• 5 months ago
'I set off at 2am, I wouldn't miss this for the world!' US Wolves fans flock to Jacksonville
Transcript
00:00So, what brings you here to Jacksonville?
00:02Well, I've been a Wolves supporter for 15 years. This will be my 15th season.
00:07First time seeing Wolves in person. Very excited. I mean, I drove six hours for this.
00:13I would not miss this.
00:15Yeah, I mean, look, it's been a long, long time since Wolves have been in the USA, so it's pretty special.
00:1841 years. Yeah, it's special for me. I mean, I'm not 41, so I haven't seen Wolves in person.
00:24It's very special for me. I cannot wait for tomorrow.
00:30So, what's it like to see Wolverhampton Wanderers in the United States of America?
00:35Yeah, it's awesome. I got up at 2 o'clock this morning from Cinnabar for California to come all the way out here to Jacksonville, Florida.
00:42The team hasn't come out here for, what, 40 years or so, so to be able to have this opportunity to go see a team that I report play here without having to go to England is awesome.
00:52I had to walk out when I saw Steve Paul. I got a photo of him and I may have shed a tear. He asked me what was wrong with him.
01:04Is it quite crazy seeing Wolves in the United States?
01:07Oh, it's like a huge opportunity for them, especially with all the Wolves fans that we've got over here, all the Wolves fan groups.
01:14For them to actually get a chance to come to Wolves and see them play the home game, it's a fantastic experience.
01:20I've seen a lot of people coming out from the UK as well. That's crazy.
01:24So many of us have come over to support the team and show Gary O'Neill and the new guys love.
01:30I've seen Stan Larson and the new signings come in and do so well.
01:35Obviously, Lamina being named captain today, I think it'll be great to see him.
01:40I've really enjoyed Matheus Cunha's social media presence lately. It's been really nice seeing him welcome Pedro Nema and all that.
01:51It's been great. Really, the whole team. Just really excited to show my support.
01:57What's it like getting up early in the morning and watching Wolves? Have you got a bar you go to? Is it a bit of a club or is it just yourself?
02:03No, it's typically at home. It's the old 3am to 7am coffee along with whatever food you've got.
02:10Maybe it's a morning beer if I'm not working that day. It's definitely great in that respect.
02:15You can start your day off with that and not really have a big personal event.
02:19Who's play are you looking to see the most?
02:22I'm looking for Cunha. I want to see him run a bit. I'd like to see him.
02:30I actually want to see a lot of the young kids. I want to see what we've got. Now we've brought a lot in, I want to see it.
02:38What's it like watching in the US? Is it hard? Have you got a bit of a fan group or a network or is it just yourself?
02:47I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. We have about 20 of us in Charlotte who watch in a bar downtown.
02:54We actually share a bar with the Man City supporters. It was funny outnumbering them. I think that says a lot about Man City.
03:02It is what it is. We have some of them coming in. I love the club and I'm excited to be here.
03:12You look at this bar and it's West Ham and Wolves and yet it's 80-20 in favour of Wolves. It's incredible really.
03:21You wouldn't have thought it, thinking about the United States and where we were 10-15 years ago.
03:28To have all this international fan base now is fantastic. It's served a really good brand.
03:33To show what they've done, not just as a brand, but the style of football we've played over the last few years has really put us on a global scale.
03:40You're about to go and meet and greet and probably have a picture with the greatest number 9 in the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
03:46Yes, I am so excited for that. It really means a lot to me and to all of us who are here that he would come down and say hello to us.
03:59It really does mean a lot. So I'm very, very excited for that.
04:16Wolverhampton Wanderers

Recommended