Sam Palerme
My debut season at Highbury was 1990/91. My first as a season-ticket holder was 1997/98. 22 years going to The Arsenal, the last 15 as a season-ticket holder. Before this season, I’d only ever missed one competitive game at The New Home of Football, a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb at the start of the first season in our new home, a game in which Eduardo scored for the opposition. And then I moved to Sydney.
Before leaving, I attended the opening game of the season against Sunderland and it was surreal. Summer was over and football had returned with its usual dosage of high hopes and unrealistic expectations for the season ahead, but this time I knew I wouldn’t be there to witness it unfold. I landed in Sydney on 1st September and my journey as an overseas supporter began.
On many an occasion I have read or listened to the debate as to who is the bigger, better, or more passionate supporter. Is it the supporter paying thousands of pounds for season-tickets and away-day adventures? Or is it the ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ supporter outside of London, especially those overseas?
Having experienced it from both perspectives I find it hard to divide the two. For those who say they dedicate the time and energy to attend games, to watch The Arsenal, I say try waking up at 2am on a regular basis to watch a game; it shows just as much desire, especially when that game finishes at 4am and you’ve just lost 0-2 at home to Swansea! For those who say they buy merchandise every season, well so do those overseas, and, what’s more, the cost is far greater; a replica shirt here in Australia costs a lot more than buying it from The Armoury – it’s no wonder Gazidis & Co. target the Asia Pacific and other far away shores. And when it comes to knowledge and understanding, of the game, of our club, of English football as a whole? Well, the overseas supporters I’ve met are just as much ‘in the know’ as some of the halfwits I’ve met back home in London, or at games for that matter.
So there is only one thing I’ve never really understood – how does someone overseas becomes an Arsenal fan in the first place? Normally it’s one of family, friends, or geographical location that results in your first attending an Arsenal game. So how do those without these connections come to choose The Arsenal? I guess there is no real answer; everyone has their own reason, a story to tell, and just because they live outside of London doesn’t make that reason or story any less valid or any less special. No matter where you live in the world, how long you’ve supported The Arsenal, or how you came to love our great club in the first place, all that matters is ‘once a Gooner, always a Gooner’…and God knows, at this current moment in time, we need all the passion, support, and belief we can get.
Follow me on twitter Twitter @Palerme12 or visit www.thatsumsitallup.com
