Growing up, I watched countless soccer games with my dad. He taught me a lot about the sport and opened my eyes and fueled my attraction to it.
Being from Nigeria, of course we all support the Nigerian national team. But on the level of clubs, my brother, my dad and I each support different teams.
The most-watched soccer league in the world is the Premier League, and I support Manchester United —the most globally popular club— while my brother supports Tottenham Hotspur, and my dad supports Arsenal. Funnily enough, those three teams are rivals.
Essentially, none of us have any real connections to these teams —they are all based in England — but we are drawn to these teams for many reasons outside of just hometown support.
For me personally, the vibe of Manchester United just clicks. Growing up, the players were like superheroes. Everyone of them seemed so cool to me. Over the years I have grown attached to following the club and watching them week in and week out.
On a bigger scale, I don’t think this is a bad thing. Some people don’t have the privilege of supporting a local team, much like myself. Finding a team that you resonate with is important because hometown loyalty isn’t really what make you connected — it’s more about the club and how they make you feel when you watch them.
I think it is the same for popular athletes. Nowadays, you don’t have to go in person to watch a game to see your favorite player play. Almost every single game is streamed online. You can look up multiple clips of your favorite player on YouTube and can even follow their progress through their social media platforms.
Personally, my favorite player to watch growing up was Lionel Messi. Messi is the best soccer player ever, but for many personal reasons you could call it wrong that I support him. For starters, his birth country is completely different than mine. Argentina has beat Nigeria in many world tournaments sending us home. He’s also scored against and beat some of my favorite soccer team multiple times in domestic tournaments. It makes no sense that I love him as much as I do.
I think thats the beauty of being a modern-day sports fan. I don’t have to go see them live or have any real alliance with the athlete. I can simply just enjoy watching the athlete or teams play. At the end of the day, a sports team is for entertainment and if you are entertained and enjoying yourself then who cares?
In our generation, it’s just how things are. Every team has a social media platform and wants to expand their team globally. Even a small soccer clubs in the United States have a social media platform and are looking to spread and make their clubs bigger —which is great. It helps build up a community and draw attention.
So back to my original question: are you a fan or a follower? I think those two words are synonymous. Being a follower doesn’t make you any less of a fan. Just because you are local and have the privilege to watch a team live all the time doesn’t make the person halfway across the world watching on Youtube any less of a fan. At the end of the day you both are doing the exact same thing— supporing the game that you love.
