I picked West Brom on Fifa - now I'm flying 5,000 miles to watch them

For years, Jay Jhaver has been waking up before dawn in Arizona to watch West Bromwich Albion matches most people around him have never heard of.

Now the fan, who lives about 5,000 miles (8,046 km) from The Hawthorns, is making the journey to England for the first time to see the club he has followed since choosing it at random on a Fifa video game.

Jhaver, from Phoenix, believes he may be the only West Brom supporter in the US state of Arizona and will finally watch his team in person when they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

His unlikely love affair with the Baggies began when he was looking for a team to play as on Fifa and settled on West Brom by chance.

"Ever since then, the rest has been history," he told us.

Supporting a Championship club from the other side of the Atlantic can be a lonely experience.

When he tells friends which team he follows, he is often met with puzzled looks.

"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'."

Being a fan also means setting an early alarm clock. Matchdays often begin at 04:00 or 05:00 local time so he can follow games live.

"Which, you know, is pretty hard, but when you like a team, you've got to do what you've got to do," he said.

What has kept him attached to the Black Country club is not trophies or success, but the loyalty of its supporters.

"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."

After years of following from afar, Jhaver is now preparing to experience The Hawthorns atmosphere for himself, when they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Like many Albion fans, he hopes the club's next promotion challenge eventually 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."

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