When their club FC Emmen plays football, dad Pieter Elzinga (27) stays at home with his son Jurre and his wife Kim cheers for three in the stadium nearby. Both Kim (26) and Jurre (almost 1) have the serious Duchenne muscle disease.
High profile visitors in Barger-Oosterveld. Mayor Eric van Oosterhout and FC Emmen director Rinse Bleeker are not on the doorstep of a palace, but a brand new king lives here in a beautiful house on Sint Gerardusstraat.
Not to the stadium
Pieter Elzinga, the king in question, is completely taken aback by the unexpected visitor just before dinner. A subtle wink and radiant smile from his wife Kim next to him in the doorway betrays the instigator of the rampage in the driveway. Kim has registered her Pieter as the King of Emmen, a competition by the municipality and the football club to put someone who is always there for others in the orange spotlight. This honorary title for the born Frisian cannot be disputed at all, according to the explanation accompanying the nomination.
“He works long hours as a driver and when he comes home he takes care of me and our son. I am very grateful to him for that,” says Kim. “He loves football. We really wanted to get a season ticket for FC Emmen together, but when our son turned out to be very ill, that was no longer possible. He now stays at home when I go to the stadium with my mother. Of course he sometimes has a hard time with the situation, but he rarely complains. That’s why he is a real king of Emmen.”
Very nice family
The men’s talk of the group with the mayor, club boss and journalists quickly falls silent when everyone hears Kim, Pieter and Jurre’s story. The latter is no less excited about it and, in addition to the FC Emmen scarf that has already been appropriated, would also like to subject the VIP cards for FC Emmen, the framed orange kit with player signatures and the pop cap of the regional broadcaster to a closer inspection.
While grandpa Peter secretly follows the scene in the shared driveway from home, grandma Annette de Ronde films the award ceremony, beaming from a distance. Together with their daughter, they moved from Apeldoorn to Barger-Oosterveld five years ago to share care. “Every day is one for us. We hope that the beautiful little boy will be with us for a long time and will one day walk here. They are a very nice family together,” she says with a proud look to the side.
From king to king
The fun letter of the company bursts out laughing at the next cameraman in front of him. In the meantime, King Pieter the First is short of superlatives. “Great, great, I’m completely overwhelmed.”
On Friday he and Kim will finally go to a home match against MVV and on King’s Day the family will have a special place along the royal route in the center of Emmen. Mayor Van Oosterhout will do his best to arrange a meeting with the Oranges. Pieter: “As king, what do I want to discuss with kings? I’m going to think about that very hard. It’s also just a human being, of course. Jurre’s birthday is two days later and a nice photo with him will be very special.”
