Jay Jhaver from Phoenix, Arizona is travelling 5,000 miles to watch West Bromwich Albion play Blackburn Rovers at The Hawthorns on Saturday — his first time seeing the club in person after following them for years from the United States.
Jhaver's unlikely support for the Baggies began when he selected West Brom at random while choosing a team to play with on a Fifa video game. "Ever since then, the rest has been history," he said.
Living about 5,000 miles from The Hawthorns, Jhaver believes he may be the only West Brom supporter in Arizona. Following a Championship club from across the Atlantic has meant waking before dawn to watch most matches live, often at 04:00 or 05:00 local time.
Loyalty over success
When he tells friends which team he follows, the reaction is usually puzzlement or mockery.
"They either look at me like, 'what is that, I've never heard of that club', or the people who do know of it, they just laugh at me," he said.
"They're like, 'Dude, why don't you just support Liverpool or Man City or someone like that?' I'm like, 'no man, it's West Brom all the way'."
What has kept Jhaver attached to the club is not trophies or recent success, but the loyalty of West Brom supporters themselves.
"No matter what, through these financial issues, through these relegation pushes, fans have not wavered," he said. "Whether good or bad, they're always there. Now I don't know if you can say that about the fair-weather Man City fans or Liverpool fans, but one thing that West Brom has is that loyalty and that's something I look for when I'm looking for a team."
Promotion dreams
Like many Albion fans, Jhaver hopes the club's next promotion challenge ends in success. "If West Brom get promoted to the Premier League, it will be one of the greatest days ever," he said. "So I'm just waiting for that day. Hopefully it comes soon, but I guess we'll see."