Ёжик — Who is who

Cinema and music stars often also support some football teams. They come to favorite team’s matches, write football hymns and support football players with their attention.

In all countries fans sing songs after the victory of their favorite team. Traditional song for all football fans is “Queen” band’s “We are the champions” song. It is unofficial football fanaticism’s hymn. Every football fan knows its texts from his early ages. And it doesn’t matter that song is not about football but about friendship.

Football fanaticism is like hobby. It helps people to forget about their problems. And real football fans keep tickets from all the matches, which they visited. It is very important moment, because fans try to visit every match of their favorite team.

But football fanatism has some ponderable disadvantages. Football matches often end with violent fights between fans of competing teams. So if you go to football matches, never buy tickets for the place behind the goals, because “ultras” (most aggressive fans) usually sit there.

In 1985 in Belgia, Brussels on “Aisle” stadium was going final cup football competition. Italian “Uventus” played against English “Liverpool”. Police seat fans of both teams on the same stand divided in two parts by metal barriers and protected only by ten policemen. After 85th minute the score was «0:0». Penalty in «Liverpool» goals was allotted and fans started great brawls as a protest. There was awful throng on the stands. In the long run there were 85 people killed. After this terrible event all English teams were refused from international competitions for five years. And now fans of opposite clubs are always seated in different stands.

Sometimes fans stand against their own team and football players hear angry exclamations. The reason can be different. Fans can be displeased with players’ injuries unfounded coaches’ actions, legionnaire’s surplus and very high payment for tickets. But usually football fans look up to their favorite teams, support them and even fight with other fans for championship of they team.

Football fans also like to write articles and publish handmade magazines called hool-zines. Each team has more than one magazine. They are published on money earned by team’s attributes selling, given by accidental sponsors and on fan’s own money. They are distributed on the way to matches and at special shops of football clubs. Football fans write about their meetings, binges and brawls, about coaches’ unfairness and so on. Favorite theme is who was beaten and in what way. And at the end of the season “National Bullies’ League” sums up points, which was given to every team’s fans for their brawls.

One of the oldest hook-zine is ЦСКА’s “Russian fan bulletin”. It has been published since 1990 in 999 copies. Besides to single-teamed magazines there are united hool-zines, for example “Young pages”. Although “bullies” fight with each other, football fans are all together.