Football fanatics: going to the extreme to cheer on your team

Picture yourself in a thrilling dilemma that every die-hard football fan can relate to: it’s the day of your cousin’s wedding, a joyous occasion filled with love and celebration. But wait, there’s a twist – it coincides with the most anticipated football game of the season. Now, you’re faced with a decision. Do you honour your family and attend the wedding, or do you risk the consequences and defy expectations by skipping the event to witness your team’s epic showdown on the field?

In the past, football aficionados have found themselves in this very predicament, torn between tradition and passion. Some have boldly chosen to stay true to their football fervour, sacrificing social niceties to cheer on their beloved team from the comfort of their living rooms. Others have reluctantly put aside their jerseys, missing out on the thrill of the game to uphold societal norms.

Enter Showmax Premier League. Fans can now stream every electrifying Premier League match live on their mobile devices, ensuring that no special moment or crucial game is missed.

Join us this week as Showmax delves into the wild and wacky tales of nine football fans who have gone to extraordinary lengths, from skipping weddings and birthdays to forgoing funerals, and even rearranging work meetings and other schedules all in the name of their undying love for the game.

Abdullah Cassim

Us Liverpool fans are die-hard. We hardly ever miss a game, and I wasn’t planning to, even on one of the most important days of my life.

In 2019, I was sitting at home on a weekday evening watching Liverpool in action. The first 15 minutes were super intense and so all my focus was on my game.

My wife calmly walks into the TV room and tells me that she thinks that her water broke. Bear in mind, we had just been to the hospital that afternoon and had booked her in for a C-section for a few days later.

At this point, I felt like she was just stressing too much for no reason, and so I told her to relax. I continued to watch the game, and waited until half time to drive her to the hospital. I watched the second half of the game while my wife was getting labour pains in hospital.

Safe to say, we welcomed a baby Scouser not long after the full-time whistle. My wife still holds a grudge that I waited till half-time to take her to hospital!

Eli Lechtman

In 2012 I made the choice to miss my child’s birthday to travel to the UK to watch Liverpool in action. Unfortunately, my team didn’t end up winning, which made the decision to miss my child’s birthday even worse.

Mo

I arrived late at my wedding because I was watching Liverpool in a very important game. Safe to say the wife wasn’t impressed.

Vivian Caseletti

I came close to missing a close friend’s wedding to watch my team live. However, I ended up going to the wedding because I couldn’t get a flight overseas. It was a spur of the moment idea to go and watch the game, but I’m glad I got to go to my friend’s wedding.

Dipal

I will never ever forget my wedding anniversary. Now hang on, it’s not because that day marks the day I got married to the love of my life. No, no. I’ll always remember it because it was the day Alisson Becker, our goalkeeper, scored a cracking header against West Brom to revive our top-four hopes. I was at my wedding when the drama was unfolding at the Hawthorns. I snuck away from my own wedding to catch the action unfolding. My wife is yet to forgive me.

Anonymous

The reason I chose not to share my name is because till this day I kind of regret my decision and feel a little embarrassed about it too. I chose to watch my beloved Man United lift a Premier League trophy on the day of my mother’s funeral. I arrived late at her funeral as I was watching the game and the trophy lift. I hope she’s forgiven me.

Nabeel Kolia

I ventured into the heart of enemy territory at the Etihad Stadium to witness Liverpool and Man City. Surrounded by a sea of hostile home fans, the tension in the air was palpable.

Little did I know, fate had a twisted sense of humour in store for me. As the match unfolded, my beloved Liverpool suffered a devastating 5-0 defeat at the hands of their rivals. The echoes of the home crowd’s triumphant roars reverberated through the stadium, a bitter reminder of the crushing loss.

In that moment of defeat, amidst the sea of jubilant Man City supporters, a question lingered in my mind like a fog: was my bold venture into enemy territory a courageous act of devotion or a misguided folly? Should I have rather stayed home, and watched a sitcom instead?

Abbas Kaloo

I don’t ever miss a game, no matter where I am or what I am doing. So when I found myself in the Maldives enjoying a heavenly holiday, I knew that the only way for me to fully enjoy my vacation was if I watched my team play. The only problem is, that our hotel wasn’t showing it. I am not even sure Maldives broadcasts the Premier League.

So I took the drastic measure of calling my cousin on video call. I made him place his phone in front of the TV while I watched the game through our video call. Despite it not being the clearest, I was delighted that I didn’t miss my team in action.

Anonymous

As an avid Chelsea supporter, there are extreme lengths I would go to for certain games or matches. Chelsea were playing Manchester United a few years ago and we had beat them by 1-0. Eden Hazard had scored the only goal. It was an earlyish goal (penalty, if I am not mistaken, even though he was not our regular penalty taker at the time), and my stress levels were very high as I had convinced myself that we were going to concede. Thankfully, we did not. That very same day was a good friend of mine’s birthday party. I had told her that I had a meeting at a football club as I was going to assist with the kids playing at a tournament. There was no tournament, but I did in fact go to a football club to watch the game.

When Eden Hazard left Chelsea in 2019, my heart was absolutely broken. I knew it was coming. I knew Real Madrid has won him over. He had given us seven glorious years at Chelsea. My heart was never ready for it. I cried for a week. I took a “sick” day from work and just cried my eyes out!

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