How far would you fly for soccer?

Featured Sponsor

Store	Link	Sample Product
UK Artful Impressions	Premiere Etsy Store

The boy called from Indonesia, where he travels before starting his first serious job. The news was not good. Arsenal were clearly not going to win the Premier League and therefore were not coming back early for the festivities.

Knowing the team, we had never put much weight into their contingency plans to shorten their multi-month Asian tour. There would be no need to trade the dreary views of the Indonesian archipelago for Highbury’s spectacular back roads. It was, I accept, a difficult decision. Why take a boat trip to Komodo to see the fearsome dragons when you can compete with football fans to see Martin Odegaard leap from the top of a double-decker in a North London victory parade? Why wouldn’t he run back? After all, it was either that or Laos.

The result is that it will leave a little more. It always seemed like an odd prioritization, even though he seemed dead serious about it. Fortunately, the Gunners helped him out.

However, it was unsportsmanlike of him to keep his hopes alive until quite late in the season. A more considerate squad would have messed this up long before Easter. And to be fair, Arsenal fans have had many seasons of such consideration. (The debacle’s only upside is that the new narrative of a team that led all season only to falter at the end, may finally persuade Keir Starmer to remove horrible Arsenal jokes from his speeches.)

Still, this degree of insane devotion, while well documented and for some reason even admired, is worrisome. Even more worrying is that I slightly understand the impulse. One of the happiest days of my life was sitting with the boy at Wembley watching my own epically underperforming team secure Premier League status in the third-place play-off final. That such an insignificant event could make even my best 100 days tragic in itself, though it was also wrapped in memories of my father, who is to blame for me supporting this hopeless side. The joy was fueled by the fact that the win came at the last minute, and completely against the course of the game, so it came as a moment of perfect, unfiltered euphoria. That’s what football does to you.

The boy was determined not to make the same mistake by backing a losing club, which makes his choice of Arsenal less impressive. Still, after a decade of living underachievers, he was determined to be there to reap the rewards for years of perseverance. He’s been going for over a decade with precious little trophies to show off, plus four FA Cups, which, apparently, don’t really count.

This might, he concluded, be the only time his team claimed the title. Indonesia will still be there next year; the Premier League may never come back. The obvious logic of this position would be to stop wasting time and support Manchester City, thus saving themselves years of heartbreak as there will always be another win just around the corner. Unfortunately, the royal fandom denies you these rational choices.

So while I would never make that decision myself, I know that, unlike her mother, I don’t think her gut is completely crazy, although of course it is. True devotion gives you the feeling that you are a member of a giant family, and what is family if you are not there for the big moments?

Perhaps his affirmation of being ready to return was the pose of someone who knew, deep down, that the situation would not arise. I like to think so, because there may never be another chance for such a long journey. He worked hard to finance and plan the trip, convincing his friends to join him at different stages. Travel has become so painless that it’s easy to be indifferent about timing and opportunity. But this, more than football, is the once in a lifetime moment. He has been to places he already dreams of seeing again, swam with dolphins, gazed at skies full of stars and learned the true value of food hygiene.

Would he really have run home early? I can’t be sure. But luckily, Arsenal had their priorities straight. One day he will thank you. Or, more likely, it won’t.

Follow Robert on Twitter @robertshrimsley and send an email to robert.shrimsley@ft.com

Continue @FTMag on Twitter to find out about our latest stories first