The Best Fan Pre-Match Rituals From Around the World
By Ross Jackson
We've all heard of players having pre-match rituals that they absolutely swear by and will persist in performing prior to a game, regardless of whether they won the previous week or got hammered 6-0.
As fans we're no different; we too have adopted some weird and wonderful matchday routines, whether it be the way we walk to the stadium or what we do when we get into the ground (when going to games used to be an actual thing).
However, some fans have gone a step beyond. We've compiled a list of the best pre-match rituals performed by supporters from around the world, ranking the best before picking out our number one.
9. Nigeria Fan's Pre-Match Blessing
While most football fans opt for the 'louder the better' approach as they look to inspire their team, this Nigeria fan has a very different approach.
She can be seen blessing each member of the Nigeria squad prior to their game with Iceland in the 2018 World Cup - laugh all you want, it worked! The Super Eagles ran out 2-0 winners.
8. Sporting Kansas City’s Cauldron
If there's one thing you're always guaranteed with football fans it's passion and enthusiasm. So you can only imagine the scenes at a stadium full of American football fans.
Sporting Kansas City have a number of different supporters' groups including the King City Yardbirds, KC Soccer Misfits, Brookside Elite and Southern Voodoo. Prior to kick off, all the groups gather in one section of the ground as they look to whip up the crowd and create some pre-match atmosphere.
7. Benfica's Flying Eagle
Before every home game Benfica fans are treated to the magnificent sight of their mascot, Vitoria the eagle, flying around the stadium before landing on a podium above the club's crest.
The crowd engage in the spectacle, saluting their mascot as it makes its way around the arena before erupting once the bird's journey is complete.
6. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
Most clubs have a pre-match song these days, but there aren't many as iconic as West Ham's 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'.
The club adopted the song in the 1920s and it's been a staple of the fan's pre-match routine ever since, with actual bubbles being blown while the crowd sing along to their famous anthem.
5. Paris Saint-Germain Ultras
Some fans start their pre-game routine before they've even got to the ground, and that's certainly true of Paris Saint-Germain's ultras.
Like many extreme fan groups, the PSG ultras meet prior to the match and create a raucous atmosphere as they march to the stadium, waving scarves and banners while letting off flares on their way to the game.
4. Seattle Sounders' March to the Match
Okay, from one kind of march to the ground to a very different type.
Seattle Sounders fans may not quite be as intimidating as PSG's ultras as they stroll through the streets, but that's not to say they're any less enthusiastic about their side.
The club's March to the Match event sees hundreds of fans congregate prior to the game before making their way to the stadium.
Once inside the ground, the club put on a whole host of events such as the awarding of the Golden Scarf - a prize given to a fan for their work in the community. We're barely lucky if we get a lukewarm, overpriced Bovril.
3. Yellow Wall
One of the most iconic scenes in world football.
Borussia Dortmund's Yellow Wall is the sort of thing every football fan should have on their bucket list to see live, with over 25,000 fans packed into the free-standing grandstand creating a cacophony of noise prior the game.
The Yellow Wall is notorious for its displays and atmosphere, with former Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger admitting 'it is the Yellow Wall that scares me the most' when asked what he feared most about the Dortmund side back in 2013.
2. You'll Never Walk Alone
Liverpool adopted 'You'll Never Walk Alone' as their club anthem in 1963 after Gerry & the Pacemakers had topped the UK charts with the hit song.
Since then it's gone onto become almost as synonymous with the club as their red shirts, with members of The Kop in particular raising their scarves and banners prior to the game and belting out the tune.
1. Beijing Guoan's 'Gangs of Beijing'
Perhaps not as well knows as Dortmund and Liverpool fans' pre-game routine, but by no means any less enthusiastic or brilliant.
Beijing Guoan's fans are already renowned for creating one of the best atmospheres in the Chinese Super League, but their supporter group 'Gangs of Beijing' take things to a whole new level.
All donned in green (with the odd shirtless guy, presumably he's from Newcastle) the group create a ferocious atmosphere pre-match and are a fantastic spectacle.