Fan Travels Five Times around the World to Support Scottish Third Division Club

I always admire people who are passionate about obscure things and that are crazy enough to schedule their lives around their passion. Barry Archer fits that description. The 50-year-old regularly makes a 750-mile round trip just to watch the Scottish Third Division side Berwick Rangers play. Since 1997, he has attended 160 games and has logged an impressive 120,000 miles of travel all in an effort to see a club that on a good day attracts 500 fans.

My favorite part of this story is how Barry became Berwick Barmy. He wasn’t born in the town so he isn’t required to root for his hometown team like many of us are. Instead, he had no links to the town other than a visit back in 1979 when he was at Berwick’s speedway when an announcement was made that Rangers had won promotion. He began following the team in the papers and after attending a match in 1994 an addiction was born.

He doesn’t have to attend matches, he could support a club closer to his home, yet he still chooses to make a 17-hour journey every other week. How sweet is that!

Berwick Rangers in themselves are an interesting story. The town is on the English side of the border, but the team plays in the Scottish Football League because of its proximity to Scotland. With just two losses from 19 games the team is currently tied with East Fife at the top of the table.

Some Related Stories:

Category: Scottish Premier League