The Right Jersey at the Right Time
May 27th 2010
Matt Smith

So, I am not a sports fan…certainly not a good one.  I don’t know stats, I don’t know rosters, I barely follow any team on television unless ample opportunity is provided…and even then.  I understand this is strange and largely unaccountable as I come from Canada where fanship is nearly constitutional.  No, I don’t have a favourite hockey team.  Canada, please don’t disown me.  Despite my weaknesses in this area, I have always been partial soccer and have always enjoyed watching the Chelsea side play in the Premiership.  I even own a Didier Drogba jersey.
So, as the Blues tore through Wigan 8-0 in the league final and Didier Drogba took the Golden Boot award for most goals, excitement began to rise as the FA Cup loomed on the horizon.  There was no doubt; I was wearing the right jersey.  A 2-0 victory over Portsmouth secured Chelsea the FA Cup and their second trophy of the year.kids playing soccer
    In light of my pathetic standing as a fan, however, my emotions fluctuated between humour and alarm when I was asked to join the Kabala Chelsea Fan Club.  Turns out that football is rather large here in Sierra Leone and the Chelsea buffs have formed a fan club, perhaps among the most highly organized groups in the city.  I reluctantly agreed, because really, how could you not?
    This was enough incentive for the Chelsea fan club-which I was now apart of-to plan a huge party at one of the discos in town.  This was all fine; I agreed to go, pitched in with a little cash for the cost and planning seemed to moving along nicely.
    Not too long after all this I was biking through the centre of town with Melissa when I heard my name booming out, “Mattew Smit (they sometimes have trouble pronouncing the th) of CAUSE Canada will be there.”  After a moment of confusion I realized that I have arrived.  I am big in Sierra Leone.  Well, maybe not, but I certainly became a mainstay in the fan club’s advertising for the party.  Any time I rode through the roundabout my name was called, when they drove through the town inviting people my name was announced all the way down our street.
This has made me contemplate relationship building (again) in a cross-cultural setting; how can you know what to expect?  It can be difficult to understand how to fit in when you so obviously don’t.  But, if you keep your eyes open, you will always find ways to be a part of community…even if it scares you a little.  But then, I suppose relationship building in any context takes a little risk…
The party was great, lots of music, lots of dancing, I got a shout-out over from the DJ, a nice little shindig, and all because I was wearing the right jersey at the right time.