoubtedly be
the best day of my life.
Gor Mahia
This is the
club of my grandfather, my father, my uncles, my departed aunt and my mother. I
was born into that heritage and growing up I’ve learned that it’s just a way of
life that I’ve had to embrace without much of a choice. Kogalo, as we fondly
refer to it, is based in Nairobi, but draws a huge chunk of its support from
Western Kenya, where I have my roots. It’s a club with a rich tradition and the
followers (we don’t say ‘fans’) take great pride in their team.
Nothing
beats the feeling of being at a Kogalo match with other fans and taking part in
the singing of the club anthem before kick-off. The atmosphere usually is
charged and electrifying that for a moment it feels like it’s unreal. For a
long time the club has been starved of glory, but there’s renewed optimism that
the glory days are coming back. Thanks to the fact that my uncle played for Gor
for quite a long time before retiring, I’m always going to have a special bond
with the club.
Inter Milan
This one
surprises many people. Now generally when you follow the Serie A here, you’re
expected to either lean towards AC Milan or Juventus, but then I’ve gone
against the norm. Growing up I admired and adored the great Brazilian legend,
Ronaldo. For me he was the model striker, the one who set the standard. When he
moved to Inter from Barcelona, I was curious to know what he saw in Inter so I
resolved to follow him. In so doing, I learned to love the club. Reading
through their history and rivalry with city rivals, AC Milan, I got to loathe
the Rossoneri even more. This reached crescendo when in the 2002-03 Champions
League tie between the two sides, after a 1-1 aggregate score line, Milan
proceeded to the finals on away goals rule. Now we share the San Siro or
Giuseppe Meazza Stadium with Milan, so to lose on ‘away’ goals rule when we
played both legs at home really hurt me to the core.
Other
factors have also come into play to strengthen my love for Inter or Nerazzurri.
For instance, the period of dominance post-Calciopoli which saw the club win 5
straight Scudettos (Italian league titles) and the overall improvement in the
team’s quality gave me much satisfaction. The signing of Kenya’s MacDonald
Mariga from Parma gave me reason to be proud of Inter and of course, license to
yap and blabber unending about the club when with my peers. That said, the
clincher has to be Jose Mourinho. I’m a huge fan of the Special One and his
coming to the Inter hot-seat was a godsend, topped by the Treble of 2010, which
in my books is up there with Arsenal’s Invincibles’ feat. That night at the
Bernabeu in May, 2010 when Captain Javier Zanetti lifted the Champions League
trophy remains one of my best football nights ever. Currently the team is in
transition, but I’m optimistic manager Andrea Stramaccioni will be up to the
task of making Inter an Italian and European force once more. And yes, I watch
the English Premier League mostly, but I try not to miss any Inter game that
doesn’t coincide with an Arsenal match.
Bayern Munich
Again
growing up, I was exposed to many things German on TV through our national
broadcaster, KBC. They aired German features, music shows and programs
including news by Deutsche Welle TV (DW). In the course of this I got to know
of Bayern Munich which is the biggest and most successful side in Germany. Once
in a while too, I would watch Bundesliga matches and just loved the way Bayern
played under then coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. One of the best Champions League
finals I’ve watched was between Bayern and Valencia in 2001. It had non-stop
drama and tension and for me by then it was quite a new but exhilarating
experience. The joy when Stefan Effenberg lifted the trophy that night, well,
was just awesome.
Over the
years I’ve endured ridicule from my friends for preaching the Bundesliga and
Bayern Munich gospel. Well, currently the German league in the best managed in
Europe and growing at an amazing rate. I feel very much a part of that too.
Even though Dortmund is currently the force to reckon with, I know it’s just a
matter of time before the Big Red Machine returns to the summit of German
football. The hurt I experienced for a whole month when Bayern lost this year’s
Champions League final to Chelsea at home just further showed that I love this
club so much.
Real Madrid
Once again
Jose Mourinho was the main catalyst. I’m madly in love with Jose’s style of
coaching and of course he always seems to win things. There’s also Cristiano
Ronaldo. I heaved a sigh of relief when he left Manchester United for the
Barnabeu, because I know he’s ridiculously good at what he does and Arsenal was
often a victim of his brilliance unfortunately. So when he and Mourinho teamed up
at Madrid, it was a match made in heaven that I just had
to be a part of.
In
retrospect though, what made me join the Madrid juggernaut was the apathy I
feel for Barcelona. Barca’s ploy to rid Arsenal of our star players hasn’t gone
down well with me. The bloody capture of my idol Cesc Fabregas last year was
the straw that broke my back. What better way to counter that than to support
their sworn enemies? I’m relatively new in the Madrid fold, but this is a bond
that is going to grow stronger with time.
That’s my
story. It’s true you can love more than one club, just like you love your
children. Of course inevitably you’re going to be attached more to one or some,
but the satisfaction you get from supporting them is totally worth it. I don’t
know what a perfect weekend is to you, but for me when Arsenal, Gor Mahia,
Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid win, that’s a perfect weekend that
lays the platform for a perfect week.
