Far Flung Fans
Friday 27th August 2010
This week scottishfootballleague.com reached new heights with visitors to the site logging in from 120 countries. We have been working behind the scenes to contact some of these visitors and have asked our ‘Far Flung Fans’ to take part in a short questionnaire about the joys of following a SFL side from miles away because after all, the SFL is the Home of Real Football.
We have included details of our answers from Ross County’s Roman fan and from a leading member of Clyde fans group, The Clyde Exiles, who is based a wee bit closer to home in Benbecula.
A number of other fans have also come forward, with Clyde and Ayr United fans seeming to travel the world more than anyone else, and we will feature them throughout the season.
If you would like to show how far your loyalty has stretched for the club that you support, please e-mail sfldailyupdate@live.co.uk
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Name
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Marco Cinquegrana.
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Occupation
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Lawyer – criminal matters.
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Where do you presently live?
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Roma.
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Which SFL team do you support?
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Ross County.
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How long have you supported this club?
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Since 1997.
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Why did you choose to support Ross County?
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I wrote in an Italian magazine about this little team called Ross County. That started my interest and now I follow them. I spend all Saturday from 3.00 p.m. looking for updates from a Ross County game.
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When was the last time you saw Ross County play?
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At Hampden against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup Final on 15th May, 2010.
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Who is your favourite all time Ross County player?
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Striker Alex Bone.
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What is your favourite game?
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Ross County against Hibs in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final replay.
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Are there any other SFL supporters nearby?
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A friend of mine, Domenico, who was with me in Scotland, started to get interested in Ross County.
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What are your hopes for the new season?
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I would like Ross County to finish in the top three, anything above that is a great. We need to get a couple of players in to help the defence to be more competitive.
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What message do you have for Derek Adams and other Ross County fans?
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Keep building a team for the SPL and we will be there in a couple of years. The fans will always be your twelfth player.
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What is the favourite other ground you have visited in Scotland?
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Ibrox.
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What team do you support in Italy?
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I’m a massive Inter Milano fan. I used to go to watch them six or seven times in a season, mostly when they play in Roma or nearby.
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How does football compare?
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Extremely different. I enjoy the atmosphere of Scottish football. At Hampden at the Scottish Cup Final back in May, it was incredible.
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Can you get IRN-BRU in Italy?
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Not seen it in Roma.
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Have you watched sfl.tv yet?
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Yes, saw Ross County’s goals against Livingston but also the defeat from Falkirk. Hopefully, I will see more wins than defeats on sfl.tv.
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Name
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Bryan Macpherson.
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Occupation
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MSP’s Constituency Assistant.
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Where do you presently live?
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Benbecula, Outer Hebrides.
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Which SFL team do you support?
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Clyde.
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How long have you supported this club?
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24 years.
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Why did you choose to support Clyde?
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Living in Firhill and North Kelvinside as an impressionable youngster in the mid 80s was the crucial factor. I never had any inclination to follow Thistle, so if Clyde hadn’t been evicted from Shawfield and lodged in Firhill, I’ve no idea what would have happened!
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When was the last time you saw them play?
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A couple of weeks ago in Hampden beating Queen’s Park 1-0.
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Who is your favourite all time Clyde player?
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Keith Knox. Living in Stranraer throughout his time with Clyde, he must have clocked up more miles than any player has for any other club.
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What is your favourite game?
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I doubt there are many Clyde fans would say anything other than the day we knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup.
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Are there any other SFL supporters nearby?
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None nearby. People mistakenly think that there ought to be supporters of the Highland teams here but Benbecula is closer to Greenock than to Inverness so there’s no basis for that assumption.
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How do you keep in touch with Clyde fans?
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I get to games fairly regularly so I’m never really “out of touch”. For the games I can’t get to, I meet up with other exiled Clyde fans online and relay the information in texts and phone calls from the match to them. We have our own website at www.clyde-exiles.com and currently sponsor Clyde’s away shirt.
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What are your hopes for the new season?
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Simply to go a full year without hearing that our survival is in doubt again.
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What message do you have for Stuart Millar and other Clyde fans?
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Don’t pin any hopes on extending the squad. We don’t need to find a superstar at this level. Teamwork, commitment and the 12th man will do the job just fine.
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What is the favourite other ground you have visited in the SFL?
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Pre-modernisation, that would have been Broomfield. I don’t like any of the modern stadiums enough to pick a favourite.
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What do you think of sfl.tv?
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Mixed emotions. Quality and content are excellent but I can’t watch it without asking why I could see my club on TV any Saturday night if I supported a team in the bottom tier of English Football but everyone supporting a club from the second tier of Scottish football down has to find footage online. BBC ALBA’s coverage is also worth a special mention……especially given the novelty of hearing commentary in my native tongue.
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Can you get IRN-BRU in the Hebrides?
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Of course, but not in glass bottles!
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