I am not a Chelsea FC fan.
Really. I am not. I am only wearing this t-shirt because it looks good on me and goes with my skin tone. I am not even a football fan. The last time I sat down to see a full – length football match was the 1994 World Cup game between Nigeria and Bulgaria. It was one way to show my patriotism and I also wanted to get a feel of the ‘unifying bond’ that I heard football brings along with it. Believe me, I did not pay a kobo for this t – shirt. So how did I get here? Wearing this t-shirt and denying the club it represents? My beau is a sports fan. Tennis (table & lawn), cricket, golf, rugby, snooker, athletics, seasonal swimming…and football. He is the Chelsea fan. A true blue. Like all the other sports he’s interested in, he can talk extensively about football but, most especially, about Chelsea FC – its players, its playing, its highs & lows, its history and its managers. Not surprisingly, he loves Jose Mourinho. One of his first club t-shirts was a black and white creation with the inscription ‘Special One’ written behind. He was not an entirely happy man during the years Mourinho was away from Chelsea. My beau also had a lanyard and a scarf. Paraphernalia of the club that were things around his neck on the days Chelsea played and days they didn’t. His daughter, T, was first introduced to this passion of his days after she was born when he named her after the club. And I knew something wasn’t right when, a year after marriage, I could name all the players on the field and on the bench! Tufiakwa! Where did that come from? I don’t even like football! But, for a little less than 10 years, I have lived with a football enthusiast. That enthusiasm seems to be slowly rubbing off on me. I won’t let it! I have caught myself sitting through a few minutes of a game and listening to my beau’s praise or sudden burst of exclamation in anger at”more
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