10 ways to spot a new football fan during the FIFA World Cup

Yes! It’s the FIFA World Cup, football fans around the world are as excited as a1 year old kid who is excited about everything. Office going people are getting a new shift so that they can watch the matches at ease, school going kids are fighting with their parents to watch the games and college going kids, well they are just doing what they normally do – stay up late and bunk classes.

But the number of fans that has popped up on social media is amazing, people whom you would never expect to share things related to football will be doing the same.

It irks some of the more passionate fans, but they also tend to have some fun with the scarce knowledge of these new fans.

Here are some of the things you encounter now due to the World Cup.

1. If they know the name of one player from a team then that’s the team they’ll be supporting. So the safest bets are Brazil, Argentina and Portugal – Also read as Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo.
2. They’ll know a few football terms and they’ll be using it at first chance they get. It’s very likely that they will shout penalty if a player goes down in the box.
3. Swear at the referees. After the controversial refereeing decision in the opening game, most of the new fans have now realized that if a team loses, blame the referee. If a penalty was given then argue that it wasn’t.
4. If there is a nasty tackle on the pitch they’ll react to it harshly than anyone else, they’ll probably throw in some swear words too.
5. If a goal goes in, they’ll probably go nuts, even though they may have no clue who scored the goal. They’ll just be shouting out the team name.
6. The newbies will be the first one to change their social media pictures to that of football players – Read as Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar or to the flag of Argentina, Portugal and Brazil.
7. If you try to have a proper footballing conversation with any of these fans, they’ll say “Quiet, I’m watching the game, watch some football man and talk less” – You will probably sit with a poker face at this point.
8. They’ll ask you questions about things they know, if you go deep into it, they will say “I know that, I just wanted to see if you knew the same, enough now let’s watch the game”.
9. There is a very good chance that one of these people will ask you this during a group stage match – “The match ended in a draw right, so how do they decide who won the game?”
10. They will go along with almost anything you say with a good nod.

Even though we encounter so many fans like this today, it’s amazing to see how a sporting event can spark the interest of so many people, I wonder how this nation will react the day India take part in a World Cup.