True fans will always make the effort to go to the game, whatever the circumstances.
Normally this means getting the time off work, dodging social commitments, or just being bothered to do the four hour drive if you're one of London's 3.9 million Manchester United fans.
However, a Newcastle man really went this distance for the Magpies' pre-season game against Preston North End yesterday. That distance being from the roof of the pub to the ground.
@PNEPolice, the official Twitter account for Preston North End football officer PC Paul Elliott, tweeted out a picture of a Toon fan proudly wearing his Newcastle United shirt, sat in a wheelchair with both feet bandaged.
Accompanying the picture was the caption: "Ultimate Geordie jumps off roof of the boozer....suspected fractured heels...still goes the game!"
https://twitter.com/PNEPolice/status/888776102465949706
Of course, the police can't condone jumping off pub roofs and breaking your heels, but you'd have to have a heart of stone not to admire the unnamed man's commitment to his team.
Replying to the tweet, @Robin_Rilley23 sent a picture of
what is believed to be the man's badly bruised feet, as well as a pair of rather fetching fracture boots.
https://twitter.com/Robin_Rilley23/status/888802255687823361
https://twitter.com/Robin_Rilley23/status/888803115323060224
Is it too much to call this man a hero? Yes, but you can't deny that this is the mark of a true fan.
Spoken like real Northerners, @PNEPolice managed to get a quick dig in at the South, when one Twitter user messaged: "I bet if that happened to a southerner, he would have demanded a police escort to the hospital".
And the response?
https://twitter.com/PNEPolice/status/888842478798897154
