The fans are an essential part of sport. Many times it has been heard from players or coaches that they do what they do on the pitch because of the people who support them from the stands.
This only means that spectators play an important role during matches in stadiums. For those fans who do not have the possibility of going to the stadium and supporting their favorite team, either due to geographical distance (as in this case), there are groups called ‘fan clubs’.
This so-called group has the particularity of meeting in one place with other supporters of the same team and watching their favorite club’s games together. In Panama, there are many fan clubs, for example, the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL).
This group, which is made up of approximately more than 200 people, usually meets in Teka Panamá and enjoys the 49ers games. In an interview with La Estrella de Panamá, the president of this fan club, José Carlo Guerrero, revealed how this initiative to bring together all Niners fans and enjoy the matches together was born.
“This club was born from an initiative of two people. In my case, I have always identified with the 49ers since 1984. People who came to my house saw that I had many items from the team and said: ‘Wow, you are a super Niners fan, you are the number one fan,’ but I told them “I said it couldn’t be, that there have to be more fans somewhere.”
“One day I told myself that I was going to create a WhatsApp group, I would add the friends I know so that they could also invite other acquaintances of the 49ers to the group. One day I went to a club to watch the game and I met more fans of the team. To my surprise, they also had a group and I told them the idea of uniting both groups and that’s how it happened. “This is how this 49ers fan club was born,” Guerrero said.
One of the founders of this group also commented that their main objective is for more people to join their cause, which is to “share with other fans.”
“One of the things that motivated me was knowing that there were more fans in Panama. Despite having a space to watch the games at my house, I realized that it is good to enjoy the games with other people, get to know each other and do different activities,” she expressed.
Guerrero also took the opportunity to state that there are no regulations to join the group, they just have to be 49ers fans. “Personally, I recruit people I see wearing the colors or a San Francisco item and ask them if they want to participate. There is no membership or anything, it is simply being willing to be in the chat.”
This group of fans never miss a 49ers date. Whatever the day of the week, they get together and enjoy the plays of Brock Purdy, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle or Fred Warner. “We get together for all the 49ers games. Whether it’s a Thursday Night Football or a Monday Night, we are always here to watch their games,” Guerrero said.
Within the American football community, the league itself is also responsible for recognizing fan clubs around the world. This is something that this group of fans from Panama will also seek to obtain, to be recognized by the NFL as a fan club.
“We found out that the NFL can recognize fan clubs. We have already started the process for the league to recognize us as the 49ers fan club in the country. I have a feeling that the NFL wants to internationalize more, I know we are a small market for them. They recently announced that they will have a game in Brazil, they already play games in Mexico, London, Germany and perhaps they could do some type of off-season activity in our country. So that not only Panamanians attend, but also that people from Central America visit us. Meanwhile, we get together and enjoy the 49ers games,” Guerrero said.
2023-12-26 05:00:00
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