SAY HELLO TO IYA CHELSEA: THE WOMAN WITH AN UNBRIDLED PASSION FOR FOOTBALL “Iya Chelsea!” “Iya Chelsea!” “Iya Chelsea!” Rented the air as a middle aged fair complexioned woman walked into the viewing centre. The woman spotting a Chelsea replica shirt with the inscription “Hazard” waved back at the guys and shook a couple of them. I didn’t know whether to consider myself lucky when she walked straight and sat by my side. It was my first time. I just looked on as she finally settled down and got ready to watch the match. It was the night Chelsea played against Manchester City. The noise at the viewing centre was deafening. The entrance of Iya Chelsea escalated the situation. Soon after she sat down, Iya Chelsea was challenging everybody that she was not afraid. She was so confident that the worst result Chelsea could get that night would be a draw. The noise from her was so disturbing. Like I said, it was my first time at that viewing centre. I had gone to visit a friend that night. My friend is not as passionate as I am for football. He has never been to that centre. He only took me half way to the place and pointed at the building. I did not know what to expect as I settled in for the game. Something struck me about Iya Chelsea, she was thorough in her analysis of the players’ strength and the role each of them was expected to play that night. She also impressed me with the analysis of the opposition team and their strength. The guys at the viewing centre respected her views; however, once in a while one or two guys would disagree with her views. The disagreement meant some minutes of shouting and arguing. It was a mixed feeling watching that match at that place. At some point their arguments would add to the flavour of the game; at some point, it was totally a distraction from the game. I barely could hear what the commentators were saying. Saliva flowed freely. I used my handkerchief to protect my mouth from receiving the same quantity of saliva my head and back have collected. When Chelsea slotted in their first goal, the roof of the place almost came crashing. Iya Chelsea jumped onto her seat. She wanted to see the replay of the goal. She was looking elsewhere when Ivanovic found the back of the net. She screamed at people standing up after the goal to sit down to enable her see the goal too. The lone goal from Chelsea appeared to have unsettled her. She feared every incursion Manchester City made towards Chelsea’s box. She abandoned her seat and stood the rest of the match. I kept looking at her; she noticed too. Once in a while, she would let out a loud “common boys, let’s do this” to which other Chelsea supporters would applause. It didn’t matter how many times “Up Chelsea” was shouted; she would always echo “for life.” At the end of the game, I watched as a Chelsea fan in the crowd put his head in-between her legs and lifted her up. They ran around and sang “Up Chelsea!” I stood wondering what kind of passion was pushing her. I beckoned on one of the boys and inquired about the woman. “Who is that lady?” I asked. “Hmm…that woman is very known in this area. She is a staunch Chelsea supporter” I told him that was obvious. The guy went ahead to say she controls activities around here. “She sells club jerseys, pictures and all sorts of football artifacts.” My interest in knowing her grew. I waited until she came back to the entrance of the viewing centre. I approached her and said hi. I was shocked she could speak some impeccable English language. When I got her confidence, she told me that “some people here don’t know I can speak English well. I looked at the passion our people have for football, I decided to develop a brand to maximize the passion. I only behave this way in my shop and viewing centres. I am known in all the viewing centres around here. I sell footballs, Jersey and football related magazine and Newspapers. It is a sports shop.” In the midst of the conversation, her phone rang. “It’s my husband, he would be wondering why I haven’t come back. I’ve got to run now.” As she left, I could still hear the boys hail her “Iya Chelsea, Up Chelsea!” “For life” she kept replying.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 07:10:58 +0000
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