Leeds fans overseas

What it feels like to be a Leeds fan in Denmark

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After giving it some thought, we here at LeedsAllOver have decided to do something different. As of now they’re no sites covering Leeds fans OUTSIDE of the UK. So? Well with Leeds having the fans base that it has we’ve decided to do just that and every week release an article with a fan from afar giving us one of his/her experiences from their country. Giving us an angle never covered before, proving we really are Leeds All Over.

As I have been asked to do a guest piece for Leeds All Over I’ll start by introducing myself, my name will ring a bell for some of you, mainly those of you on Twitter and for the rest my name will make you ask the question, why does that guy have a girl’s name? I’m Kim Bjerregaard a Danish Leeds addict who spends way too much time on Twitter rambling under the name @KimLeeds.
I became a Leeds fan in my teenage years, I’ve always loved watching English football but never really took the time to “pick a team”, unlike the English fans, us abroad are rarely born into a club and if I was it would mean my dad had decided and then I would have been a Man United fan, oh the shame. Anyways, I had a golf coach who was a proper nutter from West Yorkshire and he started trying to make me a Leeds fan, and to piss off my dad I was easy to persuade.
My golf coach told me all about the city, the history of the club and how within a few years we’d be the best in Europe, we were actually quite close but that’s a different story. I was smitten by his stories and the joy was big when I got my first Leeds shirt, all white Thistle Hotels – still fits, and I started driving to Esbjerg a city 35 km away from where I lived to watch games on Sky sports with him, from that day my passion for Leeds has grown and grown. I have been lucky enough to visit Leeds three times and seen six games, a few odd ones among them PNE 4-6 and Blackpool 0-5, but just the experience of being in a place which you’ve dreamt about for so long was and is an amazing feeling and I can’t wait till my next trip over.
Back in the day my friends from school all supported Man United, Liverpool or Arsenal, those three are probably to this day the most supported teams in Denmark, which has always made me more proud to be Leeds, Leeds is a very big part of my identity and I like being special and sitting in the pub with just 5-6 other fans and having a right laugh when Leeds play instead of being 50-60 people who hardly know each other. The togetherness that I feel over here with the lucky few is very much like the togetherness I fell when I travel to Leeds and that is indeed an amazing feeling and something that I look forward to each time I travel to Leeds or I go see Leeds on TV with the lads. Leeds are oddly enough also quite hated by the other fans in Denmark like they are in England, I guess jealousy knows no borders, but when the Manchester United fans chant; “We all hate Leeds scum” at me in the pub, I know how much I chose the right team all those years ago and I just revel in it.
Leeds is a very well supported team in my neighboring countries Norway and Sweden but for some reason they never quite caught on in the same way with the Danes, maybe because the other three big teams have had Danes over the years and Casper Ankergren was our first, I don’t know, but why would Leeds sign a Dane anyway, we can’t really play football.
I am one of the lucky abroad supporters though, seeing Leeds games, finding Leeds merchandise and travelling to Leeds is quite easy from Denmark, so in that respect I’m lucky even if I don’t quite live in Leeds, we have so many supporters in Australia, Africa and North and South America, those guys are really heroes to me, imagine getting up in the middle of the night to listen on the radio when your favorite team plays a second tier football match, it really amazes me and proves how a club like Leeds really gets under your skin.
Thanks for reading, follow me on twitter and check out my blog at www.aroundmyleedsunited.blogspot.dk
Marching on together, close up and faraway!

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  • Martin says:

    I’m a Leeds fan just moved to Copenhagen for work. Where are the best places to watch Leeds games?

    • Henrik Fibaek says:

      Southern Cross is the best place to meet other Danish Leeds fans on televised games. I am Fibaek being a fan since early seventies. AND WELL WRITTEN. I’ll be at ER for the Brum game. MOT

    • Henrik Fibaek says:

      Welcome to CPH. Most fans go to Southern Cross on televised matchdays. Usually 10-20 fans show up to watch. Great athmosphere and company. I go to Leeds to watch Brum with 6 other fans Sunday. I have been a fan since early seventies. MOT. Henrik

  • Mark Ashton says:

    Hi Kim,
    Well said and keep up the good work on twitter.
    I was at the PNE & Blackpool games with my Son, and like you, can only take positives.
    The good times will soon be back.
    Let us know when you intend to visit next and maybe we could meet up.
    MOT.
    Mark & Ben Ashton.
    (Near Halifax)

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