Offside SoundOff: Tell Us About Your “Fan Crush”

It’s been ages since we’ve done an Offside SoundOff — the posts where you tell us a little bit about the beautiful game in your own life. Let’s remedy that, shall we?

This is the post where you use the comments to tell us about your “Fan Crush.”

A “fan crush” isn’t a crush-crush. Nothing romantic whatsoever. It’s a lot more like a “man-crush,” except it’s not gender-specific, and it’s all about play on the pitch. You might have a fan-crush if any of these apply to you:

• • You follow a club you wouldn’t otherwise care about because you love to watch a single player. Bonus points if you’ve dumped a team after they sold your favorite guy. Or gal — let’s not be sexist. I dragged myself out of bed more than once during the Olympics because I love watching Hope Solo in goal.
• • You lose interest in a game when you discover your player won’t be playing. Or, alternatively, you have watched an entire (otherwise boring) game in the vain hope that your player will be subbed in.
• You read post-match reports only when your player has had a good game.
• You would seriously consider standing in line for two hours with a bunch of twelve-year-olds for an autograph, even if it meant having to tell the player that it’s for a child who just happens to share your name. (Oh, come on, you know you’ve thought about it.)

And yes, I will admit to a few fan crushes. Patrice Evra is literally the only reason I watch Manchester United, and I spend entire matches just waiting for his speedy little zips up the left. And I don’t think I’d ever watch the New York Red Bulls except for Juan Pablo Angel. I have a huge admiration crush on the newly-retired Lilian Thuram — he’s the one I’d considering standing in line for while pretending it was for a daughter/niece/young friend.

My guilty fan-crush? The one I’d never tell people about? Jens Lehmann. I love Mad Jens. I find him endlessly entertaining.

Oh, and of course, last but not least, I have watched a fair number of entire Chelsea games (or worse, entire Bolton games last year) on the off chance that I’ll get to see Nicolas Anelka go one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It’s frequently for naught, but every once in awhile you get this, which makes it all worth it.

**Happy fan-crush sigh**

And now it’s your turn. Tell us about your fan crush. (Or, if that phrase makes you…uncomfortable? Tell us about your favorite player. No crush necessary.)

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Category: World Football