A few weeks ago I was on the Parisian underground when I saw a guy walking towards me with a scarf of my home town club, FC Magdeburg. I stopped him and asked if he was a supporter. He said no, he wasn’t but added that a friend of his gave him the scarf as a gift or to keep him warm during winter. While the purpose of a scarf is of course to keep our necks warm and to show some allegiance with any sports team, the idea of wearing these colours felt somewhat like a desecration. This guy doesn’t even know where this town is, let alone has he any idea about the club. A scarf is a clothing accessory to keep the neck warm during winter and it is used as a significant means to show loyalty to a sporting team, mostly football teams but also other sports. As such they serve as a way to establish a community, imaginary and real among football supporters of any particular club.

This erroneous use of a scarf by a random Parisian guy in the underground left me somewhat perplexed. Things such as the allegiance with a football team expressed by wearing a replica shirt, a fan scarf and any other accessories have become devoid of all meaning. Fandom as i know it is no longer set in stone. It has become liquid or worse, exchangeable.

I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.