As with anyone with an older brother, you tend to pick up some of their habits. If they liked hockey, chances are, you've probably fell on ice while trying to take a slap shot. If they played video games, you've tried (and successfully I might add!) to save the princess from Bowser's castle. For my brother, it was both hockey and soccer. But for me, it was always soccer. Something about it just seemed pure. A ball, a net and that was it.Needless to say I got into soccer due to my older brother, Paul. A life long Argentina fan, I started supporting the team from South America before I was able to even locate it on a map. But it wasn't easy. Thankfully for me, my parents had a satellite dish and some of the matches would air on cable here as well, which meant I managed to get my viewings for the week.Growing up in Canada, most kids were into hockey. In the playground, it was hockey talk and trading hockey cards. In the gym, it was playing ball hockey. Over here, hockey is a religion. And while I did watch the sport, it wasn't MY sport. It wasn't MY religion.Finding someone to talk soccer (and for me, the Argentina National Team) with was probably even more difficult. So when I discovered Mundo Albiceleste back in 2007, I had finally found my soccer oasis. A place where I can get my daily Argentina dosage. The news was in English, the comments were in English and I was interacting with people from all over the world talking about my passion. In short, I had found my Argentina family.Ironically enough, I attended my first Argentina match (at the U20 World Cup here in Canada) in 2007. It was an unbelievable experience. Making the drive and attending the match with my brother, watching our favorite team win and managing to record the game-winning goal on camera... It's a day I'll never forget.Fast forward to 2009 and I've since become a co-owner of Mundo Albiceleste. And while I now deliver news on the website, I still very much enjoy being able to connect with the readers. To talk and interact with them about the thing they're passion about the most... The thing WE'RE most passionate about brings me great joy.So whether you're a Lebanese kid like me living in Canada or someone in the Philippines who simply wants to talk about the Argentina National Team or its players, trust me, Mundo Albiceleste is the place for you. It's run by fans for the fans.
How Argentina soccer became an obsession for a Canadian
For this episode of Fan Stories, we are focusing on Argentina soccer and their dedicated fan base that helps make soccer the biggest sport in the world. Here we showcase one of their superfans, and the following excerpt shows how, despite growing up in Canada, he became deeply passionate about Argentina soccer.