Why Roma? I asked. “My husband found this shirt in between destroyed houses of San Jose district.“ In ruins of Tacloban, thousands of zombie-like survivors loiter. The super typhoon hit the coast and people’s lives were pulverized to the smallest bits from which they would have to rebuild everything. I’ve seen it before, I know the pattern – to have their old lives back, the high … Continue reading ROMA, MAIMAI
Why Liverpool? I asked. “Liverpool has been my team since I was a little girl growing up in Minnesota.” Sometimes I don’t desire to find out more than what strangers tell me right after I ask the question, so not to spoil the story I imagine. I don’t know if Britania was just visiting New York, like me, or she lives there now. I don’t … Continue reading LIVERPOOL, BRITANIA
Why Chelsea? I asked. “It’s my team ever since I was a kid.” For a few blocks we were overtaking each other at intersections, Nick on his skateboard and I on my bicycle. Finally, we were stopped by a red light and I asked him about his jersey. Nick was just visiting, for a weekend, from Toronto, and doesn’t have much time for soccer. Then … Continue reading CHELSEA, NICK
Why LA Galaxy? I asked. “I know nothing about football. I’ve got this shirt from a friend”. Locked behind the bars of a cage made of bamboo sticks, 23 year old Taung Lon shivers under his filthy blanket. It is his first week at the Youth for Christ centre for heroin addict and tropical heat is not enough to make him warm in a moment … Continue reading LA GALAXY, TAUNG LON
Why Dutch? I asked. “For all of my life I’ve been a Barça and Netherlands supporter. My father encountered the sublime at the World Cup in West Germany 1974…I was born in November of that year in New York, this shirt was my destiny. My parents are from an island, Antigua, that in those days was colonized by the English. But my father, headstrong like … Continue reading Netherlands, Rowan
Why Hajduk? I asked. “I had no idea about Hajduk before my friend gave me this shirt. However, since then I became interested in the club, and that beautiful city in Croatia.” To my great surprise, Yuya came that day to work wearing a snow white Hajduk shirt. He said good morning and quietly sat to have our usual tasteless bowl of miso soup and rice for … Continue reading HAJDUK SPLIT, YUYA
Why EST? I asked. “That’s my home team.” It always gives me a great pleasure when I meet someone wearing a jersey of a team I really know nothing about. Karim came to Montreal two years ago. We had brief chat about the World Cup qualifiers while his three companions patiently waited and helped in directing him to pose for the camera. In coming weeks … Continue reading ESPÉRANCE DE TUNIS, KARIM
Why Schalke 04? I asked. “I don’t know Schalke. This is Adidas.” It’s five in the morning and I’m having my first coffee at a street café in downtown Phnom Penh. Across the table from me, wearing a blue Schalke 04 shirt sits a man who can easily be an actor or a professional poker player. His face is like a rock, his left eye … Continue reading FC SCHALKE 04, WONG MENG
Why Liverpool? I asked. “Because I started dating Lev.” Smadar fell in love with Liverpool through her love for Lev. The amount of love in this post surely beats all the predecessors so I’ll leave it at that. Continue reading LIVERPOOL, SMADAR
Why Milan? I asked. “I like Milan and Barcelona. Because of Ronaldinho.” Zack was rushing down the street in a company of a young woman when I approached him. Even though in a rush, he was kind to stop for a picture. Ho got his shirt on sale, he said. He is from Montreal and currently studies at the Université de Montréal. And now that … Continue reading MILAN, ZACK
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