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And there comes to an end another tumultuous weekend for a footy fan, especially for a footy fan whose team lost and are battling to avoid the drop. I am a Newcastle United football fan and being a Newcastle fan is probably the best thing that has happened to him. As our great manager Sir Bobby Robson once said, “A club should be about the passion, the noise and the feeling of belonging” for a footy fan. The love that the fan has for the club is inexplicable. And I am a firm believer of the above words.
The everyday battles for me before every Newcastle match starts immediately after the previous match gets over. I would like to make it clear to all the readers that the battles that I have to overcome are in no way comparable to the hard work that the players or the coaches have to put in everyday. But it is a desperate attempt of a helpless footy fan who wants to do everything that he believes is in his control and is in someway connected to his team’s performance on the field. I am of the belief that everything that I do as part of my daily routine has an impact on the performance of my team.
It may sound childish or immature or, to a certain extent, even absurd but if my experience is anything to go by, these things do have an impact. Right from the first day of the week till the next kick off, I see to it that I do not exude a lot of enthusiasm or talk up my team’s chances of winning in the next match while in discussion with fans of other clubs. If anything, I try to make sure that I keep a low profile (even though I hate every other club apart from Newcastle) when in conversation with other fans. This becomes extremely hard when your team is performing well on the field as I found out last week. I also make sure that I do not miss any of the things that form a part of my routine. This ranges from the daily activities like going to college regularly, trying to give it my best everyday during class and being perfect when it comes to submissions and tests. The only thing that makes me do these things is not because it is mandatory or would help me build a career, but because of having witnessed my team lose matches from winning positions whenever I haven’t followed the routine.
The hardest battle is the battle that I have to face in controlling my thoughts and actions when being provoked in general, but especially by fans of other teams, because I believes that by not hurling abuses at the other fans, my team is going to be benefited on the pitch. And after facing this uphill battle during the week, match day arrives and it has to be perfect. I have to make sure that my mood is pleasant throughout the day and in order to do that, I have to make sure that I do not have an argument of any sort with any member of my family. It would have been easier if I had been living alone but because I stay with my family, it takes a lot of patience to make them understand the importance of things being perfect on match day. There are certain variables in this context. These things vary from season to season. These variables have their impact after kick off and for the duration of the match. For instance, the variables for this season are as follows :
- When the match is on, it is mandatory for me to sit on a particular chair and place the TV remote, my mobile phone and an empty water bottle in a certain position.
- The main door and the laptop need to be shut and the window in the kitchen needs to be kept open.
- And most importantly, there should not be an inquiry from the family members to change the channel when the match is on. And if there is such an inquiry, I have to make sure that remain calm, oblige and not check on the match score till full time.
- During the match, I cannot be too loud when I celebrate the goals scored by my team because of my belief that it would upset my family members, which would lead to my team losing. Therefore, I make sure that even if I have a loud outburst when the ball goes in to the back of the net, I calm the people around me. Once the final whistle is blown, I, along with analyzing the mistakes made by the team, also analyse my own mistakes if the team is on the losing side, and cannot forgive myself until I get it right for the next match.
Many of the readers may suggest that Newcastle should have been top of the table if these things do have an impact and if it is followed regularly, but as is mentioned above, there are these variables that change from season to season and the discovery of these variables takes some time. And in certain cases, I come to know of my mistakes only after the team loses.
Looking at what this article describes, many of the readers may have a feeling that I am hell bent on making my life complicated, but I feel my life is pretty simple. It is governed by one thing and one thing alone and that is glory to Newcastle United.
