• Many fans have been reduced to tears after their favourite teams lost
• Others resort to drastic measures, such as suicide and violence
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
"Hii ni hujuma! Sisi mafans ndo tunaumia!" The words of Stephen Samuel, a fan of Tanzania football giants Yanga FC, have become a tagline to describe the anguish many go through when their favourite team loses.
Samuel became an Internet sensation eight years ago when a video of him crying like a baby after Yanga lost a football match went viral. As a journalist tried to get his views on the match, he could not withhold the anger and frustration within him, and so he wept loudly as other fans around him watched in bewilderment.
Samuel's tears is a language any football fan globally can understand fluently. Ask any Brazilian fan and he/she will tell you that 2014 is a year they would wish to forget in a huff.
It is a reminder of the national team's heaviest defeat in a major tournament — a 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the 2014 World Cup. To rub salt into their wounds, Brazil were the hosts of the tournament and had been tipped beforehand to go all the way and lift the trophy.
The picture of an elderly fan being consoled by his granddaughter will live long in the memory of football folklore in the South American giant. Such is the pain we go through for the game we love dearly.
At the beginning of the 2021-22 English Premier League season, Arsenal were in the pits after losing their first three games. For many 'Gooners', it was an unfamiliar sight to see the EPL bigwigs lying at the bottom of the table with no points and no goals scored.
A video of a fan screaming himself hoarse soon surfaced online. The fan, probably in his mid-twenties, was shouting unprintables at various Arsenal personnel, including coach Mikel Arteta and his players, calling for their dismissal.
It was a video that brought into question the level to which fans should be emotionally invested in their teams' performances. However, human beings are emotional beings and hence will fall in love with that which brings them joy — and sometimes pain.
In Kenya, 2010 was a difficult year for Gor Mahia fans after their team missed out on the Kenya Premier League title by a whisker. Going into the last game of the season, Gor had been locked in a tight race for the title with Ulinzi Stars.
Despite needing a win at all costs, K'Ogalo could only draw 1-1 against Thika United as Ulinzi Stars won in Afraha to walk away with the title. It was a reality many religious fans of Gor could not fathom and for a moment, the stands were reduced to a funeral scene as many wept over the turn of events.
Whereas many fans resort to crying as therapy to deal with the heartbreak of a loss, others have taken drastic measures, such as suicide and violence.
Mental health breakdown among fans has also been exacerbated by the growth of gambling. With money at stake, football has become an all or nothing venture for such fans who even bet their entire livelihoods on a win.
As Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago would say, "Siasa usiweke kwa roho, weka kwa lungs," the same principle should apply to fans.