You don’t know how it happens.

One day you are sitting on your couch and you begin yelling at the TV as if to tell the coach what you believe would be a better formation for your favorite club.

At that moment, you stop and realize you have become a fanatic.

To some it starts the second they are born, they are born into a family of soccer lovers and so from a very young age they are fans of the sport, in fact, their first ever shirt is a jersey of the parent’s favorite soccer team.

Or you can be a late bloomer, and just began your love affair with the sport in middle or high school, in any case you can relate to these signs that you’re a soccer fanatic.

1. You know every player on your favorite team | You have the roster memorized.
   1. You know each player’s number, the usual starting lineup, and who the team’s best players are. You know who comes in at what time in the game and when the coach doesn’t put someone in you yell at the TV.
2. When you find out a girl likes or even plays soccer, you instantly become more attracted to them.
   1. Don’t act like it’s not true, we’ve all done it. When you find a girl who likes soccer she instantly becomes priority number one. What’s better than talking to someone all day about soccer? Nothing.
3. You know all of the stats.
   1. You know just how many games your team needs to win to win the cup, you know how many goals the best player has, the assist to turnover ratio, and all the other numbers that make you believe you are a true math wizard. Then you go to the store to buy food and you don’t even know basic mathematic.
4. You are an encyclopedia.
   1. You know the crazy facts that no one else knows, you are called an encyclopedia, and sometimes you wonder how much better your life would be if instead of facts about the team you love, you had memorized that pythagorean theory back in High School.
5. You own an excessive amount of sportswear for your favorite team
   1. License plates? Jerseys? T-shirts? Hats? You own so much sportswear that you usually don’t get a chance to wear everything during the season. And you probably also have a special closet with nothing but soccer gear, which your biggest dilemma when going to a game is if you will wear the retro jersey to show you’ve been a fan since day one, or the new jersey of the newest player.
6. You know which of your friends support your favorite team
   1. You know exactly who to call when your favorite team is playing on TV. Watching a game with people who support the same team as you makes the game even better.
7. Your friends know not to contact you for plans when there is a game on
   1. They have stopped asking you to hangout with them on Saturdays and sometimes even during the week because they know you’ll be busy watching the game.
8. You have a favorite pub to watch the game.
   1. You know which pub is friendly to your team and you know that’s the place you want to be.
9. You have never missed a game.
   1. No matter what is going on in your life, your first priority is to watch the big game.
10. You get offended when somebody insults your team.
    1. Nothing infuriates you more than when you hear somebody insult your favorite team. In fact, it’s been a deal-breaker in a friendship before.

We have all been there, pal. Don’t worry if you are a fanatic, soccer is built on the fanatics! Stop by Ultimate Soccer Store to grab all the latest great for your team and add to that full closet of jerseys you have!