Dunedin football fans (from left) Matthew Holdridge, Aaron Burgess, Justin Flaws and Warren Sieroczuk are off to the Fifa World Cup in the United States later this week. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON The Fifa World Cup in the United States, or his parents’ 80th birthday celebrations in England? The decision over which to prioritise was a crippling one for English football fan Matthew Holdridge. ‘‘Funny story — last year, my sister said to me, ‘Matthew, you're going to come back next year for mum and dad's 80th?’ ‘‘I said, ‘Oh, I'm not sure. I'm going to America for the World Cup’. ‘‘She said, ‘Where are your priorities?’. ‘‘I said, ‘This only happens every four years’, and she countered, ‘Mum and Dad have been alive for 80 years’.’’ Long story short, he is headed to the World Cup later this week. But fearing the debate about his priorities may descend into sibling hostility, he has avoided the hot water with his family by compromising. Instead of coming back to Dunedin after the World Cup, he will carry on to London and spend seven days with his parents. The 52-year-old is among a small group of Dunedin English and All Whites football fans who will head for the US later this week to support their respective teams. All Whites supporter Aaron Burgess said he and his fellow ‘‘boys’ trip’’ members had spent the past five years putting away $50 a week, so they could afford the $15,000 dream. ‘‘We're going for the box-tick event of going to a World Cup final. It's a dream to go there. ‘‘I guess, for us, it's just about going to a pinnacle world sport event. And picking up a couple of New Zealand games while we're there is a bonus. ‘‘The players that are coming from around the world, they’re world class. It’s a quality of play that you don't get to see every day. ‘‘It’s going to be great to see different countries play, and just being in a World Cup environment is going to be exciting — the fanfare that goes along with the World Cup finals and the entertainment factor as well.’’ England fan Warren Sieroczuk, also of Dunedin, said none of them had been to a World Cup before, and they planned to make the most of the opportunity. ‘‘We are only going to ever do this once in our lives.’’ He said they would do the usual flag waving, chanting — some of which they said was not suitable for readers — but there would not be any rioting after the matches. Instead, they would probably gravitate towards the local pubs, he said. john.lewis@odt.co.nz
