If I was an American, from San Francisco, say, and a massive 49ers fan, but I then had to move to Boston for work/family/affair-with-a-Kennedy/whatever, I’d spend every Sunday thereafter as a fan of the Patriots. All the claret-and-gold shit, the caps, shirts, flags, would be ceremoniously or metaphorically burned and in would come the New England paraphernalia. Its logical (San Francisco is 3,000 miles away) and sensible and; why not?

If a Spurs fan moved to Newcastle, he’d still be a Spurs fan. He might even go watch Newcastle on occasion, but his heart would be 300 miles away in N17. If he moved to Paris, he’d be a Spurs fan. If he moved to fucking Sydney, he’d be a Spurs fan. Its no longer a geographical or convenience issue; its just what you are. I have friends in London who are season ticket holders at Old Trafford and Anfield. I have a mate in Sydney who gets up at 4 in the morning every week to watch Arsenal lose a 2-goal lead to whoever they play. I have another who’s lived in San Diego for decades but comes over to watch ‘important’ Spurs matches (so he doesn’t fly much).

Because football team support over here, probably in all of Europe, is more like affiliation to an army. Its a brotherhood of… probably fools, unless you happen to support Manchester City, for whom your support is unquestioning, undying, unyielding and forever. Its like a marriage with no possibility of divorce, EVER! Even if that relationship becomes controlling, toxic, abusive and destructive.

It is nonsensical, it is hurtful and it is painful. So why do we do it? Why be an Arsenal fan, or a Chelsea fan, or an Everton fan and endure all that discomfort? Or a Spurs fan, possibly the worst because every match, every season, every cup, starts with so much promise and then… and then… and then…

But booing Davinson Sanchez off the pitch on Saturday was a bit much, even amid the immense frustration Spurs fans were feeling at the time. He’s not our best player, never has been, not one to fill anyone with confidence. But that was just cruel. Venting the collective agony onto one guy.

However, that was my ‘brothers’ so united we stand.

God help me.

A xxxx