We all know how the choice of which football team to support can impact your entire life. From the moment you commit to one side, you set yourself up for the roller-coaster ride of a football fan with the ups and the downs, soon discovering that a result can define your entire weekend and even your week.
So to decide on the team to support whilst playing a video game is surely not common, although this is exactly what happened to Daniel Peever in 2006.
“The 2006 World Cup saw a close friend of mine, a Manchester United fan, get me into football that summer.
As time went on, we used to play FIFA against each other online and I never took any of the “big names” and often played against him with Villa.
The following year, 2007/08, season saw me really want to actually get into following a team and the football. It made sense for me to go with the team whose players I knew and I started supporting the Villa!”
The 27-year-old, from Thunder Bay, Ontario in Canada, has spent the last eight years supporting the Villans and, despite living more than 3,600 miles away from Villa Park, he has still managed to make a trip to watch his beloved Villa in each of the last five seasons. This is made even more impressive when you consider that Thunder Bay is a 450 mile drive from any major Canadian city and it takes a two-hour internal plane journey just to get to the Canadian capital.
“All matches start with a two hour flight to Toronto and then a seven hour flight to Heathrow followed up by a two hour train ride via Reading to Birmingham New Street.
When I am actually on English soil I generally stay with my good mate Mike when I am attending home matches. We just drive up from Ladywood and park or get his lovely wife to drive us and deal with us after.
As for away days, I have gone mostly with the Addies’ coach travel but I have also done a trip with the Kidderminster Lions as well.”
These trips have even included the Canadian taking in the breath-taking performance in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool last season, which is Daniel’s highlight of supporting the midlands giants.
“This past season I was going to take a season off from going to see the Villa but then we got to the FA Cup semi-final. A good mate of mine convinced me after a few pints that I needed to fly over for the semi-final so I booked a ticket and got a match ticket sorted shortly thereafter!
Considering how rarely we get to Wembley these days and our last run of results there in the Martin O’Neill days, I’ll admit I was not fancying our prospects going into it. During the last ten minutes I felt like I was going to vomit the entire time, then the whistle went and we’d won; it was pure magic. It will take a lot to ever top that, especially given the state of the club at the moment.”
Not many have found the last few seasons amusing in the slightest but it was during the spell of Alex McLeish that Daniel experienced the funniest moment of his football supporting days.
“Four seasons ago, under McLeish, Mike and myself were on the way up to Manchester United away with him driving. I had bought him the ticket as a little thank you as I spent several nights at his. I had a few cans in his garden before we hit a shop in Lozells and picked up eight cans of Stella Artois for the drive up.
On the way I suddenly felt the urge to use the toilet but of course I mentioned it right as we passed the exit for the services. We continued on and of course the M6 turned into what everyone, except me at the time, knew it for… a car park. I began to chain smoke and fidget non-stop trying not to wet myself. Finally, I told Mike either he’d have to pull over or it’s going to happen all over the floor.
I was warned of an £80 fine and said I’d pay if he got it, just pull over! Back in the car feeling great, we drove away and were about half of a mile down the M6 when I realised something was missing. My wallet was no longer in my pocket! I got Mike to pull over and I began the long, awkward walk down the side of the M6 back to the scene of the crime. Sure enough, I got there and there’s my wallet just to the right of the water rapids with my coins all over the place but everything else still together. It wasn’t one of my brighter moments. Thankfully, Mike was never fined and I’ve never lost my wallet since!”
When choosing his favourite players he has seen pull on the claret and blue jersey, the Canadian’s list would not have been as long as many but he has still picked a very strong side in a traditional 4-4-2 formation.
Shay Given
Carlos Cuellar Olof Mellberg Ciaran Clark Wilfred Bouma
James Milner Stiliyan Petrov Jordan Veretout Ashley Young
John Carew Christian Benteke
Manager – Martin O’Neill
Distance to Villa Park – 3,662 miles.
